MSFS Presentation from FlightSimExpo 2023

[g-liner 408]

It was a great update and I expect answered many of the concerns the first video raised. 
 

The live shipping and improvements to AI traffic with real liveries etc might not sound amazing on PC but on console these are both fantastic news. 
 

Interesting developments on photogrammetry and terrain creation. 
 

I might have misunderstood but it sounded like they’re saying it’s too difficult to get photogrammetry everywhere so they’re using AI solutions, does that mean we’ll still get photogrammetry where they can and this is for the other areas or is it a move away from photogrammetry? 

Edited June 24, 2023 by g-liner

[orchestra_nl 976]

9 hours ago, pmb said:

Definitely a great presentation (even accessible to a non-native speaker). It really makes clear that FS2024 isn't just a little update but sports a lot of completely new technology. What impresses me even more is that despite all this they mention several times to keep backwards compatibility.

Kind regards, MIchael

Backwards compatibility is very important in this stage; people have (re)invested a lot in MSFS2020, sometimes re-purchasing scenery or aircraft they already had for FSX. I doubt many would be willing to pay for them again for MSFS2024 which would either stop them from adopting MSFS2024 or stop buying addons right away for MSFS2020.

But you don't want backwards compatibility to keep the new sim from going forward so I am interested how they will pull this off. Perhaps a legacy mode that will be automatically activated for MSFS2020 addons which might work fine for aircraft.

I like a lot that they are improving on multit-threading. It would be nice to get rid of the "limited by main thread" issue, if they can really make that happen than that will be quite a feat.
Having failures and wear & tear is also great. It will help with awareness that one is flying delicate machinery instead of undestructable constructions.

[Zangoose 1,668]

12 minutes ago, g-liner said:

It was a great update and I expect answered many of the concerns the first video raised. 
 

The live shipping and improvements to AI traffic with real liveries etc might not sound amazing on PC but on console these are both fantastic news. 
 

Interesting developments on photogrammetry and terrain creation. 
 

I might have misunderstood but it sounded like they’re saying it’s too difficult to get photogrammetry everywhere so they’re using AI solutions, does that mean we’ll still get photogrammetry where they can and this is for the other areas or is it a move away from photogrammetry? 

To me it sounded like it's just for those areas they can't get the permissions to fly over the areas to get the data / lack of data etc.

[Sethos 4,692]

2 hours ago, omarsmak30 said:

So they kept saying backwards compatible,  can we now put this "compatibility" question to bed? 😅

Someone is going to ride the worry train and sow doubt all the way up to release and suddenly they will disappear or just stop mentioning it. We had that before the release of MSFS with it 'definitely' being a subscription only simulator and requiring monthly payment for all that expensive streaming data, no way Microsoft could make a profitable game with that sort of data being streamed!

[omarsmak30 4,069]

20 minutes ago, g-liner said:

I might have misunderstood but it sounded like they’re saying it’s too difficult to get photogrammetry everywhere so they’re using AI solutions, does that mean we’ll still get photogrammetry where they can and this is for the other areas or is it a move away from photogrammetry? 

Yeah I don't think any country will give them permission to fly over, so they are restoring to AI solutions instead for those countries. 

[Ianrivaldosmith 5,318]

1 hour ago, MarcG said:

certainly exciting to see what's coming but with everything that's gone on with the current Sim I'm keeping expectations low.

Likewise. Seems like they like to over promise sometimes. 

[JSmith2112 317]

I've gone from sceptical about the new sim to optimistic with the mention of a "thin client" that downloads assets as required.

"Massive performance improvements": Yeah, this sounds like something worth spending some $$ on if they are making big changes to the engine.

[bobcat999 8,548]

So at least they were honest that seasons might not make it to 2020 now, but I will almost for definite be migrating to 2024 if even half of what they say comes to fruition, so I won't be too bothered by that; still a long way to go yet though.

[Krakin 6,019]

1 hour ago, orchestra_nl said:

But you don't want backwards compatibility to keep the new sim from going forward so I am interested how they will pull this off. Perhaps a legacy mode that will be automatically activated for MSFS2020 addons which might work fine for aircraft.

The difference between the two engines is not big enough to warrant that, imo. Seb said it took him about 5 mins to get two of the MSFS aircarft up to scratch in 2024, just by defining more surfaces on them.

[lwt1971 7,693]

4 hours ago, g-liner said:

I might have misunderstood but it sounded like they’re saying it’s too difficult to get photogrammetry everywhere so they’re using AI solutions, does that mean we’ll still get photogrammetry where they can and this is for the other areas or is it a move away from photogrammetry? 

Ya what he says here https://youtu.be/VPhScg_FINE?t=1022 is that for areas of the world where they can't get photogrammetry they'll use new AI based tech of getting "3D out of 2D". So I'd definitely think areas where the *do* get photogrammetry will remain and increase for where ever they are allowed to. And even for photogrammetry areas they'll be using enhanced AI, for example identifying trees/bushes in photogrammetry which usually don't look good and replacing them with 3D trees (see https://youtu.be/VPhScg_FINE?t=944 onwards), what they call "photogrammetry for countrysides".
 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by lwt1971

[lwt1971 7,693]

Am wondering if the new "3D out of 2D" machine learning AI tech they spoke about is based (even loosely) on this: https://aiworkplace.com/microsofts-ai-neural-network-can-generate-3d-models-of-everyday-objects-from-2d-images/

Microsoft’s AI neural network is an advanced deep learning algorithm that can generate 3D models of everyday objects from 2D images. The neural network is trained on a large dataset of 3D objects and their corresponding 2D images. The neural network uses this training data to learn the relationship between the 2D image and the 3D object, allowing it to generate a 3D model of the object from a 2D image.

The AI neural network uses a technique called voxel prediction to generate 3D models from 2D images. Voxels are small 3D cubes that are used to represent the 3D shape of an object. The neural network predicts the voxels that make up the 3D model by analyzing the 2D image. The AI neural network can generate 3D models with incredible accuracy, even for objects that are complex in shape.
 

[SKEWR 365]

I hope the AI can determine that bridges are not buildings over water. That would be a pretty good enhancement. 

[Shack95 2,693]

1 hour ago, lwt1971 said:

And even for photogrammetry areas they'll be using enhanced AI, for example identifying trees/bushes in photogrammetry which usually don't look good and replacing them with 3D trees

That sounds and looks very promising. I remember when the first trailer for MSFS came out, we were already speculating and hoping that they would use such technology. I just hope that there won't be too much LOD popping. In the trailer that doesn't seem to be the case, so that's reassuring.

[Shack95 2,693]

3D tessellated ground materials sounds interesting. What‘s that exactly? Is that 3D dirt or snow like in Red Dead Redemption? That would be great. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Shack95

[lwt1971 7,693]

9 hours ago, Shack95 said:

3D tessellated ground materials sounds interesting. What‘s that exactly? Is that 3D dirt or snow like in Red Dead Redemption? That would be great. 

My understanding is that 3D tessellation in general is the representation of a 3D object/surface with multiple 2D shapes such as polygons/triangles/etc (the more fine-grained and smaller the 2D shapes, the smoother/curvier the 3D surface): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessellation_(computer_graphics)