February 29, 2024 MSFS Development Update

[David Mills 4,774]

FEBRUARY 29TH, 2024 – DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

Posted by: Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

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

On Wednesday, we released a new beta build (1.37.5.0) for those players enrolled in the optional Sim Update 15 (SU_15) public test. You can see the release notes on our forums here. Among other improvements, this build fixes a few known issues that were inadvertently introduced in the previous beta build, and it also has some stability enhancements.

We appreciate all the feedback and bug reports we’ve been receiving from the volunteer testers from the community. Your timely and detailed reports of issues really makes a huge difference to the development team. Thank you so much for your efforts!

If you’re participating in the beta, be sure to share your feedback on our forums here.

As noted in the new Development Roadmap below, Sim Update 15 is now targeted to launch on March 26th, alongside the release of the hotly anticipated iniBuilds A320 NEO!

Our next Developer Livestream is scheduled for March 13! As always, it will be hosted on our official Twitch channel, so please follow it if you are not already to receive notifications whenever we go live.

We will be taking questions from the chat live during the session, but if you would like to pre-submit a question to the panel in advance, you may do so at this link. We will tabulate all the submissions to ensure the most popular concerns from the community are addressed during the livestream.

– MSFS Team

 

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

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

FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

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

MARKETPLACE UPDATE

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

There are 73 new and 44 updated products in today’s Marketplace Update.

MARKETPLACE BACKLOG

Current Backlog: 466 Total

BACKLOG: NEW PRODUCTS

	Testing Status
Content Type	In MS Processing	In MS Testing	In 3P Testing	Total
Aircraft	24	0	10	34
Mission	20	0	66	86
Scenery	24	2	1	27
Livery	58	0	22	80
Airport	45	4	25	74
Other	10	0	9	19
Total	181	6	133	320

 

BACKLOG: UPDATED PRODUCTS

	Testing Status
Content Type	In MS Processing	In MS Testing	In 3P Testing	Total
Aircraft	29	1	16	46
Mission	8	0	14	22
Scenery	17	0	0	17
Livery	4	0	4	8
Airport	28	3	10	41
Other	4	0	8	12
Total	90	4	52	146

 

SDK UPDATE

ASOBO

• No update this week.

WORKING TITLE / MSFS AVIONICS FRAMEWORK

• MSFS Avionics Framework
  • In conjunction with SU15 flighting start, we have updated the avionics framework and documentation to support the launch:
    • Avionics Framework packages have been updated with some changes due to flighting feedback. Find the latest at the links below.
    • An NPM package updates will be forthcoming in the next week for avionics packages that have seen changes for or during SU15 flighting. Final versions will be made available upon final SU15 launch.
    • G3X documentation is available on the Avionics Framework document site (see link below).
  • Find the Avionics Framework Source Code here.
  • Find the latest documentation about the avionics framework here.
  • Upcoming Framework Updates:
    • Adding a new checklist API to the Garmin SDK that provides a default framework for managing in-avionics checklists on Garmin avionics. (SU_16)
    • Enhancing features of the TouchSlider interface of the Garmin SDK to provide more logic options to avionics developers using the touch interface for Garmin avionics. (SU_15)
    • Updating WT21 avionics package to include a plugin system to allow third party developers to customize and extend the functionality of the WT21. (SU_15)
    • Adding alternate style options for the WT21 artificial horizon (documentation will be included in the framework docs). (SU_15)
    • Adding support to the WT21 for the new FMC framework from the Avionics Framework to enable extensibility by third party developers. (SU_15)

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

• As of 02/26, we have now approved 253 (+0) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 217 (+2) have released 3,268 products on PC (+34) and 3,000 on Xbox (+33).
• In total, 4,158 products (+22) have already been released in 3^rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 841 products (+23) from 3^rd party developers are in production (347 announced, 494 unannounced). In total, over 4,983 3^rd party products (+29) have either been released or are in development.
• Airports:
  • 2,333 airports (+10) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 2,109 airports (+6) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 1,588 airports (+14) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 112 airports (-1) beyond the released airports have been announced.
    • 112 airports (+5) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
• Aircraft:
  • 794 aircraft (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 367 aircraft (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 286 aircraft (+0) have been released in the in-sim PC marketplace.
    • 271 aircraft (+0) have been released in the in-sim Xbox marketplace.
    • 212 aircraft (+2) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
    • 229 aircraft (+12) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
• Scenery:
  • 1,115 scenery packs (+3) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 1,080 scenery packs (+3) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 644 scenery packs (+3) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 22 scenery packs (+0) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
    • 13 scenery packs (+0) are not announced but the dev let us know that scenery is in production
• Mission Packs:
  • 292 mission packs (+9) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 242 mission packs (+11) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 181 mission packs (+11) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.
    • 50 mission packs (-2) are not announced, but the dev let us know that they are in production.
• Livery Packs:
  • 411 livery packs (+7) are either released or are in various stages of development.
    • 333 livery packs (+2) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
    • 325 livery packs (+2) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
    • 1 livery pack (+0) beyond the released scenery has been announced.
    • 77 livery packs (+7) 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

 

DUNE: PART TWO opens only in cinemas on March 1! To celebrate the release of director Denis Villeneuve’s new film from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, this week our Community Fly-In event will use the recently-launched Dune Expansion as we fly the Royal Atreides Ornithopter along the Persian Gulf from Bahrain to Dubai!

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

TUBELINER TUESDAY

 

COMMUNITY VIDEO

For this week’s Community Video we’re focusing on a new content creator, as we join Nylani for a trip in the Caribbean from St. Barth’s to St. Kitts. Operating in the Cessna 208, this scenic commute highlights two of the most famous airports in the world.

We really enjoyed this well edited flight, and look forward to seeing more in the future from Nylani!

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

This week’s screenshot challenge: V1…Rotate!

This past week’s Screenshot Challenge was: Cloud Chaser

Weekly Screenshot Challenge Winner: Parorng (Forums)

Screenshot by @Otto_Pilot80 (Twitter)

Screenshot by HolmesCZ6127 (Forums)

Screenshot by ZeekR5430 (Forums)

Screenshot by @ukaka5656 (Twitter)

Screenshot by AllenCat2333 (Forums)

Screenshot by @Johnny_aircargo (Twitter)

Screenshot by Zeanuck (Forums)

Screenshot by pby5a (Forums)

Screenshot by @BasedRaccoon (Twitter)

Screenshot by @tsujiKa_air (Twitter)

---

NEXT DEVELOPMENT BLOG UPDATE – March 7th, 2024

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

Edited February 29 by David Mills

[ca_metal 2,029]

Good news: Inibuilds A320 next month.

Bad news: They are not ready to talk about MSFS 2024 in the next dev stream.

[Krakin 5,810]

I am shocked at some of the long standing issues that require the move to 2024 to get fixed. With that in mind, I'm gonna need them to start talking more about 2024 ASAP if I have to get it to pan with the mouse and not have my controls get locked up.

It looks like clouds will definitely look better in 2024. Ray tracing perhaps? We'll see.

[Fielder 3,696]

"Wishlist Last 6 Months"... "World Update: Please use numbers, not Roman numerals".

Talk about big! Wow! Haven't we all dreamed of this in MSFS2020?! Hats and horns for everyone when this finally happens! Oh joy!

 

[Sticky 269]

Fenix B2 is incredible, but crushes my FPS. Looking forward to a reasonable quality free A320.

[polosim 857]

@David Mills thanks for sharing this weekly news.

It is interesting to see back and remember how many improvements MSFS 2020 has had, most have been good, others perhaps not so much, but with all its successes and mistakes it has become a great flight simulator, beyond what many of us would have expected. Now in its twilight and with the next version MSFS2024 in sight, there is nothing left but to thank all those who have made this possible.

[Tuskin38 6,596]

I remember a couple people suggesting that the ini A320N would quietly be swept under the rug and never be released because of the alleged copying from FBW.

Well they were wrong.

Edited March 1 by Tuskin38

[JBDB-MD80 1,480]

6 hours ago, Sticky said:

Fenix B2 is incredible, but crushes my FPS. Looking forward to a reasonable quality free A320.

If you are on P.C. we already have the excellent free FBW A320neo.

[pmplayer 9,562]

What happens with the update off the A310 as has been read in some recent threads. I've been waiting for this for a long time, now I don't see or hear anything about it anymore now ???

cheers 😉

[lwt1971 7,446]

14 hours ago, Krakin said:

I am shocked at some of the long standing issues that require the move to 2024 to get fixed. With that in mind, I'm gonna need them to start talking more about 2024 ASAP if I have to get it to pan with the mouse and not have my controls get locked up.

It looks like clouds will definitely look better in 2024. Ray tracing perhaps? We'll see.

I suspect MS is holding back Asobo until some MS/XBox or other significant event on the calendar to drop the next trailer(s) and more details about MSFS 2024 rather than a dev Q&A livestream. Hopefully such events are coming up during spring time (dunno of any off-hand). I really hope we don't have to wait till June and FSExpo for next batch of information 🙂 Hopefully FSExpo is the timeframe by when they demo the sim live and do other detailed deep dives and interviews.
 

Edited March 1 by lwt1971

[skully 1,046]

6 hours ago, pmplayer said:

What happens with the update off the A310 as has been read in some recent threads. I've been waiting for this for a long time, now I don't see or hear anything about it anymore now ???

cheers 😉

One wonders why the longstanding A310 CTD issue has not been addressed.

What could possibly be the holdup considering INI says they sent the fix to Asobo but really won't say when they sent it or why the fix hasn't been posted or even a workaround offered.

To me, the Ini A310 is the most realistic feeling airliner, from taxi and hand flying the aircraft ever offered for any brand of flight simulator, ever.

It's really a shame to see it left neglected like this.

 

[bendead 1,086]

The Caravelle is planned...😛

Hope it's will be made by Inibuilds and also be in the MSFS professional line

[pmplayer 9,562]

13 hours ago, skully said:

One wonders why the longstanding A310 CTD issue has not been addressed.

What could possibly be the holdup considering INI says they sent the fix to Asobo but really won't say when they sent it or why the fix hasn't been posted or even a workaround offered.

To me, the Ini A310 is the most realistic feeling airliner, from taxi and hand flying the aircraft ever offered for any brand of flight simulator, ever.

It's really a shame to see it left neglected like this.

 

Over the ini Forum the inipeople say to update the A310 has to be done from MS because it is a aircraft from MS now..

But maybe MS has again given an order to inibuilds, who else can really see through that?

But anyway, hopefully the A310 gets the update it deserves.

By the way, i am seeing no CTD with this Airplane but there are a lot other small Bugs still left in there..

cheers 😉

[Krakin 5,810]

On 3/1/2024 at 9:27 AM, lwt1971 said:

I suspect MS is holding back Asobo until some MS/XBox or other significant event on the calendar to drop the next trailer(s) and more details about MSFS 2024 rather than a dev Q&A livestream.

Well it doesn't need to happen in the Q&A but I hope they've started to work on the Feature Discovery vids like they did for 2020. It might also get be part of a state of play type update that is live streamed since this has become the norm with other Xbox exclusive titles. So far they are already behind schedule if we were to compare how they did things the first time around. I guess that makes sense considering the new sim has more of the ground work covered.

I do hope 3PDs have started getting the new SDK at least and then there's also a possible alpha/beta to consider. Again, most of that may be offset by 2024 being a much more mature platform that builds on the strengths of 2020 but as always, we'll see.

[ca_metal 2,029]

38 minutes ago, Krakin said:

Well it doesn't need to happen in the Q&A but I hope they've started to work on the Feature Discovery vids like they did for 2020. It might also get be part of a state of play type update that is live streamed since this has become the norm with other Xbox exclusive titles. So far they are already behind schedule if we were to compare how they did things the first time around. I guess that makes sense considering the new sim has more of the ground work covered.

I do hope 3PDs have started getting the new SDK at least and then there's also a possible alpha/beta to consider. Again, most of that may be offset by 2024 being a much more mature platform that builds on the strengths of 2020 but as always, we'll see.

By now I'm sure they don't plan to do the same they did with 2020. I think it was just a few days after the first trailer (jun/2019) when they released the flightsimulator.com page and their insider hub. I also remember that by the end of the year (nov/2019 I guess) people started getting invited to the alpha program. They were way more active talking about 2020 between jun/2019 and aug/2020. 

My guess is, they don't want to finish off 2020 while it's still thriving. It would be bad for them and also for the third parties. I was very hopeful they would open another alpha insider program, but I can understand why they might not do that again this time.