MSFS24 Little Navmap Support for MSFS 2024

[albar965]

I started a request in the MSFS support forums: Provide readable airport data for Little Navmap

Please vote there if you'd like to see Little Navmap to support MSFS 2024. This is currently not doable.

The main airport data is encrypted, incomplete and streamed on demand, which prevents me from adapting Little Navmap to MSFS 2024. There is no way to load this scenery library partially locked down by DRM. Also, I see structural changes in the current navdata BGL files that will be very difficult to come by since the format is not documented.

What you can do now with Little Navmap and MSFS 2024

The flight plan format (PLN) has changed. You can load Little Navmap plans in MSFS but you have to select procedures manually in the MSFS 2024 EFB.

I'll adapt Little Navmap for a next release to allow loading and saving MSFS 2024 flight plans.

Note that the simulator connection is not affected by any of this and for now you can still use Little Navmap for flight following using the MSFS 2020 or an Navigraph scenery library database.

If you have a subscription and updated Little Navmap navdata to the latest and would like to use Navigraph

1. Switch to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 in the menu Scenery Library.
2. Deselect Select Automatically in menu -> Scenery Library -> Navigraph.
3. Select Use Navigraph for all Features in menu -> Scenery Library -> Navigraph.
4. Connect to MSFS 2024 from menu Tools -> Connect to Flight Simulator, click on tab MSFS and on Connect.

Note the limitations in this mode where no aprons and taxiways are shown.

If you would like to use your MSFS 2020 Scenery Library Database

1. Switch to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 in the menu Scenery Library.
2. Connect to MSFS 2024 from menu Tools -> Connect to Flight Simulator and click on tab MSFS and Connect.

Of course, development of Little Navmap for other simulators will continue.

[jabloomf1230]

Done. I assumed that when Asobo said they would allow users to choose between local and streamed, that the base airport and navdata wouldn't be encrypted if the user downloaded it to their PC.  We'll have to see what is actually done when Asobo implements this change to "My Library".

 

[jabloomf1230]

I asked about local files being encrypted on the the MSFS Official Developer forum:

https://devsupport.flightsimulator.com/t/will-it-be-an-optional-for-our-customers-to-download-an-aircraft-locally/11291

Maybe they will answer tomorrow.

[albar965]

12 hours ago, jabloomf1230 said:

I asked about local files being encrypted on the the MSFS Official Developer forum:

Thank a lot for the link. I'll follow this one.

Alex

[jabloomf1230]

Here's some more info on how to look at the MSFS2024 Virtual File System (VFS):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRGZ2lfaCLbtruuUi03QnHTsNHp1BUFYCCNKYHxaQTi6ducqGG1Hh6dIZ0KiRxrZN459GKsZMr3-Hp5/pub

I tried doing this and the base scenery data is not encrypted. Once you follow the instructions as to how to initiate the VFS, the airport, nav etc. BGL files are located at:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Limitless_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\VFSProjection\scenery

New sections have been added to the airport, nav etc. BGL files that I can see, 0x32 (NAX) 0x34 (ATX) and 0x35 (APX). There may be more new sections. CVX and OBX files seem unchanged. I'm still looking around the VFS, but at least this is something to think about.🤔

 I linked a zip with some sample files from 302:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-vOHLNXL7tVRFpemQ-929s28Ndkn3JVg&usp=drive_fs

[albar965]

6 minutes ago, jabloomf1230 said:

Here's some more info on how to look at the MSFS2024 Virtual File System (VFS):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRGZ2lfaCLbtruuUi03QnHTsNHp1BUFYCCNKYHxaQTi6ducqGG1Hh6dIZ0KiRxrZN459GKsZMr3-Hp5/pub

I tried doing this and the base scenery data is not encrypted. Once you follow the instructions as to how to initiate the VFS, the airport, nav etc. BGL files are located at:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Limitless_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\VFSProjection\scenery

New sections have been added to the airport, nav etc. BGL files that I can see, 0x32 (NAX) 0x34 (ATX) and 0x35 (APX). There may be more new sections. CVX and OBX files seem unchanged. I'm still looking around the VFS, but at least this is something to think about.🤔

 I linked a zip with some sample files from 302:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-vOHLNXL7tVRFpemQ-929s28Ndkn3JVg&usp=drive_fs

Thank a lot. This helps.

Never thought about VFSProjection. I searched through my whole AppData folder for BGL files and did not find any. Have to check if or why these are missing here.

I hope to find the missing APX files.🙃

LNM reads these BGL files

# APX	Airports
# ATX	Routing information
# NAX MSFS procedures and navaids with dummy airports and COM
# NVX	Navaids - VORs, NDBs, & associated scenery objects.
# bvcf.bgl	CENTER type airspace boundaries.
# BNXWorld*	Geopolitical and airspace boundaries.

I already tried to read the other files but I found changes in records which did not appear as new types. Strange to change a present record without adding a new type for it.

Alex

 

 

[jabloomf1230]

16 minutes ago, albar965 said:

Thank a lot. This helps.

Never thought about VFSProjection. I searched through my whole AppData folder for BGL files and did not find any. Have to check if or why these are missing here.

I hope to find the missing APX files.🙃

LNM reads these BGL files

# APX	Airports
# ATX	Routing information
# NAX MSFS procedures and navaids with dummy airports and COM
# NVX	Navaids - VORs, NDBs, & associated scenery objects.
# bvcf.bgl	CENTER type airspace boundaries.
# BNXWorld*	Geopolitical and airspace boundaries.

I already tried to read the other files but I found changes in records which did not appear as new types. Strange to change a present record without adding a new type for it.

Alex

 

 

APX files have only 2 new items, text markings and VDGS objects, neither of which seem needed for LNM to function properly. 

[albar965]

Just now, jabloomf1230 said:

APX files have only 2 new items, text markings and VDGS objects, neither of which seem needed for LNM to function properly. 

Ok. Sounds good. Not at my flying computer now but I'll have a look tomorrow. In the past the changes were relatively easy to detect if they use new record types.

Alex

[B21]

Hi folks - good job by @jabloomf1230 .

If/when the airport reference data is obtained, there are still challenges with the PLN file itself because of Working Title's design to have the EFB App the hub-of-all-things-nav rather than API's in the sim, and the 'load PLN' functionality in the 'traditional' sense (you have a PLN file from somewhere, you want to load that) doesn't seem to have been planned AT ALL. So what we have currently is a retrofit with an extra 'Load/Save PLN' button within the EFB app in addition to the planned  EFB-only 'Load Flightplan' button which works with Working Title's web app planner.flightsimulator.com and exchanges data 'internally' (I think it actually uses Xbox storage). IMHO none of this is really quite ready for go-live.

This mostly impacts the gauge (or simconnect app) access to the 'flightplan' data after the 'Load PLN' is clicked as now it's the EFB app loading the flightplan, generating it's own version of a 'planned route' given that PLN and that's what gets served inside the sim where realistically only the Working Title Garmins can receive that data.

So the LNM functionality should be updatable to be 'ok' feeding the EFB and thus the MSFS Garmins, although there might be a bit of trial and error comparing what you feed in vs. what the Garmins ultimately display (e.g. currently the PLN title and waypoint names are discarded). Use cases outside those Garmins are really struggling though, especially our gliding usage of PLNs for which LNM has been very helpful (thanks).

[albar965]

2 hours ago, B21 said:

If/when the airport reference data is obtained, there are still challenges with the PLN file itself because of Working Title's design to have the EFB App the hub-of-all-things-nav rather than API's in the sim, and the 'load PLN' functionality in the 'traditional' sense (you have a PLN file from somewhere, you want to load that) doesn't seem to have been planned AT ALL.

Not sure if I understand everything.
I have no idea what Working Title is doing there but I can load a plan file into the MSFS EFB. Good enough for me. If they need their own plan format I can add it.

The PLN format has changed slightly (even to the better - no redundant waypoints) and you have to select procedures manually. I'll add the MSFS 24 format in the next update.

Alex

[B21]

3 hours ago, albar965 said:

I can load a plan file into the MSFS EFB.

sure - I think from that standpoint you have no issues at all. It's inside MSFS2024 where the nav API's that used to be connected to the PLN have all been altered/removed and the EFB serves it's *routePlan* which has a slightly tenuous relationship to what was in the PLN. You could reasonably take the view that's nothing to do with LNM but it's a niche detail to be aware of. Pilots using the MSFS in-game Garmin panels and the nav in the big jets will be fine.

[HarryS]

Can it still be used as a moving map in MS2024?

[albar965]

10 hours ago, HarryS said:

Can it still be used as a moving map in MS2024?

Yes. See my post on top.

Alex

[fl95]

Do you see a chance to display the Multiplayer Aircrafts from FS2024 in LittleNavMap ?

Achim

[albar965]

2 hours ago, fl95 said:

Do you see a chance to display the Multiplayer Aircrafts from FS2024 in LittleNavMap ?

 

Hi Achim, I'll have a very close look at SimConnect again but I'm not sure. This is a long lasting problem. Looks like another petition is needed for this.🙃

 

All: Regarding the airports from MSFS 2024: A friendly user on Github pointed my nose to the right functions and I'm now trying to fetch the data through SimConnect. Still experimenting with it but it looks good so far. This is actually a path I tried to avoid due to the big effort but I guess I've no choice.

Alex