Independent of MSFS2020, I wonder if Bing Maps ever consider extending the Photogrammetric coverage, adding new cities, metropolitan areas, etc.
I’ve searched every nook and cranny across the web, found bugger all on about it.
Google Earth, however, have a lot of reference about its current PG coverage and road map to add more areas in near future.
I’m pretty sure they’ll want to stay competitive with Google. There’s too much at stake not to.
I’d just like to see an update. Around my neighborhood, FS2020 shows early last year’s data. I don’t understand how that’s not continuously updated. We have satellites in orbit 24/7.
It still takes time to gather that data and process it into something useable.
Plus it all depends on weather and lighting conditions. And the best high quality satellite imagery is usually sold for shiny coin.
You guys seem to forget that Microsoft and Google don’t own these satellites; they buy this imagery from the owners of these satellites.
Yes it’s 3rd party doing aircraft travel pattern and when there is no clouds, after it need to get processed on Azure server side sculpting everything to get works, it’s far beyond only photogrametry\photo sat data, there is many process to get it done after.
I will chime in with a concern I have had since before launch. What quality control can MS or Asobo bring to future Bing updates? Let me illustrate my concern.
Several years ago I noticed a Bing update to the prairies in central Manitoba. Prior to the update the prairies had consistent imagery. Cloud free and consistent season. After the update it was a mess with a mismatch of season and large areas of cloud. The update represented a significant drop in quality. It is still this version we see now streaming into msfs. (Take a look at the area around a small airport called Virden).
Bing is no longer a “stand alone” product. There are two million people now relying on it for a big part of their flight sim experience. What if another future Bing update ruins your home area? What if you find glorious photo scenery replaced by fsx-style synthetic scenery because the new Bing images were cloud covered for your preferred simming area? How would this impede your enjoyment for years to come?
We must plead this case to the powers that be. Either we must hope for only image quality upgrades, or be able to manually cache areas that we now like, and never have them over written by future scenery.
Food for thought.
They clearly said on Q@A concerning this, they won’t take new data with clouds above scenery and they needed to wait without clouds. Higher dem, photo real, they are not doing these in random trow in at anytime like before, it would be not usable as update and totally useless. I would not be concerned with this, this is now different, not generic trow in like before. They even said they will use new tech to get vertical higher resolution on dem, but it’s not ready for prime time yet.
Hope they bring some love to the spratly islands over south china sea. There are some interesting man-made island with nice runways, nicely shown in Apple Maps.
Bing was very poor when MSFS2020 was launched. Then it got quite good (Indiana, USA). Now it’s back to terrible.
Thank you for pointing this out. I had missed this. Do you have the source I can reference as there might be more concerns it can lay to rest.
That‘s not how photogrammetry works 
Photogrammetry is based on photos taken from different angles by low-flying airplanes.
I suppose it’s not free. Hundreds of capitals are not in photogrammetry, among which some of the biggest.
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