Microsoft Flight Simulator Unveils Upcoming Helicopters and Planes

gamerant.com:

Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most visually and technologically impressive games of this generation, but developer Asobo Studio is intent on continuing this trend for years to come. Asobo has just shared an in-depth look at its content pipeline for Q1 of 2022, and the company's immediate production plans include all-new historical planes and further world updates.

The highlight of these latest Microsoft Flight Simulator development updates is the big Q&A session that developers held, the summary of which was made available on the game's official website. For the most part, Asobo Studio has iterated upon its plans for the official introduction of helicopters into the game, as well as the more immediate content releases over the next couple of months.

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Namely, Microsoft Flight Simulator helicopters won't be coming out anytime soon, with a tentative release date slated for Fall 2022. According to the Q&A, the game's physics engine wasn't outright designed with helicopters in mind, which means Asobo must do ample testing with improved air simulation physics before any further progress could be made. Though helicopter mods are available, they brute force the physics engine rather than working alongside it, which is less than ideal.

Aside from news on helicopter development, the second big reveal was of the next Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update. Featuring an in-depth expansion and detailing of the Australian continent, World Update 7 is launching on January 31st, with World Update 8 slated for March, and set to bring in the same sort of expansion for the Iberian Peninsula. Since the baseline level/map data is brought in from satellite imagery available