MSFS2020 Map Enhancement has been updated to version 10.0, introducing a new Building Enhancement (Beta) feature for both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024.

The new feature provides updated building data for approximately 700 million buildings worldwide, aiming to improve building coverage and quality compared with the existing simulator building data.

For most regions, the updated building data comes from the latest publicly available OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. The existing Microsoft Flight Simulator building data is based on an older OSM dataset from around 2024, so areas where OSM has been updated since then may see noticeable changes.

One particularly interesting point is China. According to the developer, the building data for China has received significantly larger updates, so the differences may be much more noticeable than in other regions. This could potentially make a significant difference to how cities and populated areas look in the simulator.

The feature does not affect areas covered by Photogrammetry, as those areas already use Microsoft's photogrammetry buildings.

Building Enhancement is currently free for all users until October 1, 2026. After that, downloading, updating and using the building packages will require a Pro license.

I'm curious to see how much of a difference this makes, especially in China and other regions where the OSM building data has changed substantially since 2024.

Has anyone tried it yet?

As long as the ground texture resolution in MSFS 2024 is till lower than before I do not use the ME tool anymore.

44 minutes ago, GSalden said:

As long as the ground texture resolution in MSFS 2024 is till lower than before I do not use the ME tool anymore.

You didn't try the recent update that improves that then? World of difference....!

May I know which update, Marc ?

The one before V10, details in a thread here recently

Woof, last time I used this was in 2020. It was good for Europe and faraway regions but did little for North America.

Does anybody still use this. Still worth it. Could be interesting for flying in South America.

I would mainly be interested if this would help VFR flying at low altitude.

4 hours ago, MarcG said:

You didn't try the recent update that improves that then? World of difference....!

See : https://www.aiflygo.com/docs/msfs-map-enhancement/known-issue/

Look at the bottom

Edited August 19Aug 19 by GSalden

11 minutes ago, GSalden said:

See : https://www.aiflygo.com/docs/msfs-map-enhancement/known-issue/

Look at the bottom

I know that, thing is they're both the same quality now and have been for a year as Asobo removed the 512x512 (or a "bug" as they stated) texture format.

Anyway, the Map Enhancement Mod has added in a new way of getting better sharper textures with some sort of "magic", tried it and it's better than default MSFS2024 but does hamper the FPS. As above this was added recently, thread elsewhere.

Just now, GSalden said:

See : https://www.aiflygo.com/docs/msfs-map-enhancement/known-issue/

3 hours ago, MarcG said:

I know that, thing is they're both the same quality now and have been for a year as Asobo removed the 512x512 (or a "bug" as they stated) texture format.

Anyway, the Map Enhancement Mod has added in a new way of getting better sharper textures with some sort of "magic", tried it and it's better than default MSFS2024 but does hamper the FPS. As above this was added recently, thread elsewhere.

Marc, is Apple Maps really better than the default Bing Maps ?

You seem to be confused I'm not talking about maps specifically, I was talking about this;

Ground Detail can now be fine-tuned continuously from Low to Extreme, making it easier to find the right balance between clearer ground textures and smooth simulator performance for your system.

It helps the textures remain crisp & clear at different altitudes and not default whereby you can clearly changes in the TLOD system affecting the textures as you raise altitude (see Asobo; Downgrade). Now it's not better than losing the 512x512 textures (see Asobo; Downgrade/Bug) that we all had at the start, but it's better than standard. As per other thread, setting it to 'Extreme' is night & day different to "Simulator Default" but at the expense of performance.

What I am struggling to see is any difference with the Buildings in this update, I've downloaded the lot (little over 12gb) and gone to different areas but can't see any building differences 🤔

@MarcG

This is about the new building enhancement :

Do you know how to change the colors of the Tiles ?

I remember doing that while Fs2020 was running and it could be seen in realtime.

If I do the same now in Fs2024 nothing changes ( I use the Apple Map with the Pro version )

Edited August 20Aug 20 by GSalden

On 8/20/2026 at 2:12 AM, MarcG said:

Ground Detail can now be fine-tuned continuously from Low to Extreme, making it easier to find the right balance between clearer ground textures and smooth simulator performance for your system.

I'd like to know what this "technology" is. The author generously offers to use it for 15 minutes for free. Apparently, so the user doesn't realize the catch.

On 8/19/2026 at 3:12 PM, MarcG said:

Ground Detail can now be fine-tuned continuously from Low to Extreme, making it easier to find the right balance between clearer ground textures and smooth simulator performance for your system.

It helps the textures remain crisp & clear at different altitudes and not default whereby you can clearly changes in the TLOD system affecting the textures as you raise altitude (see Asobo; Downgrade). Now it's not better than losing the 512x512 textures (see Asobo; Downgrade/Bug) that we all had at the start, but it's better than standard. As per other thread, setting it to 'Extreme' is night & day different to "Simulator Default" but at the expense of performance.

One thing that's not clear to me, before I take the plunge and install this mod -- can the ground detail be made higher with the default MSFS 2020 map? I have no interest in trying other map sources, but given the unlikelihood at this point of Asobo ever fixing the SU16 texture downgrade, am interested in getting back the detail that we've lost.

45 minutes ago, Jetguy87 said:

One thing that's not clear to me, before I take the plunge and install this mod -- can the ground detail be made higher with the default MSFS 2020 map? I have no interest in trying other map sources, but given the unlikelihood at this point of Asobo ever fixing the SU16 texture downgrade, am interested in getting back the detail that we've lost.

Yes, the ground textures can be shown at a higher resolution.

I only use the MSFS 2024 version.

You can choose between :

Low - Default MSFS - Mefium- High - Extreme

Edited August 21Aug 21 by GSalden

I'm not entirely sure they are higher resolution, all I see at the Extreme setting is a maintaining of the texture output as you go higher (using the drone) instead of many LOD changes as you gain altitude. I'm not convinced these are 512x512 textures again for example, that still needs to be fixed by Asobo unless it was a deliberate downgrade they decided to be silent on (wouldn't surprise me).