April 14th, 2022 – Development Update

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

APRIL 14TH, 2022 DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

Posted by: Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

Screenshot by HeKa48 (Forum)

A new build is now available for SU9 Public Beta testers! Your feedback has been instrumental in this build and we thank you again for all your help! Click here to see the newest changelog. Our next Live Dev Q&A is scheduled for Wednesday, April 27th at 10:30am PT (1730). You can now ask your questions to the devs here or upvote your favorite questions! We look forward to meeting with you soon.

MSFS Team

 

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

Click here for the web-friendly version.

 

FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

Click here for the web-friendly version. To learn more about Accessibility in Microsoft Flight Simulator, click here.

 

SDK UPDATE

•  General:
  • We would like to thank all of you for your excellent feedback about the ongoing Sim Update 9 flighting. It has enabled us to investigate & fix several important bugs in advance of release. Please keep on reporting what you encounter on DevSupport – and please don’t forget the “SU9” tag!
•  DevMode:
  • We are polishing the new feature which renders the game in an ImGui window at the center of the screen. We are currently adding “default layouts” for each editor to offer you a well-organized DevMode to suit your needs. Of course, you will always be able to re-arrange windows!
• Visual Effects Editor:
• • • We added labels for GraphParameter node properties.
  • Project Editor:
    • We are changing the Undo/Redo system to avoid potential crashes.
  • Aircraft Editor:
    • We fixed the Aircraft Editor corruption issues upon saving (FUEL_SYSTEM section).
• WASM:
  • We fixed an issue that could lead to a crash during the module compilation stage.
  • We refined our work on the Terrain & Weather radar API.
  • We started working on the NavData access API.
• SimConnect:
  • We’re currently refactoring the SimConnect input system.

 

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

• As of 04/10, we have now approved 246 (+0) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 143 (+1) have released 1,030 products on PC (+30) and 736 on Xbox (+21).
• In total, 2,037 products (+25) have already been released in 3rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 526 products (-5) from 3rd party developers are in production (296 announced, 230 unannounced). In total, over 2,563 3rd party products (+22) have either been released or are in development.
• Airports:
  • 1,456 airports (+6) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 1,231 airports (+10) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 696 airports (+4) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 119 airports (-1) beyond the released airports have been announced.
    • 106 airports (-3) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
• Aircraft:
  • 352 aircraft (+4) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 119 aircraft (+4) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 81 aircraft (+2) have been released in the in-sim PC marketplace.
    • 54 aircraft (+0) have been released in the in-sim Xbox marketplace.
    • 160 aircraft (+1) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
    • 73 aircraft (-1) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
• Scenery:
  • 674 sceneries (+10) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 608 sceneries (+11) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 151 sceneries (+5) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 16 sceneries (+1) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
    • 50 sceneries (-2) are not announced, but the dev let us know that scenery is in production.
• Mission Packs:
  • 81 mission packs (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 79 mission packs (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 16 mission packs (+6) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 1 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.
    • 1 mission packs (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that they are in production.

 

MARKETPLACE UPDATE

Click here for a web-friendly version.

There are 35 new and 26 updated products in the Marketplace today. Marketplace updates generally go live on Thursdays between the release of this blog post and 5pm PT.

35 NEW PRODUCTS: 15 ON PC, 20 ON XBOX
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New onXbox ✅
New on Xbox ✅	New on Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅		New on Xbox ✅

26 UPDATED PRODUCTS: 17 ON PC, 9 ON XBOX
Updated on PC and Xbox ✅	Updated on PC and Xbox ✅	Updated on PC and Xbox ✅
Updated on PC ✅	Updated on PC ✅	Updated on PC and Xbox ✅
Updated on PC ✅	Updated on PC ✅	Updated on PC ✅
Updated on PC and Xbox ✅	Updated on PC and Xbox ✅	Updated on PC and Xbox ✅
Updated on PC ✅	Updated on PC and Xbox ✅	Updated on PC ✅
Updated on PC ✅		Updated on Xbox ✅

 

TWITCH UPDATE

We stream weekly on Twitch.tv/MSFSOfficial! April 15, 2022 is the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the ocean liner RMS Titanic. The tragic story of this famous ship has been a subject of fascination for millions of people for over a century. To mark the occasion, this week’s Community Fly-In will include some famous sites in the UK associated with the history of the Titanic. We will begin the flight in Belfast, where the Titanic was built and which is now home to the Titanic Belfast museum. We will then cross the Irish Sea and make our way to Southampton, the port where the Titanic departed on its ill-fated transatlantic voyage. All are welcome to participate! Click here for details.

 

COMMUNITY VIDEO

One of the biggest organized flight simulation events of the year occurred two weeks ago on April 2, 2022: VATSIM’s Cross the Pond Westbound Edition. Hundreds of sim pilots and virtual air traffic controllers participated in this semi-annual group flight across the Atlantic Ocean. If you missed the action, catch up by watching this recording from YouTuber CptCanada who livestreamed his flight from Oslo to Vancouver. Warning: this is a full-length video (10 hours) of the entire flight, not just clips and highlights.

 

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

You can submit your screenshot via Twitter with #MSFSchallenge or the Weekly Forum Post! This week’s screenshot challenge: Alpenglow

This past week our Screenshot Challenge was “Beached“. Here are our runner ups this week:

Screenshot by danimalpm (Forum)

Screenshot by YusufWardana (Forum)

Screenshot by isaiahnparadise (Twitter)

Screenshot by AHal (Forum)

Screenshot by Stanty16 (Forum)

Screenshot by simtom2 (Forum)

Screenshot by EpicBlox19 (Forum)

Screenshot by MihamaBlend (Twitter)

Screenshot by Filippo20032222 (Forum)

Screenshot by HyperJet2018 (Forum)

NEXT DEVELOPMENT BLOG UPDATE – April 21st, 2022

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

Edited April 14, 2022 by ChaoticBeauty

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

[Twenty6 692]

No mention of anyone getting sacked.

[scotchegg 4,170]

5 minutes ago, Twenty6 said:

No mention of anyone getting sacked.

Also no mention of the latest research in Critical Discourse Analysis. In fact the list of things not mentioned in this update is functionally, if not actually, infinite.

[omarsmak30 4,067]

57 minutes ago, ChaoticBeauty said:

• WASM:
  • We fixed an issue that could lead to a crash during the module compilation stage.
  • We refined our work on the Terrain & Weather radar API.
  • We started working on the NavData access API.
• SimConnect:
  • We’re currently refactoring the SimConnect input system.

Best part, soon third party aircrafts will be able to access the sim navdata! 

I am wondering though about the simconnect input refactoring 🤔

[109Sqn 1,554]

3 hours ago, Twenty6 said:

No mention of anyone getting sacked.

Huh? 🤨

[109Sqn 1,554]

3 hours ago, ChaoticBeauty said:

this week’s Community Fly-In will include some famous sites in the UK associated with the history of the Titanic

I highly recommend a visit to the Titanic Quarter and the museum. Lots to be learned and experienced. Looks like I'll be partaking in a second fly-in if I can make it.

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

10 hours ago, omarsmak30 said:

I am wondering though about the simconnect input refactoring 🤔

I believe this relates to what they said in last month's Feedback Snapshot about massively overhauling the input system to allow for an API to access all aircraft states.

[omarsmak30 4,067]

47 minutes ago, ChaoticBeauty said:

I believe this relates to what they said in last month's Feedback Snapshot about massively overhauling the input system to allow for an API to access all aircraft states.

Ohh nice! This will allow cockpit builders to take MSFS to the next level! 

[bobcat999 8,444]

I like the new format - it is clearer and we know what is coming up in the near future.
I think they could do with a single category or list just for 'not planned' just to screen them out, and to stop people asking about them.

Another observation, it's funny how the people always shooting down anyone who makes a critical comment, are now becoming very troll-like with their pointless comments.  Role-reversal at it's best  funny!

[Twenty6 692]

12 hours ago, 109Sqn said:

Huh? 🤨

The Thursday (4-14-2022) morning Beta update disaster. Someone didn't do their job and found yet another way to embarrass their employer. Image is just as important to a publicly traded company like Microsoft as the actual products they sell/develop. I doubt there were any happy faces when the higher ups got wind of what happened.

I can only speculate, but I'm thinking someone lost a job over this.

[109Sqn 1,554]

@Twenty6 Ah, ok. I don't participate in the Betas so that went over my head.

[JDWalley 354]

9 hours ago, Twenty6 said:

The Thursday (4-14-2022) morning Beta update disaster. Someone didn't do their job and found yet another way to embarrass their employer. Image is just as important to a publicly traded company like Microsoft as the actual products they sell/develop. I doubt there were any happy faces when the higher ups got wind of what happened.

I can only speculate, but I'm thinking someone lost a job over this.

Betas are voluntary programs, not general releases.  If you choose to opt-in, you need to do so with the understanding that the version you're testing may have new and major bugs, maybe even some show-stoppers.  Don't like those odds?  Then don't join a beta program!

The notion that Microsoft has been "embarrassed" and/or have had their image as "a publicly-traded company" seriously damaged by bugs found in a voluntary beta-test program, let alone that anyone should get fired over it, is utterly delusional.

Edited April 16, 2022 by JDWalley

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

To be fair, they fixed the beta issue in a matter of a few hours, with nobody suffering any permanent damage like logbooks getting wiped or having to reinstall all content from scratch, even those who had been updated to the erroneous live build. It was closer to a typical service outage, not much of a disaster in my view.

[Twenty6 692]

20 hours ago, JDWalley said:

Betas are voluntary programs, not general releases.  If you choose to opt-in, you need to do so with the understanding that the version you're testing may have new and major bugs, maybe even some show-stoppers.  Don't like those odds?  Then don't join a beta program!

This was not a bug, major or minor. It was incompetence and the only person delusional was the person entrusted with putting the updated files together into the beta release and then releasing it into the wild.

Doesn't matter if users had to reinstall MSFS, windows or any other programs on their computer. Or if it took 4 hours or 4 days to fix. It should not have happened ... period.