Flight sticks aren't really common computer or console gaming accessories. More often than not, for casual flight simulator players, a generic joystick controller is more than enough. There are those who are even contented with using a keyboard and mouse. That is, after you've run out of dedicated buttons. Uncommon as it is, with the launch of Microsoft's Flight Simulator, flight sticks are, as they say, ready for takeoff once again.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
We have to admit, flight simulators have really come a long way. And when we say long, we mean looooong. During the previous decades, flight sims often showed blocky polygon-based sceneries. Don't even mention the in-game physics. Yes, you're obviously flying a plane in-game. You see yourself inside a cockpit but other than that, the view outside your airplane, isn't that convincingly real, if not magnificent. When it comes to playing previous games in "third-plane" mode, the experience also wasn't that convincing.
With the launch of Microsoft's Flight Simulator, gamers and enthusiasts are treated to a whole new level of immersive gaming experience. Microsoft made the game available for those who have an Xbox Game Pass. It features rich graphics and support for Ray Tracing. This makes the game more life-like through the addition of better lighting effects. And did we mention too that you can fly around a world that closely resembles the one we live in? Imagine hovering over Seattle for a minute. If you've got the air traffic clearance, you can even head over to the Bahamas for its majestic view.
So can your gaming pc run Microsoft's Flight Simulator? Read on for the specs requirements.
Minimum requirements
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
RAM: 8 GB
Graphics Card: Radeon RX 570 or GeForce GTX 770
Free disk space: 150 GB
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Recommended Requirements
CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
RAM: 16 GB
Graphics Card: Radeon RX 590 or GeForce GTX 970
Free disk space: 150 GB
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Read also: Prepare for iPad Air 4 and Its Awesome New Feature
Flight Sticks: Where to find one
Your friend has a steering wheel complete with a stick shift that he uses when playing his favorite Need for Speed game. It won't really be a complete experience if you won't be using a flight stick for your flight simulator game. Thing is, flight sticks, as mentioned before, are niche products. It's not expected that they'll be always available in huge numbers. That being said, it could be a coincidence but we're leaning to it being the primary cause, that flight sticks are currently hard to find since Microsoft launched its Flight Simulator.
Sure, you can use your trusty keyboard and mouse combo, or even an Xbox controller for your PC but having a flight stick really adds up to the feeling of actually flying a plane. Amazon has some stocks but just being honest here, we feel the choices are quite limited.
