JANUARY 25, 2024 – DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

Posted by: Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

This week’s Screenshot Challenge winner is Twitter user @IronWings_VP! If you’re interested in participating in our weekly Screenshot Challenges, check out the details in the Community section below!

Earlier today, we released updated versions of four Local Legend add-on aircraft:

• Local Legend I: Junkers Ju 52
• Local Legend III: Dornier Do J Wal
• Local Legend VI: Junkers F 13
• Local Legend XII: Dornier Do X

The updates are available via the in-sim Content Manager. You can read the changelog on our forums here.

We’re also excited to confirm that World Update XVI: Caribbean is launching next week on Tuesday, January 30! As with all World Updates, this will include new Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, 104 hand-crafted points of interest, seven bespoke airports, and new Landing Challenges, Bush Trips, and Discovery Flights. For a sneak peek of one of the new POIs, check out this screenshot below!

Finally, we want to remind everyone that our next Developer Livestream is coming up next week on Wednesday, January 31 at 10:30am PT (1830 UTC). You can tune in to our official Twitch channel to watch our regular panel of Jorg, Seb, and Martial plus special guests answer questions from the community and discuss the future of Microsoft Flight Simulator. If you can’t watch the stream live, we will also post the VOD to our YouTube channel and post a written transcript on our forums.

We previously asked players to pre-submit their questions for the panel, and we’ve reviewed all your submissions to determine what are the most common issues the community would like to see discussed. As always, we will also be taking questions live from Twitch chat, so if you missed the opportunity to pre-submit your question, you will still have a chance to have it addressed by the panel.

– MSFS Team

 

FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

Click here for the web-friendly version of the Feedback Snapshot.

MARKETPLACE UPDATE

Headlining this week’s new releases is the CS R66 from CowanSim, an experienced developer of several popular flight simulator helicopter add-ons. The CowanSim R66 is the newest addition to the Microsoft Flight Simulator helicopter fleet. Cowan Simulation strives for perfection and continuously updates their fleet using valuable feedback from pilots around the world. The R66, and subsequent releases, will continue to be developed using that valuable information. CowanSim’s flight models are pilot tested, approved, and developed with the Microsoft Flight Simulator SDK. No external flight model/dynamics or programs are used to provide a seamless user experience.

Options like the passengers and more are available through the weight and balance settings window. The R66 comes with 51 liveries, and an easy-to-use paint kit is provided in GIMP and Adobe Photoshop formats. A Blender model is also provided for the 3D painters. There is also an online manual and checklist available at cowansim.com.

MARKETPLACE RELEASES

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

There are 40 new and 39 updated products in today’s Marketplace Update.

MARKETPLACE BACKLOG

Current Backlog: 277 Total

BACKLOG: NEW PRODUCTS

	Testing Status
Content Type	In MS Processing	In MS Testing	In 3P Testing	Total
Aircraft	4	3	20	27
Mission	2	6	42	50
Scenery	6	8	0	14
Livery	26	2	14	42
Airport	13	7	19	39
Other	9	1	13	23
Total	60	27	108	195

BACKLOG: UPDATED PRODUCTS

	Testing Status
Content Type	In MS Processing	In MS Testing	In 3P Testing	Total
Aircraft	2	5	7	14
Mission	2	6	0	8
Scenery	2	0	4	6
Livery	4	0	6	10
Airport	20	7	7	34
Other	1	1	8	10
Total	31	19	32	82

SDK UPDATE

ASOBO

• No update this week.

WORKING TITLE / MSFS AVIONICS FRAMEWORK

• MSFS Avionics Framework
  • The SR22T Avionics Plugin has been published to the mirror; this provides an excellent example for developers to review how the G1000 plug-in system works.
  • Check out this link to access the latest Avionics Framework source code.
  • Find the latest documentation about the avionics framework here https://microsoft.github.io/msfs-avionics-mirror/.
  • Upcoming Framework Updates:
    • Improving SubscribableMapFunctions in the Avionics Framework to use a reduce method. (SU_15)
    • Adding ground_altitude to GNSSEvents in the Avionics Framework. (SU_15)
    • Adding EngineType to the Avionics Framework BaseEngineEvents interface to support multiple engine type configurations. (SU_15)
    • Adding a generic performance plan repository to the Avionics Framework SDK. (SU_15)
    • Adding a property feature to the Avionics Framework generic FMC framework to enable statically-typed data to be passed in to FMC pages. (SU_15)
    • Fixing a bug in the Avionics Framework Facility Loader (Facilities.ts) that could cause a circular dependency. (SU_15)

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

• As of 01/22, we have now approved 248 (+3) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 210 (+0) have released 3,148 products on PC (+19) and 2,882 on Xbox (+19).
• In total, 4,051 products (+24) have already been released in 3^rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 809 products (-2) from 3^rd party developers are in production (345 announced, 464 unannounced). In total, over 4,860 3^rd party products (+22) have either been released or are in development.
• Airports:
  • 2,284 airports (+12) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 2,061 airports (+9) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 1,538 airports (+5) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 111 airports (-1) beyond the released airports have been announced.
    • 112 airports (+4) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
• Aircraft:
  • 792 aircraft (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 353 aircraft (+6) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 275 aircraft (+5) have been released in the in-sim PC marketplace.
    • 257 aircraft (+5) have been released in the in-sim Xbox marketplace.
    • 212 aircraft (-1) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
    • 227 aircraft (-5) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
• Scenery:
  • 1,100 scenery packs (+2) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 1,068 scenery packs (+4) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 627 scenery packs (+3) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 21 scenery packs (+0) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
    • 11 scenery packs (-2) are not announced but the dev let us know that scenery is in production
• Mission Packs:
  • 250 mission packs (+5) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 219 mission packs (+1) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 158 mission packs (+1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.
    • 31 mission packs (+4) are not announced, but the dev let us know that they are in production.
• Livery Packs:
  • 396 livery packs (+3) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 323 livery packs (+4) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 315 livery packs (+4) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 1 livery pack (+0) beyond the released scenery has been announced.
    • 72 livery packs (-1) are not announced, but the dev let us know that scenery is in production.
• Ships & Watercraft:
  • 38 ships & watercraft (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 27 ships & watercraft (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 22 ships & watercraft (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 0 ships & watercraft (+0) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
    • 11 ships & watercraft (+0) are not announced, but dev let us know that scenery is in production

• •  

COMMUNITY FLY-IN FRIDAY

The Community Fly-In Friday World Tour continues!

After arriving at Nuuk last week, we’ll be flying over the frozen glaciers of Greenland as we make our way to Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland!

Be sure to install World Update XV  (free from the in-sim Marketplace) for the best experience with this flight.

Note: this stage will be slightly longer than usual as we make our way across the Atlantic Ocean. Once we arrive in continental Europe in a few weeks, we will once again be able to fly shorter distances and better enjoy the scenery.

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

TUBELINER TUESDAY

There will be no Tubeliner Tuesday stream on 2024-01-30 due to the worldwide release of World Update XVI – Caribbean. Tubeliner Tuesday will return on 2024-02-06!

 

COMMUNITY VIDEO

For this week’s Community Video, we join cgaviator as he takes the Eurofighter Typhoon up to 30,000 feet before landing in the quickest time he possibly can. This challenge seems like a fun way to fly this incredibly manoeuvrable fast jet! Can you replicate the challenge and beat cgaviator’s time?

cgaviator (Chris) is a real world pilot with over 2,500 hours flying fast jets such as the Hawk and Tornado GR4. Chris brings his vast real world experience into the simulator by teaching his viewers tips and techniques to improve their fighter jet flying. If you’re interested in this style of aviation, go and check out cgaviator’s channel!

 

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

This week’s screenshot challenge: Fasten Your Seatbelts

This past week’s Screenshot Challenge was: Close Up Photography

Weekly Screenshot Challenge Winner: @IronWings_VP (Twitter)

Screenshot by @mattybo80255712 (Twitter)

Screenshot by ScenicAtol37419 (Forums)

Screenshot by @CpuGeta486 (Twitter)

Screenshot by Inf1anEwok (Forums)

Screenshot by @nintaroww (Twitter)

Screenshot by avaritiax4034 (Forums)

Screenshot by @Daisuke12J (Twitter)

Screenshot by HolmesCZ6127 (Forums)

Screenshot by @pommes_l (Twitter)

Screenshot by Stanty16 (Forums)

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NEXT DEVELOPMENT BLOG UPDATE – February 1st, 2024

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

Edited January 25, 20242 yr by David Mills

Thanks David as usual.  Just waiting for the tree!  

Some great screenshots this week.

Edited January 26, 20242 yr by bobcat999

Thanks @David Mills for  bringing us the updates and for the reminder of the end of the month event (Developer Livestream is coming up next week on Wednesday, January 31 at 10:30am) , it will undoubtedly clarify many doubts about what to expect in the coming months.  

That is a good winning screenshot.

Did we ever get a final preview of WU16? Like what airports, POIs, etc are included like we usually get?

I checked real quick but I’m on my phone and at the airport so didn’t look too hard, just found preliminary previews indicating MUCL is included. 

10 minutes ago, mspencer said:

Did we ever get a final preview of WU16? Like what airports, POIs, etc are included like we usually get?

I checked real quick but I’m on my phone and at the airport so didn’t look too hard, just found preliminary previews indicating MUCL is included. 

Same thoughts exactly. 

1 hour ago, mspencer said:

Did we ever get a final preview of WU16?

 

55 minutes ago, micstatic said:

Same thoughts exactly. 

 

 

2 hours ago, mspencer said:

Did we ever get a final preview of WU16? Like what airports, POIs, etc are included like we usually get?

I checked real quick but I’m on my phone and at the airport so didn’t look too hard, just found preliminary previews indicating MUCL is included. 

The dev livestream videos & and recaps/transcripts are here: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/tag/dev-stream-recap

From the last one https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/november-dev-stream-2023-transcription/619372, click on the "World Update 16" link on the right-side navigation section.
Direct link to timestamp in stream where they start talking about WU16: https://youtu.be/n0Ugsjs-Os0?t=2720

It’s funny that, I don’t know if you guys know stuff or whatnot, but a lot of people said, “Hey, can we have the Caribbean?” Yep, that’s exactly what we’re working on. So obviously, in the Caribbean, not like more than any other place, but shallow waters are very important, which is why we’re running this experiment.

And then, I just made pictures, like always. So, there’s new elevation data that we have. We have actually done another experiment with a new type of height fields. So that will be interesting to get your feedback on. Totally new aerials, we made 104 POIs, seven bespoke airports, and then like always, three landing challenges, three bush trips. And so, I just made some pictures. and I’m not even going to comment. But I’m very ready, given that it’s winter now, here. I’m longing for the sun. And I will do that in Flight Sim in the Caribbean. Gonna be great.

But you can see here, some of these pictures, you see the shallow waters are missing? So it’ll be a lot better. I’m hoping. There’s like** two teams working on this, hopefully very it’ll work out. So there’s seven airports, and I made just a couple pictures. And by the way, we’re working with Gaya on this. It’s gonna be great quality. Everyone ready for the sun? Yes, I am. **I always am.

Alright, then there’s bush trips: Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. I didn’t put all the landing challenges and everything, but you get the picture. I think it’s going to be really cool. It’s awesome.

And to the bathymetry thing, because somebody was asking, yeah, I mean, what we end up doing is we talk to all the GIS institutes in all those countries. Specifically in these countries, they’re not all that interested to map out the precise LIDAR of their volcanic rocks, essentially. But they do care about bathymetry. So we are actually getting their bathymetry, at least information, but we’re not putting this in here. We currently have no system that would use it, but longer term, it’s something which I would be interested in.
 

Edited January 26, 20242 yr by lwt1971

Sadly, I see little to no progress regarding the state of the bugs and wishes in the life time charts...

43 minutes ago, AnkH said:

Sadly, I see little to no progress regarding the state of the bugs and wishes in the life time charts...

I think it's fair to presume that the transition to MSFS2024 has long since begun and will only grow as we move further into this year, they've probably got a list internally of what they're going to fix/include for the current Sim before they go 100% on the next.

What I'd like from the next live stream is clarity on exactly how long that support will continue for the current Sim, also what the next sim updates entail so we're not left wondering and scratching our heads month after month, be honest and open with us. This would be especially helpful for modders more so than us users, as they're the ones that have to plan ahead for the change and determine whether they release for the current Sim or hold out for the next.

Always Good News !  

Thanks !!!

Hopefully in the Caribbean world update we see a big improvement in:

MKJS (Over current Final Approach one sold thru inibuilds)

MDPP by dreamflight.  

Otherwise it will be a shame for them to spend time on two that already have payware. 

I can't see anywhere them saying we cannot ask about 2024 this time.

5 hours ago, MarcG said:

What I'd like from the next live stream is clarity on exactly how long that support will continue for the current Sim, also what the next sim updates entail so we're not left wondering and scratching our heads month after month, be honest and open with us. This would be especially helpful for modders more so than us users, as they're the ones that have to plan ahead for the change and determine whether they release for the current Sim or hold out for the next.

Always good to get more clarity on both 2024 and 2020 going forward and certainly hope they give more of that and details in this upcoming stream and future ones. They've already said a fair bit since FSExpo last June that shouldn't leave us wondering and scratching our heads as we were just after the announce trailer (and these weekly updates are also an aid to not being confused as to where/when the current top bugs and wishlist items are being slotted for)... though they haven't said *exactly* how long support for v2020 will continue, they certainly have said the continuation of support for v2020 will be in the order of years:

https://www.helisimmer.com/interview/msfs-2024-helicopters-future-msfs-2020

Sergio: Microsoft indicated that MSFS (2020) will still be supported going forward and everyone seems to be freaking out because they think the world is ending. After all, that support will end soon, right? Or is it?
Jorg told me the following: “[…] I think the general perception needs to be, in 2020 support continues, right? We want to make this great. When feasible, when there's improvements in 2024, we are thinking about backporting as feasible. We don't know if everything can be, most likely not everything. But we'll try, you know, make it as good as we can.
I asked Jorg if they had any idea of how many years we would expect support to continue.

Jorg: I do. But I'm not going to tell exactly what year is simply because things change. But the plan is for many years to come. At least a handful. Let's put it that way. That's probably a safe way to say it.


A modder or add-on developer until they have access (however earlier to release) to the v2024 SDK should just keep going ahead developing for v2020. Once v2024 releases and/or they have earlier access to v2024 SDK they should see if the add-on will work as-is or with minimal changes (as MS/Asobo have said), and then decide on doing the extra work to take advantage of the v2024's new features or not. If they were intending to release their add-on around the time v2024 actually releases then they might want to either hold back or release anyways and then put out an update, etc. This shouldn't be rocket science to the add-on devs.
 

I know what they said, but things change, priorities alter, upper shareholders may demand more (especially after recent events) which could mean a blunt end to the current Sim whilst they focus more attention on the next.

Personally I think it's a massive waste of time to make features backward compatible and continue to update the current Sim for years, just fix the age old & obvious issues then drop it entirely and move onto the next and focus all their energy on making that as good as they can, not another bug riddled mess like this one has been at times.

After all this isn't an operating system, this is a game and if history shows us anything it's that developers very very rarely support V1 once V2 is out in the open, as the newer title will need to bring in the cash from initial sales.

Eventually the next sim will get an update that can't be backported, so then any freeware modder, who does these things in their own time, will not want to continually update two different versions of essentially the same mod especially for the first sim that will be used by a far less amount of users than the newer one.

To me it just makes sense to wrap things up in a couple of Sim Updates and move on, hence the need for clarity and openness from the next Q&A, be honest.

Edited January 26, 20242 yr by MarcG