Posted by Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

Screenshot by JohnStarp (Forum)

Kia ora! We are thrilled to release World Update XII: New Zealand, available now as a free download from the in-sim Marketplace to all players. You can read all about the new content included in this update here. Launching alongside WU12 is the latest in our series of Local Legend planes. This time, we’re bringing you the De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou. This rugged short takeoff and landing (STOL) utility aircraft can be purchased from the Marketplace for USD $14.99.

The Caribou is not the only new plane on the horizon, though. Announced during our most recent Developer Livestream, we are excited to bring the largest plane ever built, the Antonov An-225, to Microsoft Flight Simulator. The An-225 will be available from the Marketplace on Monday, February 27 for PC. The Xbox version will launch alongside the full release of Sim Update 12.

Speaking of Sim Update 12, beta testing for the next major update to Microsoft Flight Simulator started earlier this week. You can read the release notes for the first test build here. If you would like to opt into the beta program and help test this upcoming release, you can find instructions to do so here. Beta testing is available to players on PC (MS Store and Steam) and Xbox Series X|S.

We have also recently updated the manuals for three aircraft, the Airbus A310-300, Grumman G-21 Goose, and Curtis JN-4 Jenny. These new manuals are available here on our website.

Finally, yesterday we experienced a service outage that prevented some players on PC and Xbox from launching Microsoft Flight Simulator. This issue has been resolved, and normal service has been restored. We thank you for your patience and understanding while our support teams fixed the issue.

MSFS Team

 

FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

There is no Feedback Snapshot this week. We apologize for the inconvenience.

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

Click here for the web-friendly version of the Development Roadmap.

 

MARKETPLACE UPDATE

Click here for the web-friendly version of the Marketplace Update.

To coincide with the launch of World Update XII, we are holding a sale on Marketplace content from New Zealand! You can find a full list of sale items available here.

There are 30 new and 46 updated products in the Marketplace today. Marketplace updates generally go live on Thursdays between the release of this blog post and 5pm PT.

RELEASED EARLIER:

New on PC and Xbox

 

28 NEW PRODUCTS: 13 ON PC, 15 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 PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
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

 

46 UPDATED PRODUCTS: 24 ON PC, 22 ON XBOX
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and 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

 

SDK UPDATE

WORKING TITLE

• MSFS Avionics Framework
  • We are still working to finalize the framework update for AAU_01 content, including plug-in documentation – stay tuned.
  • Remember you can find the MSFS Avionics Framework on GitHub here.
  • Upcoming framework updates:
    • Added new Aural Alert System to the framework that supports aural alerts for CAS and other messages, including managing the priority of alerts when multiple alerts are active. (AAU_02)
    • Updated the framework autopilot to support a default selected altitude (other than 0) value on avionics start. (AAU_02)
    • Updated the framework with a bug fix for calculating LPV glidepath angles when a flight plan error exists where more than one FAF or MAP are in the plan at the same time. (AAU_02)
    • Began work on a framework autopilot update adding more configurability to the directors and standardizing common logic. (AAU_02)

• Avionics Framework Feature Highlight: Subjects
  • What are Subjects:
    • Last week we covered the Event Bus, which enables avionics to be driven by events, rather than per-frame update loops. Another framework tool that assists us in this regard are Subjects. A Subject in the framework follows the software development observer pattern, meaning that a Subject is a container for a value that consumers can subscribe to and receive updates from whenever that value changes. We use this tool to drive logic within individual classes, or components, to perform some logic whenever a specific value (the Subject) changes.
  • Why use Subjects:
    • By using Subjects instead of simple class variables to hold values, you can avoid having to check those values in an update loop, and instead can actually trigger code execution directly to that value – whenever the value changes, the code is executed using the new value. This tends to improve sim performance by limiting code execution and changes to the rendered display. In addition, Subjects in the framework come in many varieties – here are a few examples:
      • A Consumer Subject is one that is directly tied to an event from the Event Bus and automatically updates when the subscribed Event changes.
      • A Mapped Subject is one that allows you to create a new value based on the value of one or more other Subjects, and automatically update when any of the input subject values change.
      • A Computed Subject is one that takes an input value, transforms it with some logic you specify and returns the desired value.
  • Simple examples:
    • Mapped Subject: Imagine you want to update a displayed target airspeed, but only if that option is enabled, only if the plane is in the air and only if the current airspeed is over the target airspeed. We could create a Mapped Subject that maps to those input values (target airspeed, show target airspeed option, plane is airborne and current airspeed) – by using a mapped subject when any of those four input values change, the output value will be re-evaluated and then published to it’s own subscriber.
    • Computed Subject: Image you want to display distance in nautical miles as a string with the units displayed and the value always padded to three digits, but your input value is simply a number in meters. By using a Computed Subject we can build that logic (the unit conversion and the display string formatting) into the subject, so that the input value is just a number in meters, and the output that consumers subscribe to is a string of distance in nautical miles, properly padded and with the units displayed/formatted as we want.

•  
• Read more about Subjects here (many of the subject types have their own entries under Framework API Reference -> Classes)

 

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

• As of 02/17, we have now approved 210 (+1) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and so far 179 (+0) have released 1,705 products on PC (+27) and 1,417 on Xbox (+27).
• In total, 2,658 products (+44) have already been released in 3rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 727 products (+40) from 3rd party developers are in production (342 announced, 385 unannounced). In total, over 3,385 3rd party products (+84) have either been released or are in development.
• Airports:
  • 1,825 airports (+66) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 1,564 airports (+20) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 982 airports (+5) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 118 airports (-4) beyond the released airports have been announced.
    • 143 airports (+50) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
• Aircraft:
  • 550 aircraft (+4) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 202 aircraft (+6) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 147 aircraft (+6) have been released in the in-sim PC marketplace.
    • 117 aircraft (+7) have been released in the in-sim Xbox marketplace.
    • 203 aircraft (+9) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
    • 145 aircraft (-11) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
• Scenery:
  • 865 scenery packs (+15) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 764 sceneries (+13) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 281 sceneries (+14) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 21 sceneries (+1) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
    • 80 sceneries (+1) are not announced, but the dev let us know that scenery is in production.
• Mission Packs:
  • 145 mission packs (-1) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 128 mission packs (+5) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 49 mission packs (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.
    • 17 mission packs (-6) are not announced, but the dev let us know that they are in production.

 

FEATURED EDITORIAL: AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK ASTRONAUTS

In the 1960s, two African-American USAF test pilots were training to become astronauts, although neither would fly into space. In recognition of Black History Month, we would like to highlight the lives and accomplishments of Ed Dwight and Robert Lawrence in our featured editorial: America’s First Black Astronauts.

COMMUNITY FLY-IN

Kia ora! We are thrilled to release World Update 12: New Zealand on Thursday, February 23. To celebrate this release, community member zkdos, a citizen of NZ and real world airline pilot, has prepared a beautiful flight plan over the South Island (Te Waipounamu). Come join us as we explore some of the most picturesque scenery to be found anywhere on the planet, and be sure to download the new World Update from the Marketplace in advance of this flight!

Event details are available here. All are welcome to participate!

 

COMMUNITY VIDEO

We know you’re excited to fly the Antonov An-225 in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and what better place to start or end your flights than the real Mriya’s home base, Hostomel Airport (ICAO: UKKM). Community member Oh_Gaz has spent the last year re-creating a bespoke version of UKKM, and its release date draws near. You can see a recently-uploaded preview video of this addon airport below.

 

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

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

This past month our Screenshot Challenge was “The Stratosphere“.

Screenshot by akysmile (Twitter)

Screenshot by Elevatorisbest (Forum)

Screenshot by IcemanAMD (Forum)

Screenshot by lassombra8785 (Forum)

Screenshot by pommes_l (Twitter)

Screenshot by snm0S0 (Twitter)

Screenshot by syokatunofu (Twitter)

Screenshot by tsujiKa_air (Twitter)

Screenshot by ukaka5656 (Twitter)

Screenshot by ZILLNIAZI17 (Forum)

 

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NEXT DEVELOPMENT BLOG UPDATE – March 2nd, 2023

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

Edited February 24, 20233 yr by David Mills

I'm not sure why Microsoft failed to showcase its own New Zealand trailer in the Development Update. But here it is:

 

🌲 on time.

So excited for the AN-225