Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is already one of the year’s biggest hits, offering a whole world for its would-be pilots to explore in a year when travel has been otherwise restricted. With such a huge world to build, MFS2020 relies on algorithms to generate most of it, which has resulted in some interesting new landmarks.
In one case, the simulator has downgraded the Queen’s house, turning Buckingham Palace in London into a fairly dismal-looking block of flats. While The Shard and the O2 Arena in London were modeled and added manually, it seems Buckingham Palace didn’t get the same treatment.
Likewise, while Sydney Harbor sports a loving recreation of the Opera House, the iconic Harbor Bridge has been replaced by a much more generic freeway bridge.
Players on Reddit have accumulated a number of similar landmarks, such as the ancient Roman Arènes de Nîmes, which also has a couple of terrace buildings in its center for good measure.
The tallest statue on the planet, the 182m Statue of Unity in India, has also been replaced by… well, nothing much really.
The golden Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar is barely recognisable in game, and even more strangely, a number of the green-roofed pagodas that surround it have been turned into huge apartment blocks.
While it’s perhaps understandable that MSF’s world-building technology was a little confused by some of the more uniquely-designed monuments in the world, it also seems to have a tendency to put buildings where they don’t belong, like on a football stadium, or even an airstrip.
And then there’s… whatever this is.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is available now for PC through Steam or the Microsoft Store for $60, or through Xbox Game Pass. Check here to see if your PC will be able to handle this mammoth game.
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