Microsoft Flight Simulator X, also known as
FSX, is the latest version of
Microsoft Flight SimulatorMicrosoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulator programs for the Microsoft Windows operating system, although it was marketed as a video game. It is one of the longest-running, best-known and most comprehensive home flight simulator series...
after
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. It includes a graphics engine upgrade as well as compatibility with
Windows VistaWindows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, having been marketed by Microsoft as the most important technological milestone in the series to date.
It is the first version in the flight simulator series to be released on DVD-ROM. It is also the first version in the series to feature a new type of electronic distribution prevention using license keys, removing the need for the user to insert the game disc into their computer in order to run the software.
Overview
Flight Simulator X marks the tenth version of the popular line of flight simulators. It was officially released to the US market on October 17, 2006. According to Microsoft's Web site for the game, a standard edition features everything from
navaidsRadio navigation or radionavigation is the application of radio frequencies to determine a position on the Earth. Like radiolocation, it is a type of radiodetermination.The basic principles are measurements from/to electric beacons, especially...
to
GPSThe Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
and
airwaysIn aviation, an airway is a designated route in the air. Airways are laid out between navigational aids such as VORs, NDBs and Intersections ....
. It also includes 18 planes, 28 detailed cities, and over 24,000 airports with a deluxe version featuring 24 aircraft, and 38 cities.
Flight Simulator X was officially unveiled at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) as a gaming showcase for Microsoft
Windows VistaWindows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
and is now also compatible with Windows 7. Microsoft released screenshots as well as a list of frequently asked questions as a press release on Microsoft Flight Simulator Insider, and numerous flight simulator communities. This also included mission-based gameplay with mission specific aircraft as well as an upgraded rendering engine capable of increased detail.
Following the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 2006, Microsoft published new screenshots, videos and an official trailer. The overall reaction by the community was quite positive, and the graphical quality of the simulator has greatly increased.
Successor
On 22 January 2009, it was reported that development team behind the product was being heavily affected by Microsoft's ongoing job cuts, with indications that the entire
Flight Simulator team would be laid off. The news was later confirmed by Microsoft officials stating they were committed to the
Flight Simulator franchise, with expectations to continue product releases in the series, but had nothing specific to announce at that time. On 17 August 2010, Microsoft announced
Microsoft FlightMicrosoft Flight is the title of a new flight simulator from Microsoft Studios announced in August 2010, intended to replace the long-running discontinued Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise that has existed for nearly 30 years. In January 2011, Microsoft announced it would be compatible with...
, a new simulation game that boasts a further improved graphics engine, and enhanced simulation features.
Standard vs. Deluxe Edition
Flight Simulator X was released in three editions: Standard, Deluxe, and later Gold. The Deluxe Edition incorporates additional features, including an on-disc
software development kitA software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
(SDK), three airplanes with the
Garmin G1000The Garmin G1000 is an integrated flight instrument system manufactured by Garmin typically composed of two display units, one serving as a primary flight display, and one as a multi-function display...
Flightdeck, and the ability for the player to act as
Air Traffic ControlAir traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
(ATC) for other online users with a radar screen.
The Deluxe Edition features 24 aircraft compared to 18 in the Standard Edition; 45 high-detail airports compared to 40; 38 high-detail cities compared to 28; and 51 structured missions compared to more than 30.
Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition combines the Deluxe Edition and the Acceleration expansion pack into one.
New features
The new features in
Flight Simulator X include:
- Improved graphics including enhanced texture resolution, new Earth model facilitating polar flights, true road data, region-specific textures, minimal 3D animals, star constellations, etc. Also, the scenery textures now line up with the automatically generated (Autogen) buildings. Maximum rendering-engine-supported scenery resolution of 7 cm/pixel (not available with default scenery).
- Airports now have jetways that move to the aircraft by the key combination Ctrl + J. (happens for AI aircraft automatically) Airport vehicles also drive around the airport to the player's aircraft and AI aircraft. (Baggage cars, pushtrucks, fuel trucks, etc.)
- The built-in GPS support has been upgraded to include Garmin G1000
The Garmin G1000 is an integrated flight instrument system manufactured by Garmin typically composed of two display units, one serving as a primary flight display, and one as a multi-function display...
integrated glass cockpitA glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, as opposed to the traditional style of analog dials and gauges...
, (select aircraft in the Deluxe version only).
- Improved ATC
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
featuring certain non-FAA procedures where appropriate (for example, altimeterAn altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth underwater.-Pressure altimeter:...
/QNHQNH is one of the many Q codes. It is defined as, "barometric pressure adjusted to sea level." It is a pressure setting used by pilots, air traffic control , and low frequency weather beacons to refer to the barometric setting which, when set on an aircraft's altimeter, will cause the altimeter to...
scale in metric units) and numerous minor updates such as an improved progressive-taxi feature.
- Improved and new default aircraft including, for example, an Airbus A321
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
. Default aircraft systems modeling is rather extensively improved, featuring, for example, APUAn auxiliary power unit is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft, as well as some large land vehicles.-Function:...
, fire protection, passenger advisory sign switches etc.
- Improved weather system, including better visibility modeling.
- Revamped multiplayer functionality featuring Shared Skies, a feature allowing multiple users to share the same cockpit.
- Tower Controller, a feature in the Deluxe version allowing users to simulate local control at many airports worldwide during multiplayer gaming.
- Revamped sound system with support for 5.1 surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
.
- In Flight Simulator X, the developers have decided to liven the game play, and along with Free Flight mode, introduced more than 50 different missions.
- Proprietary SimConnectAPI
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
to allow FSUIPC-like access to Flight Simulator functions and variables.
- Mission engine allowing creation of dynamic missions with developer control of many simulation variables, sound file playback, AI
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
aircraft traffic etc. in relation to what the user is doing — essentially an evolution over the APL and ABL adventure programming languages featured in previous versions of the software. Dozens of missions ship with the product.
- Most of the vintage aircraft that were a key theme in the previous version have been dropped, with the exception of the DC-3 and Piper J-3
The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time...
. Both aircraft are featured in the default missions that ship with the product.
- The maximum altitude in the game has been increased to 100,000,000 ft. Therefore, FSX maximum altitude is approximately 2.39 times the diameter of the Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
at the equatorAn equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
.
- Camera shake in the virtual cockpit as the aircraft banks, accelerates, brakes, flies through turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic and stochastic property changes. This includes low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time...
etc.
- Realistic flexible wings in some commercial airplanes: the wings flex while going through turbulence, increasing rate of ascent or descending, undergoing major plane movements, flaps being fully extended, general vibrations to the plane, etc. An example of an aircraft with this wing movement is the Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
747-400.
- New water effect which has 3D waves with curled up object refraction according to the wave movements and with sunshine reflection.
- Ability to easily take a screenshot while in the game. Pressing the "V" key takes a picture of the game and saves it as a .bmp image in the "My Pictures" folder.
- Aircraft can cast shadows on themselves.
- Aircraft interiors and exteriors use different files. This allows an advanced user to take one exterior model of an Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
A320 and merge it with an interior made by someone else.
- Red Bull Air Race World Championship racing in the acceleration pack only.
Aircraft
In a few missions, extra AI aircraft are included but aren't available to the player in Free Flight. These aircraft include:
- TBM Avenger ghost planes of Flight 19
Flight 19 was the designation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared on December 5, 1945 during a United States Navy-authorized overwater navigation training flight from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida. All 14 airmen on the flight were lost, as were all 13 crew members of a...
- from Lost in the Triangle although it is tough to know that they are there
- Boeing 787-9
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 210 to 290 passengers, depending on the variant. Boeing states that it is the company's most fuel-efficient airliner and the world's first major airliner to use...
- from Paris Airshow Demonstration Flight, Loopy Larry & Jet Truck Drag Race
- Ekranoplan - from Aleutian Cargo Run & Tokyo Executive Transport
- Airbus A380-800
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
- from Paris Airshow Demonstration Flight, Loopy Larry & Jet Truck Drag Race
- Boeing 747-8
The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Officially announced in 2005, the 747-8 is the fourth-generation Boeing 747 version, with lengthened fuselage, redesigned wings and improved efficiency...
- from Loopy Larry & Jet Truck Drag Race
- Antonov AN-225
The Antonov An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft, designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the 1980s. It is the world's heaviest aircraft. The design, built in order to transport the Buran orbiter, was an enlargement of the successful An-124 Ruslan...
- from Paris Airshow Demonstration Flight, Loopy Larry & Jet Truck Drag Race
- Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
- from Loopy Larry & Jet Truck Drag Race (in British AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
livery)
- Two variations of UFOs - a flying saucer is seen while flying and nearly crashes into you and two black triangular UFOs; one is seen landing at Area 51 just before the player lands and launches again while the player is taxiing, and a larger, similar one parked on skids - all from Secret Shuttle
- Two UFOs - a small UFO and a much larger UFO, that can be seen in the background - High Altitude Intercept (Acceleration)
- Variations of military jets and helicopters - different types from Tutorial 1: First Take-off, Tutorial 11: Helicopter Maneuvers 1, Flour Power, Loopy Larry, Jet Truck Drag Race, Civil Air Patrol Search, Africa Relief and Catalina Day Spa
- Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
- from Tutorial 1: First Take-off and Secret Shuttle.
- Boeing B-52H Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
- from Tutorial 1: First Take-off, Executive Tour and Loopy Larry
- V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing , and short takeoff and landing capability...
from Tutorial 1: First Take-off and Executive Tour (Acceleration)
- F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk was a single-seat, twin-engine stealth ground-attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force . The F-117A's first flight was in 1981, and it achieved initial operating capability status in October 1983...
from Tutorial 1: First Take-off and Executive Tour
- F-22 Raptor at Paris Airshow Demonstration Flight, Tutorial 1: First Takeoff and Secret Shuttle
- Su-37 Flanker at Paris Airshow Demonstration Flight. There are 2 on the flight line next to an F-22.
- A fictional NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
orbiter named "Delta V" in Rocket Launch Cover.
- Hughes XF-11 Reconnaissance Aircraft
- Douglas XB-19
|-See also:-External links:* * * * * Popular Mechanics, December 1940* Popular Mechanics, July 1941*...
Heavy Bomber
- Antonov An-32
The Antonov An-32 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft.-Design and development:The An-32 is basically a re-engined An-26. The launch customer was the Indian Air Force, which ordered this aircraft partly due to good relations between then USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev and then...
Transport/Bomber
- BAe Jetstream 41 Regional airliner/Feederliner
- Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
Fighter
- Focke Wulf Fw 190 Fighter
- Antonov An-12
The Antonov An-12 is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10.-Design and development:...
Military transport aircraft
- Messerschmitt Me 410
The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse was a German heavy fighter and Schnellbomber used by Luftwaffe during World War II. Though essentially a straightforward modification of the Me 210, it was designated the Me 410 to avoid association with its notoriously flawed predecessor.-Design and...
Multirole fighter-bomber/Reconnaissance Aircraft
Airlines
FSX ships with several, fictional airlines. The only real airline is
Kenmore AirKenmore Air Harbor, Inc., doing business as Kenmore Air, is an American airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Kenmore Air Harbor in Kenmore, Washington, USA, north of Seattle...
. The airlines are as follows.
| Airline |
Player Aircraft in Airlines LiveryAircraft livery is a paint scheme applied to an aircraft, generally to fuselage, wings, empennage , or jet engines. Most airlines have a standard paint scheme for their aircraft fleet, usually prominently displaying the airline logo or name. From time to time special liveries are introduced, for...
|
AI Aircraft in Airlines LiveryAircraft livery is a paint scheme applied to an aircraft, generally to fuselage, wings, empennage , or jet engines. Most airlines have a standard paint scheme for their aircraft fleet, usually prominently displaying the airline logo or name. From time to time special liveries are introduced, for...
|
| Airwave |
None - Callsign only. |
De Havilland Canada DHC-8 and McDonnell Douglas MD-83 |
| American Pacific |
None - Callsign only. |
De Havilland Canada DHC-8 |
| Emerald Harbour Air |
Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
|
None |
| Gaia |
None - Callsign only. |
None |
| Global Freightways |
Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
and Cessna 208-B Grand Caravan |
None |
Kenmore AirKenmore Air Harbor, Inc., doing business as Kenmore Air, is an American airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Kenmore Air Harbor in Kenmore, Washington, USA, north of Seattle...
|
Cessna 208-B Grand Caravan and de Havilland Canada DHC-2 BeaverThe de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...
- Callsign is not available. |
Cessna 208-B Grand Caravan and de Havilland Canada DHC-2 BeaverThe de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...
|
| Landmark |
None - Callsign only. |
None |
| Orbit |
Airbus A321 The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, Boeing 737-800The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG, is the name given to the -600/-700/-800/-900 series of the Boeing 737 after the introduction of the -300/-400/-500 Classic series. They are short- to medium-range, narrow-body jet airliners...
, Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
and Bombardier CRJ-700 |
Airbus A321 The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, Boeing 737-800The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG, is the name given to the -600/-700/-800/-900 series of the Boeing 737 after the introduction of the -300/-400/-500 Classic series. They are short- to medium-range, narrow-body jet airliners...
, Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
, Bombardier CRJ-700 and De Havilland Canada DHC-8 |
| Pacifica |
Airbus A321 The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, Boeing 737-800The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG, is the name given to the -600/-700/-800/-900 series of the Boeing 737 after the introduction of the -300/-400/-500 Classic series. They are short- to medium-range, narrow-body jet airliners...
, Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
and Bombardier CRJ-700 |
Airbus A321 The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, Boeing 737-800The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG, is the name given to the -600/-700/-800/-900 series of the Boeing 737 after the introduction of the -300/-400/-500 Classic series. They are short- to medium-range, narrow-body jet airliners...
, Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
, Bombardier CRJ-700 and McDonnell Douglas MD-83 |
| Soar |
None - Callsign only. |
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 |
| World Travel |
Airbus A321 The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, Boeing 737-800The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG, is the name given to the -600/-700/-800/-900 series of the Boeing 737 after the introduction of the -300/-400/-500 Classic series. They are short- to medium-range, narrow-body jet airliners...
(in alternative, cheatline livery), Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
and Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
(in heritage livery) |
Airbus A321 The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, Boeing 737-800The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG, is the name given to the -600/-700/-800/-900 series of the Boeing 737 after the introduction of the -300/-400/-500 Classic series. They are short- to medium-range, narrow-body jet airliners...
(in alternative, cheatline livery) and Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
|
Any player aircraft may be used with the callsign of any of these airlines.
Missions and rewards
The inclusion of Missions adds a new facet to the simulation, adding task oriented goals, and encouraging users to fly worldwide, rather than just from their home field. Although a similar concept was available in previous versions, the new implementation of multipath & event oriented situations substantially extends the potential for user interaction.
Pilots earn
Rewards for completing various missions, and reaching specific accomplishments throughout the game, (in 'Free Flight'). Some of the rewards exist as hidden
"easter eggs"Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
to be discovered by pilots. Some missions have multiple and hidden rewards, receipt being dependent on performing additional actions.
Some hidden rewards include:
- Earning a postcard for spotting an item of interest.
- Earning a badge for landing at a special airport, e.g., highest, most remote, lowest.
- Earning a reward for completing a challenge not associated with a mission.
- Earning a trophy for landing a number of times or the number of airports landed at.
In each mission description, a map is included with it. It notes that they are for entertainment purposes. The maps and charts are supplied by
JeppesenJeppesen is an American company that specializes in navigational information, operations management solutions and flight training products and services...
.
Missions list
This is a list of all missions in
Flight Simulator X ( Standard, Deluxe Edition and Acceleration missions are included).
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(AI) aircraft are non-playable aircraft built only for scenery and ambience. They sometimes also play a key role in missions. Three aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas MD-83, the
Piper CherokeeThe Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of light aircraft designed for flight training, air taxi, and personal use. It is built by Piper Aircraft....
and the DeHavilland Dash 8 have been supplied as AI only by Microsoft, but several addons from flightsim websites allow these aircraft to be flyable within the simulator.
Demo versions
Flight Simulator X is notable for being the first product in Microsoft's Flight Simulator series to have a
game demoA game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
, which contains a subset of features of the retail product (including a limitation to the duration of a flight) and requires Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista for installation.
The first limited demo of
Flight Simulator X was released to the public on August 9, 2006, and put up for download on the website. Even though playable, the August demo represented a beta release of the product, and had a number of bugs, some of which were recognized in the official installation's
READMEA readme file contains information about other files in a directory or archive and is commonly distributed with computer software. Such a file is usually a text file called README.TXT, README.1ST, READ.ME, or simply README, although some Microsoft Windows software may occasionally include a...
file. On October 2, 2006, the demo was superseded by a newer release, which, while having fewer bugs, is almost identical to the first demo. The DHC-2 Beaver was removed in favor of a
Learjet 45-See also:-References:* Taylor, Michael J.H. Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems Directory 1999/2000. London:Brassey's, 1999. ISBN 1 85753 245 7.-External links:*...
. Both the demos feature St. Maarten,
Netherlands AntillesThe Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
and the surrounding area only, as opposed to the entire world. The main airport featured is
Princess Juliana International AirportPrincess Juliana International Airport serves the Dutch part of the island of Sint Maarten. In 2007, the airport handled 1,647,824 passengers and 103,650 aircraft movements. The airport serves as a hub for Windward Islands Airways and is the major gateway for the smaller Leeward Islands,...
.
Current Demo Aircraft:
- Beechcraft Baron 58
- Bombardier Learjet 45
- Bombardier CRJ700
- Air Creation
Air Creation is a French manufacturer of ultralight and Light-sport aircraft. The company was founded in 1982 and has since produced more than 5,500 aircraft. Current product portfolio includes the two seat Tanarg and the GTE Trek...
trike Ultralight
- Robinson R22
Service Pack 1
Microsoft released the first service pack (SP1) for
Flight Simulator X on May 15, 2007 to address:
- Activation and installation issues
- Performance enhancements, including multithreading
In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
of texture synthesis and autogen to provide modest performance improvements on multi-core computers
- Third-party add-on issues
- Content issues
Service Pack 2
Microsoft released another service pack for
Flight Simulator X about the same time as its expansion pack (below). The update is primarily for Vista users that have DirectX 10 (DX10) compatible graphics adapters. The DX10 version takes advantage of DX10's improved shader model and more pixel pipelines and increased performance for Vista, approaching overall
FSX performance on XP. It also adds the capability for players who do not have the expansion pack to participate in multiplayer activities with users of the expansion pack, along with support for multi-core processors.
FSX-SP2 also fixes some more bugs over the original release of
Flight Simulator X. SP1 is not compatible with SP2 or Acceleration in Multiplayer. People with SP1 cannot enter a session with players who have SP2 or Acceleration in Multiplayer.
According to the documentation users are required to install service pack 1 before installing service pack 2.
Flight Simulator X: Acceleration
Microsoft released their first
expansion packAn expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
for Flight Simulator in years, called
Flight Simulator X: Acceleration, to the US market on October 23, 2007 rated E - E10+ for mild violence, and released to the Australian market on November 1, 2007 rated G.
Acceleration introduces new features, including multiplayer air racing, new missions, and three all-new aircraft, the
F/A-18A HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
, EH-101 helicopter and the P-51D Mustang. In many product reviews, users complained of multiple bugs in the initial release of the pack. One of the bugs, that occurs only in the
Standard Edition, is the
Maule AirMaule Air, Inc. is a manufacturer of light, single-engined, short take-off and landing aircraft, based in Moultrie, Georgia, USA. Maule has delivered 2,500 aircraft in its first 50 years of business.- History :...
Orion aircraft used in the mission has missing gauges and other problems, as it is a
Deluxe Version-only aircraft.
The new scenery enhancements cover Berlin,
IstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
,
Cape CanaveralCape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
and the
Edwards Air Force BaseEdwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, providing high accuracy both in the underlying photo texture (60 cm/pix) and in the detail given to the 3D objects.
Flight Simulator X: Acceleration can take advantage of
Windows VistaWindows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, Windows 7, and DirectX 10 as well.
The expansion pack includes code from both service packs, thus installing them is unnecessary.
- Missions
- Panels
- Conceptual (proposed future) aircraft
- Add-on scenery
- Drivable cars
- Drivable/flyable ships
- Sounds
- Utilities (tools such as a software development kit)
- Additional AI aircraft, taking the form of real life airlines/aircraft
- New "voicepacks" or small programs allowing FSX Air Traffic Control to refer to the user/ai aircraft using the correct callsign i.e. "Heron"
- Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
- System service packs which improve the performance of the program.
Hardware Compatibility
A common criticism of FSX is its apparent requirement for very high performance hardware, and generally being more dependent on a computer with a higher CPU clock speed, with relatively poor utilization of mutliple processing cores.
Unit availability
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
announced in early 2010 that there was currently a shortage of the game in retailers, after receiving complaints. They expressed that they had not stopped manufacturing the popular simulation game, but that there was currently a shortage of available product activation keys. As a result they needed to make an engineering change which resulted in reduced output. New copies of the game returned to shelves around May 2010.
See also
- History of Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator began as a set of articles on computer graphics, written by Bruce Artwick throughout 1976, about flight simulation using 3-D graphics. When the editor of the magazine told Artwick that subscribers were interested in purchasing such a program, Artwick founded subLOGIC...
- Microsoft Flight
Microsoft Flight is the title of a new flight simulator from Microsoft Studios announced in August 2010, intended to replace the long-running discontinued Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise that has existed for nearly 30 years. In January 2011, Microsoft announced it would be compatible with...
- Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
- Computer simulation
A computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...
- List of Games for Windows titles
External links