Microsoft Flight Simulator is spectacular. The game offers the freedom to go anywhere you could ever wish. A lot more we can do these days with the global pandemic. In addition to the freedom of flying anywhere, the game delivers some gorgeous realism as the world around you is brought to life in a massive scale. However, some countries in the game don’t always look as polished as others due to a Microsoft Flight Simulator map bug.
Microsoft Flight Simulator used a system which turned a map of the world into a 3D object using Bing technology. This means that trees, house, cars and other objects were scanned and elevated out of the map to give it a 3D effect. The same system streams data to the cloud to render the world as you explore it. Unfortunately, this procedural system also created some monstrosities at the same time.
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Users started sharing some scary world objects on Twitter where buildings and objects were transformed into something ungodly. One user shared what Melbourne’s North turned into. The towering skyscraper shoots out of the ground like some alien artefact from Half-Life 2. To make things worse, at night the building lights up with little bright windows.
Often, the Bing Maps data is missing for some buildings so the game automatically creates a replacement object in its place. One user shared what Buckingham Palace looks like. Instead of a gorgeous palace, the building looks like a budget apartment building. The same thing happened to the Washington Monument which instead of a monolith is now an impossibly-thin skyscraper.
Users shared what some palm trees turned into in Microsoft Flight Simulator due to a map bug. Spotted in California, the trees look like alien invader ships parked on the side of the road.
Another user shared their experience with the TIAA Bank Field Stadium which includes a giant hole in the middle. It is a creative approach for a stadium if there ever was one. 
Of course, enabling data streaming settings eliminates most of these issues in the game. The setting allows the Bing Map data to get pulled from the cloud rather than relying on the game engine to recreate the world as you explore it. This means any major visual bugs are fixed remotely by the developer Asobo Studio. Regardless, these visual bugs are anything but game-breaking. They don’t take away from the experience much. Microsoft Flight Simulator is still a gorgeous experience even if you do spot the Half-Life citadel in the distance every now and then.
