Compare MSFS 2020 vs 2024 terrain: elevation, ground detail, vegetation, seasons, streaming, and why the newer sim can sometimes look worse.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 generally renders terrain with finer close-range ground detail, improved elevation and surface data, denser vegetation and seasonal variation than MSFS 2020. The advantage is clearest during low-level flight and on the ground; at cruise altitude, both can look similar because each relies heavily on streamed aerial imagery.
What changed in MSFS 2024 terrain?
The biggest terrain improvement in MSFS 2024 is the amount of detail visible near the aircraft. Its world system adds more convincing ground materials, vegetation and small-scale surface features instead of relying as heavily on flat aerial photography to suggest those details.
| Terrain feature | MSFS 2020 | MSFS 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | Global elevation mesh with quality varying considerably by region | Improved source data and processing in many areas, but still uneven worldwide |
| Close-range surfaces | Aerial imagery and ground materials can look flat near the aircraft | More three-dimensional ground detail, vegetation and procedural surface elements |
| Vegetation | Generated trees and vegetation with limited seasonal variation | Greater density and variety, with seasonal states affecting the appearance |
| Streaming | Streams aerial imagery and photogrammetry while retaining more installed content | Streams more world content, making terrain quality more sensitive to connection and server conditions |
| High-altitude appearance | Convincing when imagery streams at full quality | Often similar because the underlying aerial image becomes the dominant visual element |
Neither simulator has uniformly rebuilt terrain across every country. Both draw from a patchwork of elevation data, aerial photography, land classification and regional updates. A well-covered area can look markedly better in 2024, while another may retain the same visible imagery defects, flattened features or inaccurate coastlines.
Terrain is only one part of the image. Buildings, lighting, clouds, water and photogrammetry are separate systems, covered in our broader comparison of MSFS 2020 and 2024 graphics.
Where is the terrain difference most visible?
MSFS 2024's advantage is most visible below a few thousand feet, during helicopter operations, bush flying and taxiing away from paved airports. Ground undulation, vegetation and surface materials have enough screen space at these distances to reveal the newer simulator's extra detail.
- Mountains and valleys: improved elevation data can produce better ridgelines and slopes, although the result depends on the region.
- Forests and fields: denser vegetation and seasonal variation make the land less static.
- Cliffs and rocky areas: 2024 can represent surface structure more convincingly, but aerial imagery may still contain baked-in shadows or colour changes.
- Airliner cruise: the difference narrows because distant terrain is dominated by imagery, atmospheric haze and the selected level of detail.
Photogrammetry should not be confused with terrain mesh. It supplies reconstructed three-dimensional cities and structures; turning it off may replace those objects, but it does not normally fix an inaccurate rural mountain profile.
Why can MSFS 2024 terrain look worse than MSFS 2020?
MSFS 2024 can look worse when it receives incomplete world data or reduces detail before it reaches the screen. Its heavier dependence on streaming means a poor connection, disabled online data or temporary delivery problem can hide the improvements.
- Low-resolution streaming: the ground remains soft or resolves slowly as the aircraft approaches.
- Low Terrain Level of Detail: distant mountains lose shape and higher-resolution terrain loads closer to the aircraft.
- Stale rolling-cache data: an old or damaged cache can produce inconsistent imagery after world-data changes.
- Add-on mesh conflicts: overlapping terrain packages can create spikes, trenches, plateaus or airport elevation steps.
- Unequal comparisons: different weather, seasons, photogrammetry settings or installed add-ons can make the older simulator appear better.
Persistent softness is usually a configuration or streaming problem rather than proof that 2024 has inferior source terrain. Our blurry-scenery troubleshooting guide separates connection, cache and rendering faults, while the explanation of scenery settings and their frame-rate cost covers Terrain LOD, textures and object density.
How can I compare both simulators fairly?
A fair terrain comparison requires the same location, conditions and rendering workload in both simulators. We recommend removing variables before judging a mountain profile or ground texture.
- Disable third-party scenery and terrain mesh so both simulators use their stock world data.
- Match the flight by using the same coordinates, altitude, time of day, clear weather and camera position.
- Enable online world data and set photogrammetry consistently in both simulators.
- Match output settings, especially display resolution, render scaling, texture resolution and
Terrain Level of Detail. - Allow the area to load before taking screenshots; immediately comparing one freshly loaded scene with one already cached is misleading.
A premium terrain add-on can also let an extensively modified MSFS 2020 installation beat stock MSFS 2024 in a particular region. That compares add-on coverage, not the two base simulators.
Is better terrain alone a reason to choose MSFS 2024?
Choose MSFS 2024 for terrain if you mainly fly low, use helicopters, operate from remote strips or spend time exploring on the ground. Its added surface detail, vegetation and seasonal variation matter directly in those forms of flying.
For high-altitude airline operations, terrain alone is a weaker reason to change. MSFS 2020 can remain visually convincing from cruise level, particularly with good streaming and regional scenery installed. The choice should also account for aircraft, activities, performance, storage and add-on support, which we cover in our full comparison of MSFS 2020 and 2024 differences.