Between using actual satellite data and some fancy algorithm work, Flight Simulator has done a pretty good job recreating the entire planet. But there are some areas where the whole thing just falls over, with terrifying/hilarious results.
Example 1: Buckingham Palace. It’s one of the most identifiable landmarks on the planet, but as the BBC (via Kotaku UK) report, Flight Simulator’s AI figured it’d just stick an old apartment building in there instead.
A lot cooler, though, is what it’s done to Melbourne. At least Buckingham Palace’s reskin is a texture thing. It’s a lot harder working out just what’s going on with this monolithic monument to dread and fear towering over a city of over four million people:
Before you wonder whether it’s just a visual glitch, nope. You can land on it!
And so as to not leave Americans out, here’s what a Los Angeles without palm trees (but with jutting obelisks) looks like:
I’m not posting this here to criticise, when you’ve got the whole world to map, there are going to be issues! What I’m saying is, go check these out now before they’re fixed/gone.