Microsoft Flight Simulator alpha testing starts this month

Registration for the first stage of Microsoft Flight Simulator testing is due to end this week, with the Alpha versions of the sim being available in two stages between 24^th October until the end of November.

Alpha testing is due to commence on 24^th October, with a further round of tests due in November. However, the November start date is yet to be confirmed by Microsoft. The team behind Microsoft Flight Simulator has also started a subscription-only vlog series for people who have signed up for the Microsoft Flight Simulator Insider Program. The first instalment of the vlog has been ripped and uploaded to YouTube which was found by PCGamer.

Technical alpha recruitment for Microsoft Flight Simulator will come to an end this week in preparation for the alpha gameplay to actually start. Players will receive confirmation from Microsoft if they have been accepted on 17^th October and will be able to take to the skies on 24^th October.

A second alpha test will take place in November, with recruitment for that thought to begin sometime around the end of this month. Andy Keller from PCGamer got a chance to test out the new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator for four hours earlier this month.

“I played the preview build for around four hours and I felt like I'd barely dipped my toes in the pool. There's so much to discover here and I can't wait to spin that globe again and see where the wind takes me”, said Keller in a preview of the sim on the PCGamer website.

The scale of the game is said to massive, the developers were given 2 petabytes of data from Bing Maps that included more than two million cities, 45,000 airports and all the roads and mountains of the world. Along with that, the studio uses Azure to gather more data to pinpoint around 1.5 million trees and adds improvements to buildings generation.

Microsoft has pointed out that users will still be able to enjoy the game even if they don’t have great bandwidth for streaming. The simulator uses adaptive streaming with an offline mode available that uses real-life data and the option to pre-cache certain regions, allowing players to experience the same quality as they would in online mode.

KitGuru says: Any Microsoft Flight Simulator fans out there that haven't already registered for the alpha must do so before 15th October to have the chance to take part in the test. Have any of you guys registered?

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