Microsoft – Microsoft Flight Simulator Introduces Real-Time Snow In Happy New Year Message

The year is getting off to a snowy start in Microsoft Flight Simulator thanks to the new real-time snow update.

Welcome to 2021. We’re really hoping this year starts off a little better than last year’s, and so is Microsoft and Asobo Studio, makers of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

In a video message issued today, the developers wished all their virtual pilots a Happy New Year and also promised to make Microsoft Flight Simulator the best platform it can possibly be. And along with that festive message came an even more festive update that brings a certain majesty to MS Flight Simulator.

The “Let It Snow” does exactly what it says: real-time snow effects are now a standard feature of flying in northern latitudes where it is currently wintertime. To showcase the new climate effects, the trailer starts off with a Cessna flying past Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany. The ground is covered in fresh powder, while other scenes from around the world show a frozen, wintery landscape, including frozen lakes and oceans.

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As with other weather effects in Microsoft Simulator, snowy weather updates in real-time based on where the player is flying. Fly over the Norwegian fjords and you’ll see a coastline coated in white and ice-covered lakes dotting the landscapes. Fly into the Alps and experience snow-covered caps and powder-filled ski slopes from the comfortably air-conditioned cabin of your aircraft.

Microsoft Flight Simulator recently received VR support to allow you to experience snowy mountains using either Oculus, Valve, HTC, or Windows Mixed Reality headset. Additionally, the devs revealed a host of interesting factoids about Microsoft Flight Simulator, including that the game just passed 2 million users that have flown 50 million separate flight plans.

MS Flight Simulator is available now on PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store. A console version is planned for sometime later in 2021, including the Xbox Series X.

Source: Microsoft

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Actually a collective of 6 hamsters piloting a human-shaped robot, Sean hails from Toronto, Canada. Passionate about gaming from a young age, those hamsters would probably have taken over the world by now if they didn’t vastly prefer playing and writing about video games instead.

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