The community was complaining about the ground handling in MSFS 2020 for the longest time. However, it looks like MSFS 2024 has revamped ground handling.

Here is an XCub taxiing over bumpy terrain with small rocks. You can see it bounces as it taxis over that terrain:

 

Here is a plane landing and taxiing on soft sand:

 

Here is a Cessna 172 swaying left and right on the runway:

And here is Seb explaining the changes to the ground handling in MSFS 2024:

 

FSNews.eu says:

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The detail of the virtual environments has been increased by a factor of 4000. The ground will no longer just be a “smooth” field, it will now feature rocks, stones, gravel, grass, etc. in 3D and will interact with your aircraft and affect landings and take-offs.

From what I have read from articles so far, the 4000x increase in detail in the ground should refer visually to the polygons. However, I am not so sure that every polygon or small "rock" from the 4000x increase in ground detail will interact with the plane for ground handling, or whether the 4000x increase in ground detail is for visual purposes only (ie. MSFS 2020 can simulate tire damage at the moment, but it's not allowed to visually show the tire damage).  From what Seb says in the interview above, he seems to imply the 4000x increase in ground detail is now tied to the ground handling, but unfortunately, it's not 100% clear that he is saying that. Maybe somebody else has a better source that clarifies whether the 4000x in ground detail is for visuals only, or whether the 4000x in ground detail also impacts the ground handling.

If you have further gameplay video of the ground handling examples in MSFS 2024, please link it here. Just make sure you include the timestamp in the video (in Youtube, you can click on "Share" and then click on the checkbox at the bottom to start at a specific timestamp in the video, when you post the link here at Avsim).

And feel free to discuss the new ground handling in MSFS 2024. I would also love to hear from real life pilots on what they see on the new ground handling footage for MSFS 2024.

 

Edited September 22, 20241 yr by abrams_tank

2 hours ago, abrams_tank said:

However, I am not so sure that every polygon or small "rock" from the 4000x increase in ground detail will interact with the plane for ground handling, or whether the 4000x increase in ground detail is for visual purposes only

https://msfsaddons.com/2024/09/19/microsoft-flight-simulator-2024-fully-detailed-a-comprehensive-look-at-the-next-gen-sim/#Flight-Modeling-and-Physics

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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 also brings much more interaction between aircraft and the ground or water, which further enhances the realism, particularly in off-airport or bush flying scenarios. Wloch explained that landing on soft terrain like dirt or grass now requires more precision because of how detailed the terrain is. “You can’t just land an airliner on a field anymore,” Wloch noted. Pilots will need to consider the suitability of a landing site, as branches, rocks, and other obstacles can impact the landing.

 

If everything they've shown and said holds true, then 2024 will launch with the best ground physics by far.

16 minutes ago, Cpt_Piett said:

https://msfsaddons.com/2024/09/19/microsoft-flight-simulator-2024-fully-detailed-a-comprehensive-look-at-the-next-gen-sim/#Flight-Modeling-and-Physics

 

Oh cool. Maybe the 4000x increase in ground detail is also related to the ground handling. I guess we will see when MSFS 2024 is finally released.

The XCub bouncing around the terrain with the small rocks in MSFS 2024 looks a little different than MSFS 2020. I don't think planes really bounce around bumpy terrain in MSFS 2020? 

Something I've always been surprised not to see in MSFS is the bumpy contact aircraft experience at touchdown. You see in real life flight videos the inertial shock of an airplane's contact with the ground, but never in the sim.

I guess the practical consideration is that the virtual pilot can't mouse over the controls if they are vibrating and jumping around during take-off, roll-out or anytime during flight. It's always bumpy in flight.

Love the new dust effects.

I see ground traffic is still stupid (the minivan suddenly accelerating toward the plane when it's moving).

And what are all those services doing on a bush runway? 😉

 

 

That first video. Hmmm. Really, all that dust blowing with throttle at idle? Dirt accumulating on the plane that fast? And that take off was dubious to say the least. Ah well, my glass is still half full and this is a major improvement over MSFS 2020, but also a showcase of 'look what we can do, albeit not completely realistic'. I realize it is the same with all games; shooting, racing (my other virtual loves). But boy, looking at these videos, amazing how far we have come. Mind blowing to realize in four or more years time, when the next iteration of MSFS hits the market, all that is shown in these videos looks dated.

2 hours ago, Krakin said:

If everything they've shown and said holds true, then 2024 will launch with the best ground physics by far.

The ground handling does seem like a huge improvement over MSFS 2020. But I guess we will have a final verdict when it's released.

Ya quite honestly all what I've seen so far and heard being discussed in the interviews and articles points to a bigger and wider revamp of ground handling/physics than I thought they'd do. And also how it ties to (and is a natural by-product of) the 4000x increase in ground rendering details and 3D collision modelling at that fine detail.

That last interview was particularly informative where they covered handling/physics on various surface and terrain types including water physics, from the mega thread:

• Long discussion on ground handling: https://youtu.be/u9vUVpettp0?t=1190 ... Cool how the very detailed 3D ground/terrain modelling then naturally transferred to simulating the friction/skidding/etc in the new ground physics without needing specific considerations and separate handling in code for different surface types like done in sims usually ... tire and gear flex etc all now simulated
• Helicopters and auto-rotation and skid friction when landing on different surfaces, etc: https://youtu.be/u9vUVpettp0?t=1511
• Landing in water and consideration of wave shape, etc: https://youtu.be/u9vUVpettp0?t=1598
• Landing and suspension and tire interaction improvements: https://youtu.be/u9vUVpettp0?t=1673

I also thought these two videos of someone just landing for fun on rough terrain in a bush plane were particularly telling.. with all the ground level details increase along with the new ground handling/physics both bush flying and water aircraft are gonna be a lot more fun and immersive in the new sim.
here: https://youtu.be/kJ759EgL04w?t=647
and here: https://youtu.be/kJ759EgL04w?t=621
 

12 minutes ago, lwt1971 said:

I also thought these two videos of someone just landing for fun on rough terrain in a bush plane were particularly telling.. with all the ground level details increase along with the new ground handling/physics both bush flying and water aircraft are gonna be a lot more fun and immersive in the new sim.
here: https://youtu.be/kJ759EgL04w?t=647
and here: https://youtu.be/kJ759EgL04w?t=621
 

The landing of the bush plane in these videos is interesting, with the plane doing a small bounce back upwards when landing. Maybe a real life bush pilot who flies a similar plane to this can comment how this looks to them, when they land a comparable plane in real life on similar terrain as the video.

15 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

 with the plane doing a small bounce back upwards when landing.

Ya I assume that is part of the ground collision modelling.. so depending on the terrain, speed of aircraft, angle, and the size of the object(s) hit by the tires the aircraft could flip forward like that (like Seb talks about in that interview by Blu XPerience)
 

2 hours ago, lwt1971 said:

I also thought these two videos of someone just landing for fun on rough terrain in a bush plane were particularly telling.. with all the ground level details increase along with the new ground handling/physics both bush flying and water aircraft are gonna be a lot more fun and immersive in the new sim.
here: https://youtu.be/kJ759EgL04w?t=647
and here: https://youtu.be/kJ759EgL04w?t=621
 

Hm he said trees aren't crash modelled and flew right through them, but I thought I saw someone hit a tree in another video.

Maybe it was hand placed tree at the airport scenery.

2 hours ago, lwt1971 said:

Ya I assume that is part of the ground collision modelling.. so depending on the terrain, speed of aircraft, angle, and the size of the object(s) hit by the tires the aircraft could flip forward like that (like Seb talks about in that interview by Blu XPerience)
 

Yup, it's cool that pilots now have to scout around below them before they land, and might have to do some flyovers first to check for safe spots to land. I suppose it's like that in real life too.

What about taxiing with big airliners? What about wet and icy/contaminated runways?

Ground handling (how the plane handles the taxi on ground) has nothing to do with ground detail or any bumps felt in your plane.