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Multiplayer is something that most flight simulators haven’t really focused on in the past. FSX used to have a multiplayer platform, however once Microsoft stopped supporting this, FSX lost it’s ability to fly natively in multiplayer.
Microsofts new Flight Simulator has taken the concept of multiplayer and has taken it further then I think most of us expected.
Microsoft divided the experience into three sections for flight. These sections are Life Players, All Players and Groups. Let’s break down what each does.
***Update: Microsoft has released the Pre-Order version of this sim. PRE-ORDER Today. Please note that this link is a paid affiliate link, which means that I earn a small commision if you use my link, however this will not affect your purchase or price in any way. Thanks for the support!
Live Player
In Live Player Mode, you will essentially be flying as a real world pilot. This is the most realism I have seen in a sim. You are actually forced to fly in real world weather, with regulations, real world time and with real world aircraft…. Yes, I mean actual real world aircraft from real life flights.
They are using their servers to pull in live flight tracking into the simulator. So essentially you will be flying with real world pilots and sim pilots. Something that I really didn’t even think of and am so glad that Microsoft was ahead of me on that one.
Now, of course it could get overwhelming with all that traffic. Could you imagine if there were thousands of sim pilots flying out of one airport. IT WOULD BE ABSOLUTE CHAOS. Well luckily the sim will keep things reasonable, by only allowing you to have the closest 50 planes in your sim. This applies to the multiplayer planes, however I don’t believe it applies to the real world planes. I believe those will continue as unrestricted.
All Players
All players is a mode that allows you to fly with no regulations, any weather, any time of day and with no restrictions. This is the mode for that laid back flight where you are skimming around the ground in a very illegal fashion. Also, this will come in handy for that day you just want nice weather and are tired of the constant rain in your area. Really, this is the free flight mode of the sim.
Groups
When you create a group, you essentially restrict the traffic to people who join your group. The person who creates the group can change the weather, time of day or any other settings in regards to the flight. In this mode, your group will the only multiplayer planes that can see you.
Technical Problems this solves
As Microsoft has been in the sim world for a long time, they know the problems that are faced by the average simmer.
This includes the problem that has happen in multiplayer FSX, where the planes would appear and disappear. There are also plane tracking issues that come into effect.
For example, if you have a real world flight going from one location to another and the tracking data gets dropped, what happens to that plane in the sim… Does it go disappear or crash?
Well luckily Microsoft has thought of the answer to these problems. They have an advanced system in place that allows an AI to take over the flight when the signal gets dropped. This allows for the AI to continue the flight until a proper data point is obtained again.
They also state that the sim will be very smooth with multiplayer. There will be no planes jumping around from location to location, just because the data jumps. Essentially Microsoft has found a way to bridge this gap and create an amazing experience.
Are you Excited?
If you are excited about this, then you should check out my YouTube video and Podcast on the subject.
Also, join us in our VR Flight World Community (Facebook Group).
Thanks for reading!
Dan
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