Microsoft Flight Simulator's next update is expanding the beauty of Japan

In the first of a number of world updates, Microsoft Flight Simulator's next one will focus on expanding the beauty and realism of Japan in the game's world.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator is pretty good. In fact, it’s absolutely stellar and a great bridge to what it feels like we can expect out of the next generation of gaming, but some places aren’t quite as realized as others. Map data can only provide so much when it comes to the actual splendor of some parts of the world. Asobo Studio knows this and is set to expand the beauty of Microsoft Flight Simulator all the more. It begins with the country of Japan in an update coming at the end of this month.

Xbox Game Studios and Asobo Studio announced the Japan World Update for Microsoft Flight Simulator on September 24, 2020 during the Xbox portion of Tokyo Game Show 2020. Coming up on September 29, 2020, Microsoft Flight Simulator’s next update will focus entirely on fleshing out the buildings, terrain, and landmarks of the Land of the Rising Sun. The elevation maps throughout the country will be reworked to truer to form and six cities and airports will be fully realized through high resolution 3D photogrammetry, including Sendai, Takamatsu, Tokushima, Tokyo, Utsunomiya, and Yokohama.

It’s worth noting that this is officially called World Update 1. That is to say, Asobo Studio has more in the works, likely focused on various regions of the world. There’s no doubting that Asobo’s use of Microsoft cloud technology and data-generated maps has paid off in creating a generally beautiful and often fairly accurate world to explore (even if incorrectly entered data sometimes leads to hilariously giant skyscrapers), but sometimes regions have personality and landmarks that auto-generated maps just can’t completely capture. There are many areas of the Japanese nation that could be considered as such and it will be awesome to see what they look like when the new update launches.

As we await the Microsoft Flight Simulator Japan World Update on September 29, be sure to check out other fun stuff that has come to the game, including the recent patch notes and Microsoft Flight Simulator mods.

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

From The Chatty
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    September 24, 2020 7:35 AM

    TJ Denzer posted a new article, Microsoft Flight Simulator's next update is expanding the beauty of Japan

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      September 24, 2020 7:38 AM

      Will there be Gundams? I want there to be Gundams.

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      September 24, 2020 7:41 AM

      Eager to see how they can further break the aircraft and autopilots with the next patch!

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      September 24, 2020 8:14 AM

      Have they fixed/added back the sensitivity options to the control screen yet?

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        September 24, 2020 8:25 AM

        There were no patch notes at this time. We'll be sure to report on them when they drop. Should come pretty soon what with the Sept 29 date.

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      September 24, 2020 10:20 AM

      [deleted]

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      September 24, 2020 10:22 AM

      Hopefully they fix everything the last patch broke too. I haven't been able to play it since the last patch because I can't adjust control sensitivities.

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      September 24, 2020 11:17 AM

      I see a couple of people saying they broke some stuff in the last patch. I did notice a couple of planes 'felt' different but didn't think about it too much. Also autopilot seemed glitchy a couple of times. Overall, though, I was super happy about the performance boost I got, no more stuttering and everything runs much better for me now. Can't say I'm that excited about the Japan improvements, I'd prefer bug fixes and new planes.

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