Mike S

Yeah, it certainly looks like that. I assumed the base game would just include all the released world updates and so on but maybe not so that will be a fair chunk of extra data for new players to download. On topic, I expect it is too much to hope that MS/Asobo might have streamlined the content manager a little for the console release as it is currently a bit of a PITA.

There are times when the clouds and the lighting are so realistic it is almost unbelievable. London in that video you linked to looks odd though and not at all as well finished as I recall it last time I flew over the city. I'm sure it was improved a fair bit with the UK world update a while back although I do have the third party London pack installed so maybe that is why it looks so different.

I've had a very pleasant few hours joy riding this afternoon. First a flight over the pleasingly hilly Naples, around the summit of Vesuvius, and back over the city. Then up to Zurich which, to be fair, was less exciting. Edinburgh fly over next with a few dives under the Forth Rail bridge but not the road bridge as that seems to have an invisible barrier down to the sea surface. I ended up island hopping around the beautiful Outer Hebrides with the only aggravation being that the Callanish standing stones were ruined by a random AI tree cluster right in their centre but otherwise it was all beautiful white beaches and wild country. Finished the session up with a landing on the beach air strip at Barra too:

Someone will definitely be doing that.

Yeah, it's a strange old community over there. I spent a few months in the Falklands and the locals there who, by almost any standards, are pretty insular and a bit odd often tutted about how strange the folk over on Tristan de Cunha and Saint Helena were. They seemed to quite like the people on Ascension though but that might be due to that being a refueling stop off on any flights to the UK. All that aside, I'm not sure how great a flight to Tristan might be as it will, by any route you might choose, be hours and hours and hours of empty ocean before reaching a quite badly rendered, tiny, island without an airport. Which seems like a trial to me but hey, it's that sort of game and that may be your jam whereas I just joyride over scenic spots and rarely bother with take off let alone landing. That's the beauty of the sim though - it can be as casual or as ludicrously hardcore as the player wishes and all approaches are cool.

Indeed. If its not a photogrammetry city then the buildings will be AI guesses and those can be a little reality breaking. I tend to stick to remote locations as natural scenery is usually, bar the odd tree infestation, more accurate. Also, I went into that museum in Norwich many, many years ago and still remember the mummified cat as I was particularly amused by its ears being individually wrapped and, IIRC, a cat face having been drawn on for good measure. It was very entertaining.

The excess of trees is a current problem and it can be annoying and jarring. Iceland, for example, is way too forested in places. As always at the optimum sight seeing height of 4000ft or so this becomes less noticeable. The best thing in that xbox video is confirmation that we can now zoom into satellite data when picking start and end points of flights. That is a much needed and long overdue QOL improvement. Also, @Uncle NastyI can confirm that Tristan de Cunha is present but also that it is poorly imaged, just being a dull green blob with none of the volcanic detail you'd hope for. I left but stuck with the South Atlantic theme and instead spent half an hour flying from Port Stanley to Mount Pleasance in the Falklands instead. Aside from the oddness of completely inappropriate AI buildings it was very fine indeed.

I'd recommend a pad over a keyboard and mouse if possible. A pad will be a more than adequate way of playing the game as it is really only the very dedicated, hours and hours per day/week, simmers that need a stick/throttle/pedals/etc. Certainly for my casual joy riding of an hour or so a week I have never felt I need for the additional clutter (and expense) of a full set up. YMMV of course, subject to how hard you get into it..

Yeah, the Cav come back and his unimaginable matching of Mercx's record have been the highlights of a less than brilliant Tour. His reactions, and those of his team and, indeed, other riders have been amazing and genuine expressions of raw emotion. Shame all the first week crashes did so much harm to the race as a GC competition, and I still have doubts about Pogacar, but roll on next year as it remains one of the great sporting spectacles. I do hope Cav has the form and opportunity to get that 35th win next time out. Right, when's the Vuelta?

Yeah, the DCQ train has been incredible to watch, certainly the highlight of the Tour for me as it is is such a demonstration of laser focussed team power. On that note, it's been a shame to have two ITT's this year, and no TTT, as ITT's are pretty dull viewing whereas a streamlined, tucked in, team bombing along is at least cool to watch.

The problem I referred to was actually finding a location when planning a flight. Currently, the map is a featureless expanse which only shows airfields and the points of interest Asbo have modelled. No towns are shown never mind roads, topography, etc which makes it a massive hassle if you want to fly over a specific feature. Then, as others have pointed out, unless it’s a photogrammetry city or location then the buildings will be AI interpretations based (presumably) on the satellite image which can be disconcerting when familiar with a town. Most of that unreality is lost when flying at a sweet spot of ~4,000ft as Foote suggests and that is where the world looks uncannily real. Anyways, I shall be attempting to find the Grand Teton National Park for today’s joy ride!

Place names and a proper map is good enough for me for starters and will be a real help on my remote sight seeing jaunts. Excellent!

I hope you live in a significant town or city, preferably with a nearby airport, as otherwise it will be a drag to find your house as the mapping is the absolute worst. Top of the list for fixing should be the globe that remains a blank landmass showing airports and any features of special interest that Asbo have included in the game which I guess is fine if one just wishes to fly from airfield to airfield or to said landmarks. If you want to sightsee by just flying up, for example, a specific mountain vallley in the Lake District then it is a case of dropping your plane in the roughly correct area and then hoping to be able to visually identify it whilst flying about. Why they cannot use the MS mapping that the game draws upon in order to choose flight start and finishes remains beyond my comprehension as it would be a huge QOL improvement and still a long way from gamifying the sim.

So it's the same as the PC? As that is the case I really would reiterate the advice to not buy any edition if you have GP. Certainly not before you try it and see that there is more than enough fully modelled airports, places, and planes to last you a lifetime and more.

There is but it is called Google Earth. Seriously though, the actual flying (of the little planes) can be made pretty simple, to the extent that landing is the only real challenge. But the landing is fun and the landing challenges can get a little obsessive..