It has always been like that you needing to power the bird to fly in the simulator, even in the iOS version of GO. It may be good for people suffering from withdrawal not able to fly their birds on rainy days (UK owners?) As for exploring the map and turned up gray, what do you mean by that? Were you expecting Google Maps to show your flight? No, because this is a simulation, your bird didn't even leave the ground, so no map will be shown.I saw that. I tried it. Had to power up the bird to use it. Was a little cheesy to say the least. I guess it would be ok for the first timer to see what controls do. I tried to explore the map and all the scenery ended up gray.