HOW TO USE ACTIVE PAUSE

Active Pause is a feature that you might have seen recommend on a loading screen, but it’s not bound to any key, so you might not know how to use it.

Active Pause info screen in Microsoft Flight SimulatorImage: Asobo Studio/Microsoft Corporation via Polygon

Active Pause allows you to stop the motion of your aircraft and look around. Hitting the normal pause menu by pressing the Escape key on your keyboard or pause on your controller brings up your options, obscuring everything else. However, if you want to stop the action and take a look around, you need to bind your Active Pause function to a key.
The Control key works well, because the game doesn’t use it, and it’s at the bottom of your keyboard, which makes it quick and easy to access.

The Great Pyramids in Microsoft Flight Simulator
I could only get this shot with Active Pause
 Image: Asobo Studio/Microsoft Corporation via Polygon

We staged the shot above using Active Pause. With the function enabled, we orientated the external camera (by hitting the View button our Xbox One controller) and set the position of the sun at the right height by changing the weather settings in the toolbar.
This feature is also a great if you’re trying to find your house and you need to take a moment to look around to locate it.