Microsoft Flight Simulator: 10 epic things to try

Forget the in-flight meal, fasten that seatbelt and set the autopilot to 10 awesome things you can do in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

If there’s one game that shows how far technology has progressed, it’s the new Microsoft Flight Simulator. Not only is it a technical masterpiece – it can also be visually astonishing. Even the most powerful CPUs and GPUs will struggle to run it at its best.

I mean, this is a game where the bottom row of clouds affect the lighting of the top row of clouds, which in turn affects the shadow cast on the bottom clouds. I’ve said clouds way too much. That’s some serious realism going on.

Available now on PC via Xbox Game Pass or as a normal purchase from the Microsoft Store, never has there been a better time to pretend to be a pilot. And before my Xbox Series X and Series S fans disappear, supposedly there is a console version landing summer 2021.

1) Microsoft Flight Simulator: Control the weather

Want to check out a lunar eclipse or enjoy a glorious sunset? Maybe some snow around the Pyramids in Egypt? Or a white Christmas in the Sahara Desert? All are possible, thanks to Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Flight Conditions feature.

Honestly, one of the coolest things about Microsoft Flight Simulator is that you can fly through challenging weather conditions. Things like freezing winds that frost up your windows and lightning storms that illuminate the surrounding landscape.

And the functionality is impressive. Time of day, time of year, how many clouds are in the sky, how deep the snow is and more – it’s all yours to faff about with. Or use weather data from the real world in real time.

2) Become a storm chaser

Taking the whole realistic weather thing one step further, Microsoft Flight Simulator’s real-time weather data is accurate enough that you can go and fly into an actual storm. In fact, there was a lot of news about players checking out Hurricane Laura back in August 2020.

While it may not look exactly as it does in real life, there’s not as much rain for starters, you do get a sense of scale during Mother Nature’s angrier moments. Plus the cloud formations are really quite beautiful if you have the graphics settings cranked up.

Sadly, it seems that historic weather is only implemented in a limited fashion. But the devs have 10 years of data to use and supposedly it’s working on introducing that. That means witnessing infamous hurricanes and tsunamis could well be possible.

3) Travel anywhere in the world

Microsoft Flight Simulator fits Planet Earth into the game and some of it looks incredible, some of it needs work. Bing just isn’t quite as good as Google yet. But the fun of exploring is exciting enough to make it probably my favourite thing to do.

We’re talking an entire world, our entire world, for you to enjoy. Let that sink in for a second. A few years ago I visited Cape Kolka in Latvia. It was starting to get dark and I wanted to see a sunset at a place where the Open Baltic and Gulf of Riga seas meet. Had to drive a little spiritedly.

Anyway, checking it out in Microsoft Flight Simulator brought back good memories. Yeah, the little Airbnb huts aren’t there and the beach could do with some work. But the fact this random spot in Latvia is accurately portrayed is remarkable.

Likewise, Lovcen National Park in Montenegro is really beautiful and the game does a pretty decent portrayal. My photos and the 3D representation are not worlds apart.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator I can see there is an airport with a dangerous sea landing not that far away – something I was unaware of when I climbed the 461 steps to the mausoleum at the peak.

Annoyingly, relatively few landmarks can be found when using the World Map search. What I do instead is use Google Maps, search a location, right click on the pin on the map and copy the coordinates.

Paste these numbers into the World Map search bar and click on the coordinates. Now you can set this place as an arrival or departure, with the former sticking you right on top for easy exploration. Voila. Or just click on the map anywhere and see what happens.

4) Take awesome photos

The camera control in Microsoft Flight Simulator is extensive to say the least. There is a drone that can follow you, a variety of external camera modes, the ability to focus on a subject to add depth of field and a whole lot more.

For maximum effect, assign a button to Active Pause, then you can pause and play photographer as much as you want. Or just click on the little play button when you point the mouse pointer towards the top of the screen.

Another option is to use the AI control tab in the same menu and let autopilot fly the plane while you shoot.

Sadly, no inflatable co-pilot appears when using this feature, which is a shame for fans of Airplane the movie. What a mod that would be. Hint hint.

5) Attempt tough activities…

While Flight Simulator X ended up having awesome player-made rescues and cargo deliveries, the new game isn’t quite there yet. But for the time being you can delve into various official challenges, including Bush Trips. Stop giggling. So childish.

Anyway these let you, “test your navigation skills and fly long-distance across remote locations,” such as Brockenridge to Mariposa, Unalaska to Kulik Lake and even across Patagonia. Sorry for murdering those place names.

Or if you really want to prove you’re a pilot legend, you can try out numerous landing challenges such as not crashing into the North Sea at Out Skerries or avoiding that big rock at Gibraltar. There are even leaderboards if you want an extra challenge.

6) …Or make up your own awesome challenges

Yeah, who needs mission mods when you have your imagination. How about trying to fly under the Eifel Tower, or through Tower Bridge in London? That doesn’t actually work. Or land on a building, or a river, or pretend to rescue people in a stranded boat in the Bahamas.

You can even mess about with the Failures option when selecting a plane. Here you can enable an oil leak, fuel pump failure, complete engine failure and even a fire – all things you really do not want to experience in real life. Sadly, the damage physics and effects could do with some work.

7) Install EPIC mods

Not only is developer Asobo working on cool new stuff, such as the Japan, America, UK and Ireland content updates, third-parties are too and you can install as many or few as you like. Some are silly, some are fun, some are meant to take simulation very seriously.

Fun mods include flying the Millennium Falcon or an X-Wing from Star Wars. Enjoyable for me are the older World War planes such as the B52 bomber and Spitfire.

Note that some of these recommend you use the legacy control mode, which lives under options, general, Flight Model then Global Preset.

8) Fly supersonic jet planes…

Let’s be honest, Top Gun and Hot Shots made many of us want to be jet pilots. Microsoft Flight Simulator didn’t have any for a while, but now there are a number to choose from – some free, some paid.

I’ll be honest, there’s work to be done on the jet planes I’ve tested. The F16 Raptor, for instance, likes to disintegrate beyond a certain speed and the handling does not translate well to what I’ve seen of actual onboard footage. Also the models can be of a lower resolution.

Still, it’s pretty fun blasting around, breaking the sound barrier at low altitudes without fear of smashing windows and being shot down by the military.

9) …Or pilot helicopters

There are even mods for flying helicopters – just in case you want to fly helicopters. These vertical take-off and landing tins of death require a different approach to master but can be rewarding once you set them up correctly.

Especially once you start trying to land on famous landmarks like Buckingham, but you can also pretend to be a British secret agent or business mogul and land at jet set locations such as Monaco.

10) Try VR

And my last and final point is quite an expensive one, because you need to buy a VR headset. In the case of a PCVR model, you’ll also need to build or buy a PC capable of running the game at a half-decent frame rate.

Is it cheap? Fuck no. Is it awesome? Oh yes. It’s fun to explore and virtual reality makes it more life-like. Even the stomach drops as you rapidly lose altitude are fun and motion sickness is much less of a problem thanks to faster refresh rates and other progress.

Whether you use the budget friendly Oculus Quest 2, its Oculus Rift PC-focussed cousin, the expensive Valve Index or the resolution king that is the HP Reverb G2, which features in this video, the experience can be enthralling.

Just be sure to set buttons for the VR mode (I use CTRL+ALT+SHIFT) and VR camera reset. And maybe accidentally purchase a proper flight stick and other accessories for that true-ish pilot experience.