A video on the ObsidianAnt YT channel last year indicated that the Northern Lights were to be added in by the end of 2022 Microsoft Flight Simulator - Aurora Borealis, Flybys, Tower Views, G1000 Keybinds. Anyone know if this happened? I edited in Northern Lights in a video last year Fly Greenland - Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis - MSFS2020 - 4K Can’t seem to find anything with a search. 

I think it's hard to fathom that MS/Asobo has not added Flybys and Tower Views.  These two features really showcase elements of the sim and I really miss this.  I hope soon!  Aurora Borealis sounds great too, plus...I would love to see shooting stars roughly matching what is seen in the RW by commerial jet pilots.  I wonder--is the vision thru aviation windscreens clear enough to be able to see them on a crystal clear dark night at typical commerical jet altitudes?  I think the night sky has become much more interesting than ever in MSFS but it's way too visible on the ground even in big cities which is ultra unrealistic.

14 minutes ago, Noel said:

I think it's hard to fathom that MS/Asobo has not added Flybys and Tower Views.

Quite true! I think far too much had to be addressed with each update and these items got pushed to the bottom. I remember from FSX, I would view from the tower and as a flyby very often. Cool to mention the night sky! Most exterior realism in the sim is still with reduced light like dawn and dusk. Just like in RL where you can not see the details in the environment. I just wish we could have the realism bumped up at night in the city buildings so you get a variety of window lighting that sparkles … and perhaps a shooting star over New York City or Denver in your case!

Edited December 12, 20223 yr by Doering

2 minutes ago, Doering said:

I just wish we could have the realism bumped up at night in the city buildings so you get a variety of window lighting that sparkles

I saw this flying into Sofia, Bulgaria and it was fabulous!  Not sure if it was because I had photogrammatry disabled and I don't see this in a lot of places:

@Noel Yes, that looks spectacular for the low level city buildings. Reminiscing out of Meigs a couple of days and the lights over Chicago were much like your photo. Definitely better realism compared to a few previous updates. It is the tall office buildings and skyscrapers that I was referring to in the heart of the big cities that lack the night sparkle. The default night lighting in the suburban areas and around airports is indeed fantastic.

I noticed something regarding buldings at night the other day that made me smile and that I had not noticed before. As I was taxiing to the runway I looked left at what looked like a block of flats that were quite close to the runway and noticed the light inside one of the flats to be shifting in exactly the same way you see when someone has their TV on and the curtains are still open. It was uncanny. It wasn't static at all.

As for the Aurora, I'm about to finish an around the world trip by crossing from Canada to the UK and was wondering if they had included it in this iteration or not.