Locked On

Cityscape Sydney 

When the new Microsoft Flight Simulator was released, it was notable just how bare and lifeless Sydney seemed from the air – with even the Harbour Bridge a skeleton. But Aussie developer Orbx has recreated the NSW capital in eye-popping detail for its upgrade pack. Of course, the new Harbour Bridge is the stand-out here, but it’s also redrawn 100 points of interest, such as skyscrapers, stadiums and beaches, in photorealistic detail. The team was able to make the huge improvements by calling on information from 250 square kilometres of custom aerial imagery rather than Microsoft’s equivalent of Google Maps. In total, 28,000 buildings have been given some form of facelift. 

It was essentially a labour of love from lead developer Frank Schnibben who toiled away mostly-single-handedly for nine months on the project. Aside from the obvious tourist traps, he also spent time adding a raft of proudly nerdy improvements. 

“Things like the tree canopies we’ve made a little bit more realistic because we noticed that in some areas, trees were too big or just didn’t work for different areas,” says Jarrad Marshall, who project manages Orbx’s team of artists. “And we’ve added things such as yachts and ferries as well as fun little Easter eggs for you to spot when you’re flying around.” 

It’s not just the CBD given a lick of paint but out-of-town destinations such as the Olympic Park, Parramatta and Port Botany. The latter was done in particular detail so players could watch on while waiting to take off from Sydney Airport. Coming up next is Perth alongside a couple of other airports being developed in secret. 

“It’s almost like a hobby for us, finding locations that are interesting,” says Marshall. 

It’s an unusual job, because doing all of this would require a love for both aviation and development alongside all those late nights. 

“When we started 12 years ago, as a company, it was a passion project,” says Marshall. “We all love what we’re doing and saw that there was a gap for what we could achieve in the market.”

Cityscape Sydney is out now.

The 787th Boeing 787 landed in Melbourne on 20 September, despite the city being in lockdown and all commercial international arrivals cancelled. The China Southern 787-9, B-1168 msn 38797, departed Guangzhou at 12:01am on 20 September as flight CZ321 and landed in Melbourne after nearly nine hours at 10:53am. In 2018, Boeing delivered the 787th 787 widebody twin airliner to leasing company AerCap at the planemaker’s Everett delivery centre. It has a unique livery to mark its significance. The first 787 development aircraft flight took place on 15 December 2009, while the first customer delivery to Japan’s ANA followed two years later in September 2011.