Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator

The new Boeing 747-8i is shown off in these new screenshots for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

@anthony256

Published May 23, 2020 11:36 PM CDT
Updated Nov 3, 2020 11:43 AM CST

2 minutes & 34 seconds read time

Microsoft Flight Simulator is shaping up beautifully, with a batch of new screenshots released to prove it. The new screenshots come from the on-going alpha build of the game, and tease the new Boeing 747-8i, too.

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 08

VIEW GALLERY - 10 IMAGES

The new screenshots of Flight Simulator come from a new post on the official website, with alpha testers submitting their screenshots. These alpha testers include Simtom112, King6EAR, Speedwoblz, Anark1a2004tj, Superdelphinus, OperatorLand468, SulfonicCarp982, R4microds, and BER811.

The Flight Simulator team teased that there will be new invites being sent out in the coming hours, with a new patch arriving to the game on May 28. A bunch of stuff was tweaked with the new Alpha 3 (built 1.3.9.0) that was released on May 14, with a gigantic list of full patch notes here.

Check out the new batch of screenshots below:

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 04

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 09

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 06

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 05

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 11

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 03

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 10

See what I mean? It's shaping up really well, and this is all in alpha builds and nowhere near the finished product. I can't wait to see what Flight Simulator looks like when it's in final form, on some deliciously-fast PC hardware (and a 50Mbps+ internet connection).

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 07

More reading on Microsoft Flight Simulator

Here's the new batch of screenshots of Microsoft Flight Simulator 02

What you need to run it: You will need at least 150GB of storage space to install Flight Simulator, with a 5Mbps internet connection as a bare minimum to take off. The "ideal spec" advised by Microsoft requires a 50Mbps internet connection and a much higher-end CPU and GPU to run it. Check the PC requirements for Flight Simulator here.

Adaptive Streaming: This is some of the cloud-based magic Microsoft is using on Flight Simulator, which teh company is doing special with the game. You can read more about that here.

Flight Simulator uses Bing Maps: Microsoft is tapping its in-house Bing Maps to provide Flight Simulator with real-world locations that don't just look out-of-this-world, but they are our world. More on that here.

Real-time weather, including lightning cracking inside of clouds: Yeah, I'm not kidding around -- Microsoft is injecting a gigantic 600km draw distance into Flight Simulator, so under the right weather conditions -- and granted you have the PC hardware to handle it, you're going to see storms hundreds of miles away. Not just that, but there will be lightning cracking inside of the clouds... yeah, I know.

Feature Discovery Series on Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft has an awesome 'Feature Discovery Series' that goes into detail about Flight Simulator, from aerodynamics and the soundscape of the game, right through to the cockpits and the multiplayer. Check them out below: