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Microsoft Flight Simulator X (known in the Flight Simulator community also as simply FSX) is the next version of Microsoft Flight Simulator after Flight Simulator 2004. It includes a graphics engine upgrade as well as compatibility with Direct3D 10 and Windows Vista, having been hailed as the most important technological milestone in the series to date.
Introduction Flight Simulator X marks the tenth version of the popular line of simulators. PC Gamer had incorrectly reported in its January 2006 edition that the game will be released in February 2006. This report was premature and Microsoft has since corrected the information in subsequent press releases. It was officially released to the US market on October 17. According to Microsoft's Web site for the game, a standard edition (USD $49.99) will feature 18 planes, 28 detailed cities, and 40 highly detailed airports. A deluxe version ($69.99) will feature 24 types of aircraft, 38 highly detailed cities, and 45 highly detailed airports. Microsoft has released details and screenshots of the upcoming simulator including mission-based gameplay with mission specific aircraft as well as an upgraded rendering engine capable of increased detail. Flight Simulator X was officially unveiled at the 2006 international Consumer Electronics Show (CES) as a gaming showcase for Microsoft Windows Vista. Microsoft has released screenshots as well as a list of frequently asked questions as a press release on Microsoft Flight Simulator Insider, as well as numerous flight simulator communities (see External links). Following the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 2006, new screenshots, videos and an official trailer were published by Microsoft. The overall reaction by the community has been quite positive, and the graphical quality of the simulator has greatly increased. Demo versions Flight Simulator X is notable for being the first product in Microsoft's Flight Simulator series to have a game demo, which contains a subset of features of the retail product. Note: Windows XP Service Pack 2 is required for installing the demo. The first limited demo of Flight Simulator X was released to the public on August 9, 2006, and put up for download on the official website. Even though playable, the August demo represented a beta release of the product, and had a number of bugs, some of which were recognized in the official installation's README file. On October 2, 2006 the demo was superseded by a newer release, which, besides having fewer bugs, is almost identical to the first demo. The DHC-2 Beaver was removed in favor of a Learjet 45. Both the demos feature Saint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles and the surrounding area only (as opposed to the entire world), including the Princess Juliana International Airport. There are four playable aircraft (Bombardier CRJ-700, Beechcraft 58, DHC-2 Beaver/Learjet 45 and an ultralight aircraft), and three missions, one of which is actually an introductory tutorial. Standard vs. Deluxe Edition Flight Simulator X was released in two editions, Standard and Deluxe. As can be seen below, Deluxe incorporates some additional features, which are known to include an on-disk Software Development Kit (SDK), three airplanes with the Garmin G1000 Flight Deck, and player Air Traffic Control.• In addition, the Deluxe Edition features 24 aircraft compared to 18 in the Standard Edition, 45 high-detail airports compared to 40, 38 high-detail cities compared to 28, and 50+ structured missions compared to 30+. New features
Aircraft Rewards Pilots earn rewards for completing various missions and reaching specific accomplishments throughout the game. The following is a list of known rewards: | |valign="top" align="left" width=33%| Certificates Trophies Medals (Tutorial #) |valign="top" width=33%| Badges Special Items Postcards See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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