Microsoft Flight Simulator: Online / offline terrain - what are the differences? Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 guide, tips
Last update: 31 August 2020
In this chapter of the Microsoft Flight Simulator guide, we show the difference how the world looks created thanks to streaming satellite images from the cloud and generated from default textures (off-line version)
Microsoft Flight Simulator can be played offline, which is an useful option if you have a slow internet connection or imposed monthly data limits. The game can download many gigabytes of terrain textures in a single session, especially when flying over cities made using photogrammetry technology.
However, downloading data can be disabled in general options, in the "Data" tab. What does the game look like then? Below are the same regions with and without the network connection.
New York - online mode, photogrammetry
New York - offline mode, without photogrammetry
Scotland - online mode, Bing satellite images
Scotland - offline mode, default textures
