Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024‘s latest update is one that’ll be close to home for many readers. After years of working to upgrade various pieces of the game’s virtual map, the Microsoft Flight Simulator team has finally put Australia back in the spotlight.
New content ranges over local landmarks and key locations, also bringing in famous Australian aircraft and even rescue missions inspired by the work of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. It’s all in service of honouring local heroes and offering what the developers like to call ‘digital tourism’.
For those living outside the country, Australia ‘seems really unattainable for most people,’ says Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator. ‘I think it’s … a part of the world that people are really, really interested in. Just for that, it’s worth doing.’
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 update – quick links
The decision to release an Australian update
As Neumann tells ScreenHub, there’s also so much to celebrate about Australia, and so much that excites the Microsoft Flight Simulator development team and the game’s fan community.
For one thing, it’s the country with the third highest number of airports and the fifth highest number of private aircraft. It draws the interest of plane enthusiasts of all kinds, including those with personal ties to historic events, from wars to world-crossing feats.
It’s also a beautiful country to explore by sky, with towering monuments dotting the skylines of each state and territory.
For those who live in Australia, the country’s natural beauty is no secret. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 World Update 21: Australia attempts to capture some of that for a global audience, with a focus on delivering more detailed maps that highlight everything the country has to offer.
With this latest update, players can now explore and fly over an array of ‘big things’, including the Big Koala, the Big Mango, the Big Orange, the Golden Guitar and the Big Lobster.
They can also visit historic buildings and monuments, including the CSIRO Radio Telescope & Observatory in Parkes, as featured in The Dish (2000), along with Blowering Dam in New South Wales, London Bridge in Victoria and the Blue Lake Pumping Station and Troubridge Island Lighthouse in South Australia.
The update also takes in the Murray Valley National Park in New South Wales, Townsville, Coffs Harbour, and more. ‘It’s really important to reinstil the sense of awe and freedom that have in airplanes,’ Neumann says.
‘I think a lot about the dream of flight, and where it all comes from. I think it’s embedded in us as a species,’ he adds.
‘You can go back to antiquity and everybody’s been dreaming about it. Leonardo [da Vinci] was experimenting with it … I think the dream of aviation persists and endures, and we are shepherding that along as we play our part.’
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is the evolution of the long-running MFS franchise, and shares the original game’s goal: to allow players to ‘see the world’ with ‘no boundaries, total freedom,’ Neumann says.
Over the decades since the series debuted on IBM PC, the advancement of technology – such as the complex aerial imagery created by Vexcel – has led to near-photorealistic fantasies. It has allowed Microsoft Flight Simulator to function as a unique form of tourism simulator, allowing anyone to fly over countries at will, all while enjoying the fantasy of taking to the skies.
Spotlighting the work of the NSW Rural Fire Service
Beyond improving the map and the accuracy of the representation of Australia, the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 update also adds new firefighting missions inspired by the real-life work of the NSW RFS, the largest volunteer fire service in the world.
As Neumann explains, the Microsoft Flight Simulator team has actually had difficulty getting access to relevant organisations in the past, as many are simply too busy to engage in dialogue or consultation.
In looking to spotlight the work of real world aviators and improve the accuracy and realism of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, the team was eventually connected with the NSW RFS, which was able to share insights into firefighting methods and activities. This detail was then used to strengthen the newly-available missions in the game.
‘I love how much it’s about volunteerism,’ Neumann says. ‘It’s the country rallying behind something like this – it’s a wonderful story.’
The NSW RFS was consulted on all aspects of the depiction of firefighting in the game, delivering insight into scooping water by plane, as well as how simulation training can help to inspire and direct crew members.
While the focus of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series is specifically on flying emergency services, and can’t tell the whole story about the coordination and management of threats, it aims to be as realistic as possible in its depiction.
Jayson McKellar AFSM, NSW’s Director of Aviation, Assistant Commissioner, said in a recent Xbox Wire post: ‘The addition helps build awareness of the complexity involved in aerial firefighting. If people gain a better understanding of how aircraft support firefighting operations, that is a positive outcome.
‘It is also a great opportunity for those with a keen interest in aviation to better understand the role of aerial firefighting and the possibility of career paths within the sector locally. The more dedicated and highly trained professionals we have in this field, the better.’
Integrating Australian history into Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
As well as representing Australia in modernity, this latest update also goes beyond, to share more about Australia’s history of aviation.
Diving into the update, players will be able to claim a free virtual version of the Southern Cross, a Fokker F.VIIB/3M monoplane made famous by Charles Kingsford Smith during his trans-Pacific flight to Australia from the United States in 1928 (and introduced into the MSF series in 2022).
They’ll also be able to claim and fly a debuting CAC Boomerang, the only historic fighter aircraft designed and manufactured entirely within Australia.
This plane was developed in 1942 to fill an urgent need during the second world war, with manufacturer Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation creating the plane and ensuring it was operational in just over 16 weeks.
At the end of its production run, around 250 units were made. A few reportedly remain in airworthy condition, as a testament to their construction.
‘What’s cool about it? There’s a history,’ Neumman says. ‘It has a special place here in Australia. There’s still some flying, and people are maintaining those planes. That, to me, is where authenticity comes from, those people who live aviation in Australia.’
Neumann hopes he and the Microsoft Flight Simulator team have done this history, and the country of Australia, justice with this new update.
‘I hope it makes [Australians] proud to see their country represented … just take a look at your own country. Fly around, check it out. It’s beautiful, you know? It really is.’
There’s so much more of this beauty to see with the latest game update.
