MAY 20TH, 2021 DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

Posted by: Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

’James Bond Island’ – Khao Phing Kan (Thailand) –  Screenshot by CalUKGR

 

Our team is finalizing Sim Update IV and is set to release next week! Thank you again to those involved in the flighting group who have helped test this update. Don’t forget, the next Dev Q&A on Twitch is on Wednesday, May 26th at 10:30 am PDT!

– The MSFS team

 

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

Click here for the web-friendly version. Most recent update:

 

FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

Click here for the web-friendly version.

KEY:

SU = Sim Update (3, 4, etc.)

WU = World Update

ASAP = As Soon as Possible

TBD = To Be Determined

Several Releases = Fixes will come over a series of updates

Ongoing Fixes = An item we will continually be working on

Planned = Scheduled to be worked on

Under Investigation = The team is currently looking into the issue

Not Planned = We will likely not work on this

Started = Work as started on this item

 

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

• As of 05/15, we have now approved 192 (+16) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 90 (+5) have released 383 products (+19).
  • In total,962 products (+28) have already been released in 3rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 336 products (+3) from 3rd party developers are in production (205 announced, 131 unannounced). In total, over 1298 3rd party products (+31) are either released or are in development.
• Airports:
  • 809 airports (+17) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 605 airports (+19) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 321 airports (+18) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 95 airports (-3) beyond the released airports have been announced.
    • 109 airports (+1) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
• Aircraft:
  • 155 aircraft (+5) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 40 aircraft (+2) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 23 aircraft (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 93 aircraft (+3) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
    • 22 aircraft (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
• Scenery:
  • 299 sceneries (+4) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 283 sceneries (+3) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 24 sceneries (+1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 16 sceneries (+1) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
• Mission Packs:
  • 35 mission packs (+5) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 34 mission packs (+4) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 3 mission packs (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 1 mission packs (+1) beyond the released missions have been announced.

 

SDK UPDATE

• General
  • We fixed CG calculation when in menu by including the anti-detonation system masses for piston engines.
• Documentation
  • We made some improvements to the FX Editor, including non-uniform scales, and the Divide and Substract nodes. We also support normal map on particle shaders.
  • On the Scenery Editor, we now sort & display objects per package, and we sort world scripts per package.
  • We also fixed missing taxiway signs on high altitude airports.
• Dev Mode
  • We fixed an issue on SaveFlight when no title is specified.

 

MARKETPLACE

Today there are 15 new products and 14 updated products in the Marketplace.

15 New Products

 

14 Update Products

 

 

TWITCH UPDATE

Tomorrow, welcome back TheFlyingFabio and join us for a group flight! More details can be found here.

 

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

This past week we challenged you to take a screenshot of “Movie Magic”. The winner is featured above. Below are our runner up choices! This week’s Screenshot Challenge: Natural Ecosystems – Tropical Rainforests.

Last challenge’s Finalists:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Screenshot by zero4shomei

 

Lost – Screenshot by Remko277

 

The Life of Pi – Screenshot by ScenicAtol3300

 

Mad Max – Screenshot by Netiense

 

Tomb Raider – Screenshot by Renoi71

 

Stagecoach (1939) – Screenshot by YusufWardana

 

E.T. – Screenshot by Renoi71

 

Spiderman – Screenshot by AirSiamang92567

 

Sully – Screenshot by TastingDevotee7

 

Star Wars – Screenshot by Pieloth

 

Lord of the Rings – Screenshot by Fortn00b15

 

NEXT DEVELOPMENT UPDATE BLOG – 5.27

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

Edited May 20, 20215 yr by ChaoticBeauty

Scratching my head here.  It's Sim Update IV that is due next week.  That is Sim update 4, right?  So what I see is this:
* Excesssive Icing fix
* ATC correct phraseology (matches FAA)
* Approach flyback bug (did not not previously label this fixed?)

Then there are others that are indicated as SU4 + SU5 + SU6; and SU4 + SU6
So what do we expect from the latter group?  Why do they not advise what it is about those are fixed in 4?  Otherwise its hocus pocus again. Did we get improvement on these or not?  What is the metric.

And what will get broke?

What was that song by the Mamas and Papas?  Tuesday will never be the same?
"But when ever Tuesday comes, but when every Tuesday comes, it leaves me crying all of the time?  Tuesday, Tuesday...."

Can we add to the list cloud textures with realistic edges?

 

Edited May 21, 20215 yr by fppilot

Does anyone know what is being updated with all the Carenado aircraft in there?  The Carenado website doesn't seem to have any news on updates.

What happened to the Scenery Gateway system saying prototype?

44 minutes ago, bobcat999 said:

Does anyone know what is being updated with all the Carenado aircraft in there?  The Carenado website doesn't seem to have any news on updates.

Bought the Mooney thru the Marketplace and Version History shows latest as 1.2.0. Content Manager says I have V1.2.1 installed. SNAFU.

Can't wait for next Tuesday.

6 minutes ago, Twenty6 said:

Bought the Mooney thru the Marketplace and Version History shows latest as 1.2.0. Content Manager says I have V1.2.1 installed. SNAFU.

Can't wait for next Tuesday.

I have the Mooney, Seneca, and Seminole.  I went to my profile and it said no updates.  Seminole was 1.51 as before. 

Maybe there is a lag in the updates coming through.  I think it took a few hours last time after they announced updates.

I am wondering if they have updated flight dynamics / behaviour ahead of the SU4 update next week.  I read the expected Aerosoft CRJ update has been delayed until after the sim update now.

Edited May 21, 20215 yr by bobcat999

2 minutes ago, bobcat999 said:

I am wondering if they have updated flight dynamics / behaviour ahead of the SU4 update next week.  I read the expected Aerosoft CRJ update has been delayed until after the sim update now.

Makes sense. Guess we'll be surprised on Tuesday. Same for the CRJ.

Let’s see what happens. Not going to get too hyped and prepare for the outcome.  Not going to get hyped over the q/a.

I hope we get a good update and not too many issues. 
But reality is…well we’ll just have to see.
 

Cheers,

RB

I hope they fix the 50% throttle on pressing the escape key that a lot of people have.  Should have been a hotfix for that really.

35 minutes ago, bobcat999 said:

I hope they fix the 50% throttle on pressing the escape key that a lot of people have.  Should have been a hotfix for that really.

Did not see that on the list.  Guess they are not "list"ening.

2 hours ago, FlyingInACessna said:

What happened to the Scenery Gateway system saying prototype?

On the second Snapshot down, number 6 on the list. Although Jorg said in a Live Q&A awhile back that not many people have shown interest for it lately. He said it was really active at first and all of a sudden people stopped talking about. I have no idea what that means. But he even gave out the MSFS email address, for people interested to see this feature. If you still want it, you better get people all worked up over it again. And slam with gateway request. They even said they were close to a test thingy for it later this year!

 

2 hours ago, FlyingInACessna said:

What happened to the Scenery Gateway system saying prototype?

I too noticed that it shifted from prototype to not started. I asked Jayne in the community forums but didn’t get a response. 

Just now, in2tech said:

On the second Snapshot down, number 6 on the list. Although Jorg said in a Live Q&A awhile back that not many people have shown interest for it lately. He said it was really active at first and all of a sudden people stopped talking about. I have no idea what that means. But he even gave out the MSFS email address, for people interested to see this feature. If you still want it, you better get people all worked up over it again. And slam with gateway request. They even said they were close to a test thingy for it later this year!

 

That makes me sad. I've been pushing hard for it. I think the energy died down because we assumed we had a bit of time until it was ready, so there were other things we wanted to focus on... 

I emailed him with some info / tips. Guess it fell on the priority list though :/

2 minutes ago, FlyingInACessna said:

That makes me sad. I've been pushing hard for it. I think the energy died down because we assumed we had a bit of time until it was ready, so there were other things we wanted to focus on... 

I could have sworn at one time it said, not beta, but like a mock up test server word, where it says Not Started now. But I am old, so who knows 🙂 Also , even though they are two completely different things, I think flightsim.to getting so dang popular, with scenery everywhere, confused people so they figured, heck it's there, why a gateway? Exactly what is a gateway, etc... I could be completely wrong abut all of this. But Jorg did say it's hardly ever brought up anymore!

5 hours ago, fppilot said:

What was that song by the Mamas and Papas?  Tuesday will never be the same?
"But when ever Tuesday comes, but when every Tuesday comes, it leaves me crying all of the time?  Tuesday, Tuesday...."

I think you've managed to get two different '60s-era songs confused -- Monday, Monday and Sunday Will Never Be The Same.  (The latter was by Spanky & Our Gang.)