Microsoft Flight Simulator in the test - also on the Xbox Series X / S flight 1st class

Dear guests, Buckle, we start now with the landing approach of the Microsoft Flight Simulator on the Xbox Series X / s. In other words, after Hobbypiloten and hardcore simulation fans have been allowed to place in cockpit for almost a year on the PC, the Xbox is finally on board.

Basically, the same flight simulator is on the Xbox as on the PC. Realism and complexity do not turn off, according to official statements, here and there, however, there are small turbulence, which we have to accept. But enough of the flight metaphors and purely in the console test, which focuses mainly on flight beginners.

Note: We tested the MS Flight Simulator on the Xbox Series X with the Xbox controller and full satellite streaming. Periphery Devices were not available.

The hard facts in short

• Developer: Asobo Studio
• Platform: Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S
• Reaver Via: Microsoft Store, Game Pass, Disc version
• Versions: Standard, Deluxe, Premium Deluxe
• Storage space: Around 102 GB incl. Offline mode + optional upgrades and updates
• Periphery usable: Yes
• Mods: about internal marketplace
• Multiplayer: Yes, but only online
• CrossSplay: Yes
• Cross-Save: Yes

What is the Microsoft Flight Simulator?

The flight simulator and no game in the conventional sense. Anyone who expects a story with missions and one end here is disappointed. Instead, the charm of Flight Simulator is just exactly what the name says: in the simulation of flights, with attention to detail. Aircraft are modeled in reality and react quasi as in real life on influences such as frost and airflow. The MS Flight Simulator is therefore the way the goal.

How does the flight simulator form the world? To be able to simulate the entire world, the MS Flight Simulator resorts to satellite and map data, which are among other things from Bing Maps. The BlackShark Ki reconstructs a credible world where it can lead to deviations, but roads, buildings, etc. realistically placed. Selected places are also billed by hand and thus offer a higher degree of detail.

Can I play offline? Yes, after the first start, we can switch to offline mode in the settings, but the approximately 60 GB has to be installed with offline mode. After the first game startup it can be set.

In order to be able to enjoy the simulation in the best quality and full size, a permanent internet connection is needed to stream live weather and map data, among other things.

That's in the Flight Simulator on the Xbox

Which modes are there? There is neither a story campaign, nor unlockable content. This is not a must for a simulation, but would have just been a plus for beginners. After all, there is a few other activities that bring a bit of variety in addition to the free flight mode:

• Freedom flight mode: There are no limits here. On a rotatable earth globe we can freely choose place and settings (weather, ki, plane, etc.). We already start in the air, can alternatively but also choose airports for start and landing. A search function helps us find certain airports and sights. But we can also enter real-real coordinates, which we need to look for ourselves on the internet. This is a bit awkward, but is more efficient than looking through the text input something. When we enter Tokyo in the search, we got airports displayed, but not the Japanese city, but results on the west coast of the USA.
• Discovery flights: We can discover famous sights and places with specified aircraft and weather conditions. These include, for example, the Egyptian pyramids and Paris. That's nice, but can also be set up quickly by free flight.
• Flight School: If you want to dip deeper into the simulation, you can have instruments, start and landing, vision flight navigation and more step by step. To the side are stoning flight instructors that make your job well and do not overgrow us.
• Country challenges: Here it is important to master landings under difficult conditions. The advantage here: we do not have to research yourself which flight places require us a little more, if we want to put ourselves on the test. For this, the Flight Simulator supplies too little information about the airports.
• Wilderness flights: We have to prove our navigation coast about thinly populated areas such as Iceland on a route. So it feels more realistic again.

What kind of aircraft are there? Depending on the version you expect 20, 25 or 30 aircraft models that are also different. These are divided into:

• Traffic aircraft: These include large passenger aircraft, e.g. from Airbus and Boeing. They fly high and fast, but control beams. However, to land such a Boliden has its own charm.
• Nozzle aircraft: These small jets are particularly known as a flying conference room and allow about a height of 45,000 feet (about 13 km).
• Turbo-props: Equipped with propeller turbines, they consume less fuel, but are also slower and do not manage as high as the jet aircraft.
• Propeller airplanes: More bushpilot feeling, on the other hand, are available with the propeller machines, which are slow in comparison, but are agile.

How realistic is the game world? The MS Flight Simulator forms through data and Ki the whole world - including live weather and live air traffic, but (still) unfortunately without the season's system. In numbers, Microsoft calls over 37,000 airports, 2 million cities and 1.5 million buildings. Some of them are hand-drawn (World updates), but especially in the low flight, the coarse textures of the objects fall uninterested. And even mistakes like too high buildings are possible:

For a more convincing feeling, traffic and animals are simulated. So we can recognize moving cars on the streets or observe elephants in Africa. From a realistic traffic system we can not speak here, but at least the world feels a bit animated. The radio claims also contribute positively to the atmosphere in the plane.

What does the simulator in the field of accessibility? The MS Flight Simulator offers simple settings, such as changing the text size, interface scaling and cursor speed. The color matching on red, green and blue blindness is also possible. However, subtitles can only be turned out and exhibited, but unfortunately do not change in size, position and color.

For this, Microsoft's Adaptive Controller is supported and there is a screen speech output - at least theoretically, in the test, the function could not be activated at least. Compared to many other games here is still some air up here.

You want more? You get more!

What free updates are there? Developer Asobo feeds the MS Flight Simulator with sim-updates, which, for example, improve the weather. In addition, five World updates have been published so far, which again highlights the degree of detail. This ensures nicer excursions above the following areas:

• Japan
• USA
• Great Britain & Ireland
• France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg
• Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden)

There are mod support? Unlike the PC version, where we can access, for example, on all sorts of mods from pages like nexusmods, there are on the Xbox free modifications only through the marketplace in the Flight Simulator. These are so far only additional contents such as an improved Garmin navigation device or third-party aircraft models.

Which payment DLCs are there? Not only the premium and deluxe upgrades deliver new content such as aircraft and hand-built airports, there are also further payment content from third parties in the marketplace. These include aircraft, landmarks, airfields and activities. However, some of them are only available on the PC at the time of the test, such as the Fighting Jet A-10 Thunderbolt.

Everyone can conquer the air - too!

For whom is the MS Flight Simulator suitable? If you are looking for a classic game with specifications and an end, will not find it here. As a simulation, the Flight Simulator gives us only the tools in the hand with which we have to decide for ourselves what we do.

With its versatile adjustment options, however, every * R can still put into a cockpit to travel to the world. Whether beginner * in, advanced or aviator ass, we can customize the degree of simulation with helpful assistants and conquer the air. A flight school also helps to get in touch.

What are the difficulty levels? There are three prefabricated difficulty levels (all supports, middle ground and realistic) that automatically adjust the individual options such as icing effects and KI flow protection protection. But we can also set everything individually, for example, completely turn off all navigation aids while we get support only with selected points in the pilot control. So we tinker our very individual difficulty.

If there are still problems in the air, we can always help further aid such as a checklist (goals) or support the KI (e.g., flow exchanges and land aid) or even completely via car pilot.

How do I start a flight? This always comes to the type of flight and our selection. If you do not want to struggle with start and landing, you can also enter a flight at any time in the free flight mode. We do not even have to pretend a route, but can glide freely through the air. Discovery flights take us even more work, as location, plane and weather are specified.

The practical example looks like this as follows: At the very first flight in our test, we started a discovery flight over the Pyramids of Giza without a spark. After choosing in the menu and a small loading time we found ourselves directly in the airing over the pyramids. Through all activated flight assistants we could keep ourselves without problems in the air, first curves fly and enjoy the sunset. But since we have the curves and wedding flights too very aligned - from test purposes, we understood at some point then a fracture landing.

What happens when I crashes? For example, we will not get the flow breakfast despite KI help, we end up with the aircraft nose on the bottom of the facts. At the end, the Flight Simulator is also no arcade playground on a simple level, but a simulation.

With all support systems, however, the plane passes nothing during the crash. Mostly landed it was so unfavorable that we must manually choose a reboot of the flight, unless the aircraft is still driving and avid, we can also try to get the bird in the air. To avoid such moments, a re-spool function would be practical, but they do not exist so far.

Can I operate with the MS Flight Simulator Sightseeing? Yes and No. Although we can fly out of the world famous hotspots everywhere in the world as the Statue of Liberty in New York and get them optionally marked, but greatly prepared information is not available. We are here at a flight and no tourism simulation, an audio guide would be quite practical here and would just provide value for globetrotter.

There is a photo mode? There is no creative photomodus with filters and stickers. But we can stop the gameplay via the "active pause" in the quick access menu. So we can adjust the camera in peace, but also weather and more to make screenshots. For this purpose, the "showcase" view offers itself. But beware: Before we fly forward, we have to leave it again so we have the control of the plane again.

How does the multiplayer? Who feels a bit lonely in the air can also enter the multiplayer. For this purpose, however, the Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Live Gold is needed. The online multiplayer shares in three modes, which can be adjusted before the flight next to aircraft model, air traffic, weather, etc.:

• Live Player: If you have activated "live players" and have the same air traffic settings, these players are displayed in. We recommend this setting for an authentic experience.
• All players: Independent of the settings (except with "only group") all players are potentially visible. However, since this could quickly become too much, the result is luckily limited to a maximum of 50 digital pilot in its own area.
• Only groups: Only players are visible in the own group. Although we can not (yet) do not sit together in a cockpit, but explore the world with friends invited via the profile in each case.

Technology on the Xbox Series X / S with light turbulence

How well does the controller control work? The controller control is somewhat getting used to, but works very solid in flight without a high degree of simulation and can be configured. For example, the control horn ("steering wheel") reacts sensituously on slow inputs. In the menus and in most instruments in the cockpit, however, it proves to be quite fiddly. So it is a patience work to select certain buttons in large and detailed cockpits. In the menu, the simulated cursor also slips past the target field. Also text inputs in search fields clearly benefits from the mouse and keyboard on the PC.

How does the Flight Simulator are graphic?

• Resolution: 4K
• HDR: Yes (HDR10)
• FPS: 30FPS

The MS Flight Simulator is a very ambitious project, photorealism down to the smallest detail can still nobody expect at the Open World. For such a large project, the world can still be seen on the Xbox Series X / S. Such a flight over Paris is pretty at dusk and like to be connected with a strong long-distance wicker. Who wants to maintain this sequence, should not fly too close to objects, otherwise the world will be overwhelless. For this, the Flight Simulator plays the muscles all the more in the aircraft models and weather effects:

Which technical problems do I have to calculate? Bugs have not noticed us. For this, the game crashed two, three times off. At the loading times, however, we have to set ourselves, despite faster SSD, on charging screens, which often end with a handle to the smartphone, as it takes something. For this, the Xbox Series X remained pleasantly quiet during a long session and did not warmly heat up.

The sticking point are ruckler , which occur especially with detailed environment with elaborate weather effects. Micro sugler usually does not necessarily fall in weight, but in cities such as London, which are even more detailed thanks to a World Update, we must make clearly clarified with burglaries and open objects.