An outsourced team of developers is complementing the F-15 Eagle to Microsoft Flight Simulator. DC Designs lists a January launch window on its website; YouTuber Obsidian Ant once had a chance and says it may be ready for consumers as early as January 18. You can watch your test flight embedded above and on YouTube.
The F-15 add-on will come with four variants of the iconic fourth generation tactical fighter jet, including the F-15C (air superiority), D (combat capable trailer), E (Strike Eagle) and I (the variant used Defense Forces of Israel). Although virtual pilots are able to select and load ammunition, it is not clear whether you will actually be able to fire weapons or release other types of payloads. Given that the game doesn’t even show a crash animation, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Although the F-15 is capable of reaching Mach 2.5 (about 2,000 mph), the developers of the add-on say that Microsoft Flight Simulator currently has a barrier to prevent this. Polygon contacted Asobo Studio to learn more about this. Regardless, the developers say there is nothing to stop players from reaching those speeds if this barrier is removed, but if my experience with virtual reality is any indication – it was nauseating on an Intel Core i7 laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 and 32 GB of RAM – best to do this only at high altitudes.
I mentioned how Microsoft Flight Simulator creates a totally different type of landscape in the air. It uses real-time weather data to simulate cloud formations and the results are simply amazing. In an F-15, you can explore the clouds much more efficiently.
While Microsoft Flight Simulator is coming to the Xbox Series X this summer, it is not yet clear how third-party add-ons like this will arrive on the new console. Obsidian Ant adds that this will not be a “study level” simulation of what it is like to fly a jet fighter. For that, fans of flight simulators will want to stick with platforms like DCS World.