Microsoft Flight Simulator X to Flight Sim 2020: How Far Have We Come?

Published 08/24/2020, 2:31 PM EDT

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The latest installment in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series is definitely beautiful in terms of the visuals. It presents a hyper-realistic rendition of the world. In fact, Nvidia GeForce recently launched an updated graphics driver to provide the best experience for the game.

The previous installment of the series had released around 15 years ago and featured quite impressive visuals for its time. A comparison between that and the current installment was inevitable. It does not just show the evolution of the game, but also how far graphics and detailing have come in the evolution of gaming.

From Microsoft Flight Simulator X to Flight Sim 2020: Improved lights, terrain, and vivid details

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In this comparison, we will look at the difference between the quality of the graphics of the two games.

The first major point we will explore is the texture. Of course, the current title features way more detail than the previous one.

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Further reading: Microsoft Picks a Side in the Battle Between Epic and Apple

Although the models of the planes available in the game are similar, the detailing in the 2020 title is breathtaking. We now have improved shaders and a higher polygon count. When you look at the windows, you can actually see the interior of the plane in vivid detail.

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Due to the hyper-realistic light design, the cockpit and its components do not look like they have been photoshopped together anymore. Even the LED indicators look like they are emitting trace amounts of light rather than just having different color schemes.

The same goes for the overall terrain of the world. The game uses real elevation data of the terrain it portrays. So, as far as detailed terrain is concerned, the game has knocked it out of the park. Furthermore, Flight Sim 2020 uses a cloud stream system that lets the game render the world continuously, as realistically as it can. In some areas, you can even spot the presence of fauna.

The amount of time it takes to get from one place to another on a flight is realistic too.

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In addition to that, we have highly detailed and improved lighting. An example of this is the light design on the sky. Now we have detailed light on fogs while flying during the dawn or evening. Along with this, you can see rays of light passing through clouds as well.

Overall, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is the perfect example of the development that we have witnessed in gaming over the years.

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Written by:

Samyarup Chowdhury

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Samyarup Chowdhury is an eSports author at EssentiallySports since June 2020. An avid gamer since his childhood, Samyarup has played many titles such as GTA Vice City, IGI, and FIFA, among others. Currently, he is a rather defensive fan of Valorant and the Assassin's Creed franchise.
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