Microsoft Flight Simulator's giant Australian obelisk was the result of a typo
The world of Microsoft Flight Simulator is a pristine recreation of the real thing, except when it isn't.
If you've been following Microsoft Flight Simulator, you may have already seen the giant obelisk players spotted in Australia, which looked like am impossible structure.
It was easy to guess that the tower was the result of a bug, but players soon dug up exactly how and why it ended up being that way. It turns out, it was all the result of a fairly innocent typo.
When doing work for his degree, Nathan Wright made an edit to Open Street Map. When entering the number of floors, Wright typed 212 instead of 2. Microsoft Flight Simulator uses data from Bing, which itself uses Open Street Map for some data, which is why that monstrosity ended up in the game.
"I think it’s so funny as it was the first time I was using Open Street Map," he told The Verge. "I find it really funny that it made it into the game and that I was tracked down so quickly."
The typo has since been corrected, which means the 212-story tower no longer exists. Still, it's an amusing discovery that stood out in a game that emulates real-world locations so well.
Catch up on our review of Microsoft Flight Simulator, and those by other critics at the links.
Screenshots via Alexander Muscat.