Breaking News English

Microsoft Flight Simulator includes all world airports

Flight Simulator - Level 0

Microsoft's Flight Simulator now has all the world's airports. Gamers can take off from and land at 37,000 airports. These include international airports like New York's JFK, and landing strips in the middle of deserts or on top of mountains. Designers used satellite photos to make the airports look like the real airports.

The graphics are better in the new game. There are windsocks blowing in the wind and service trucks driving around. The runways are like the real runways. The lead designer said: "We decided to [use] real satellite pictures...and edit each airport manually." The result is that every airport is "a step closer to reality".

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Flight Simulator - Level 1

Microsoft's Flight Simulator now includes all the world's airports. Gamers can choose over 37,000 airports to take off from and land at. The older game included 24,000 airports. The new game has international airports like New York's JFK. It also has tiny grassy landing strips and runways in the middle of deserts or on top of mountains. The airports have been manually designed to look like the real airports. Designers used satellite images to do this.

The graphics are better and more detailed in the new game. There are windsocks blowing in the wind and service vehicles driving around the runways. The runway markings in the game are like those on the real runways. The lead designer said: "To reach a new level, we needed a new approach. We decided to [use] real satellite pictures. This technique involves editing each airport manually." The result is that every airport is "a step closer to reality".

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Flight Simulator - Level 2

Slowest

Microsoft's Flight Simulator now includes every airport in the world. Gamers will have a choice of over 37,000 airports to take off from and land at. The previous version of the game included just 24,000 airports. The new game includes international hubs like New York's JFK and London Heathrow. It also has tiny grassy landing strips and runways in the middle of deserts or on the top of mountains. The 37,000 airports in Flight Simulator have been manually designed to look like the real airports. Designers used images from satellites and Bing Maps to do this.

The graphics are much better in the new game. The designers put a lot of effort into increasing the level of detail. There are windsocks blowing in the wind and service vehicles driving around next to the runways. The runway markings in the game are the same as those on the real runways. The lead game designer said: "To reach a new level, we needed a new approach. We decided to innovate by editing airports from real satellite pictures. This technique involves editing each airport manually. This means we paid particular attention to detail to bring every airport a step closer to reality."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Flight Simulator - Level 3

The Microsoft airplane game Flight Simulator has been upgraded to include every airport in the world. This means gamers will have a choice of over 37,000 airports to take off from and land at. The upgrade has added over 13,000 new airports to the previous version of the game, which included 24,000 airports. The game includes international hubs like New York's JFK and London Heathrow. It also includes tiny airports like rural, grassy landing strips and runways that are in the middle of deserts or on the top of mountains. The 37,000 airports in Flight Simulator have been manually designed to look like the real airports. Designers used satellite images and Bing Maps to do this.

The graphics are also much better in the latest release of Flight Simulator. The designers put a lot of work and effort into increasing the level of detail you see. Gamers will see windsocks blowing in the wind and service vehicles driving around the roads next to the runways. The markings on the runways in the game are the same as those on the real runways. Lead game designer Sven Mestas said: "To reach a new level, we needed a new approach. We decided to innovate by editing airports from real satellite pictures. This technique involves editing each airport manually. This means we paid particular attention to detail to bring every airport a step closer to reality."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson