If you fancy testing your PC like never before while taking control of some of the world's most capable commercial jets and planes, then July 30 is a date to set in your diary. Microsoft's next-generation Flight Simulator is set to enter closed beta on July 30, giving access to the wider world to the first flight sim its released in over a decade.
Employing a variety of new visual and real time tracking technologies, Flight Simulator could be the most realistic look game ever made. It combines ultra high resolution textures, with ray tracing, real mapped airports, cities, and landscapes, even using cloud computing to render realtime weather from around the world while you play. That means it not only demands a high-end graphics card and processor, but a high-speed internet connection with a high data cap as you will chew through a lot of data just playing it for a few hours.
The plan for this next phase of testing is to bring the game to a wider selection of players and hardware, helping to discover and iron out more bugs and issues which need fixing before a general release later this year. Features are set, but there will be no additions in the months to come, alongside a general polish and tweak of the gameplay experience.
The beta will not be open to the general public, but will broaden its tester base beyond the original alpha testers. If you've already signed up to show your interest in testing the game, there's a chance you'll be contacted and included. If you haven't, you can sign up now to be in with a chance of joining the closed beta. Just head to the official Flight Simulator website and register for insider status.
