Microsoft Flight Simulator players have discovered a preposterously large 200+ story skyscraper in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, that owes its existence to a Bing typo. The game, which is the first entry in the Flight Simulator franchise in fourteen years, released two days ago, and despite being review bombed over lengthy install times, has already been getting a lot of hype.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is dedicated to realism, and the extent of its attention to detail is truly staggering. The developers used real-world map data to produce an astoundingly realistic recreation of the real world, complete with accurate weather patterns, every airport in the world, and even real-time air traffic accurate to what's happening in real life. Fans have quickly picked up on this devotion to realism and are taking advantage of it in bizarre and humorous ways, congregating in notable places like Area 51. While no shocking discoveries have come about as a result of these investigations, it's still substantial proof of just how much there is to do when players are literally offered the world.
But recent Tweets have shown that when a developer programs the entire world, things are bound to slip through the cracks. As reported by Eurogamer, players recently discovered a titanic, 212-story skyscraper in the suburb of Fawkner, Australia. This is a surprising find for many, especially anyone who might be playing the game in Fawkner, Australia, because there is definitely no 212-story skyscraper there in real life. Twitter user Alexander Muscat chronicled his experience with the mysterious spire in a tweet that can be read below.
Industrious fans quickly found the reason for the titanic tower's existence: Bing Maps. Microsoft's mapping software took some of its data from a free online mapping wiki called OpenStreetMap, which allows mapping enthusiasts to log on and chronicle data about the world around them. Apparently, one OpenStreetMap user entered a typo that accidentally listed an ordinary house as having 212 floors instead of the two stories it actually has. The accident was corrected, but not before the data was integrated to Bing Maps and, subsequently, to Microsoft Flight Simulator. Hence, players can now fly to a nonexistent building that would be the second tallest in the world if it were real.
The fate of this Melbourne monolith is uncertain now that it's been revealed to the world. A non-existent stratosphere-puncturing behemoth doesn't exactly fit in with developer Asobo Studios' dedication to realism. On the other hand, fans have quickly grown endeared to the titan, sharing jokes and memes about it all over Muscat's Twitter thread. It's a unique experience to find a massive, impossibly thin, totally nonexistent skyscraper looming over suburban Australian streets, and it's one Microsoft Flight Simulator fans have clearly bonded over.
Sometimes glitches can entertain players even more than the game they come from. A lot of Skyrim players still fondly remember the first time they were hit by a giant and catapulted miles into the air, for instance. In a massive game like Microsoft Flight Simulator, it's all but impossible to make sure everything's perfect. As polished as the title is, strange errors like this are bound to pop up anyway. The Melbourne monolith might be doomed to get patched out of Microsoft Flight Simulator sooner or later, but players will always have fond memories of the first time they saw its impossible height cresting the horizon in front of them.
Source: Eurogamer, Alexander Muscat/Twitter