April 27th, 2023 Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator

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!

We had a big day on Tuesday!

To start, we released World Update XIII: Oceania and updated the sim to version 1.32.7.0. In case you missed it, you can read the release notes here. You can also watch the trailer for the World Update below.

Alongside World Update XIII: Oceania, we launched the first in our Expert Series of aircraft, the ATR 42-600 / 72-600. This plane is available from the in-sim Marketplace for USD $19.99 (plus an additional 30% discount for owners of the Deluxe or Premium Deluxe editions).

Since the techniques required to properly operate the systems of this plane are more advanced than many other aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator, we partnered with a real-world ATR pilot from New Zealand to create a Discovery Series of videos to introduce simmers to this plane. These tutorials will teach sim pilots everything they need to know about flying the ATR from cold & dark startup to taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, approach, and landing. You can find this playlist on the official Microsoft Flight Simulator YouTube channel here: ATR Discovery Series

In upcoming news, on Wednesday, May 3, we will be hosting the next of our regular Developer Livestreams. You can watch the panel of Jorg, Seb, Martial, and special guests discuss the future of Microsoft Flight Simulator and answer questions from the community. The livestream starts at 10:30am Pacific Time (1730 UTC) on our official Twitch channel.

– MSFS Team

Feedback Snapshot

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

Development Roadmap

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

Marketplace Update

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

Arriving in the Marketplace this week is the KJFK John F Kennedy International Airport, developed by our friends over at iniBuilds. Check out the trailer to see some of the great work iniBuilds has done:

There are 71 new and 41 updated products in today’s Marketplace this week, and 2 new products from earlier this week. Thursday’s Marketplace update generally goes live between the release of this blog post and 5pm PT.

RELEASED TUESDAY, APRIL 25: 2 NEW PRODUCTS: 1 ON PC, 1 ON XBOX
	New on PC and Xbox

71 NEW PRODUCTS: 36 ON PC, 35 ON XBOX
New on Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox

New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC	New on PC
New on PC and Xbox		New on PC and Xbox

41 UPDATED PRODUCTS: 25 ON PC, 16 ON XBOX
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC
Updated on PC	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC	Updated on PC	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC
Updated on PC	Updated on PC	Updated on PC
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
	Updated on PC

Marketplace Backlog

Current Backlog: 1,004 Total

Marketplace submissions are assigned a priority (P1-P4, with P1 being the top priority) based on defined internal processes and metrics. We review and update the priority system regularly to ensure it is best serving both our players and 3rd Party Developers.

BACKLOG: NEW PRODUCTS

CONTENT TYPE	P1	P2	P3	P4	Total
Aircraft	10	9	29	24	72
Mission	0	4	62	0	66
Scenery	0	1	30	250	281
Livery	2	14	82	38	136
Airport	0	7	104	139	250
Other	0	1	25	6	32
Total	12	36	332	457	837

BACKLOG: UPDATED PRODUCTS

CONTENT TYPE	P1	P2	P3	P4	Total
Aircraft	13	8	0	16	37
Mission	0	0	8	19	27
Scenery	2	1	36	16	55
Livery	0	10	4	0	14
Airport	4	2	12	13	31
Other	0	2	0	1	3
Total	19	23	60	65	167

SDK UPDATE

Asobo

No Update this week.

Working Title / MSFS Avionics Framework

MSFS Avionics Framework
- Check out MSFS Avionics Source Code Mirror to access the latest Avionics Framework source code.
- Find documentation about the avionics framework here: MSFS Avionics Frameworks and Instruments.
- Upcoming framework updates:
  - Extending LNavDirector to add disableAutoSuspendAtMissedApproachPoint parameter to enable avionics to determine whether sequencing should automatically suspend at the MAP. (AAU_02)
  - Improving behavior of Autopilot directors for no active mode (APNoneLateralDirector / APNoneVerticalDirector) for autopilot instances that can be on with no active vertical or lateral mode. (AAU_02)
  - Fixing a bug where FlightPlanner tries to change the active flight plan index to a non-existent flight plan after receiving a flight plan sync response. (AAU_02)
  - Improve BasicAvionicsSystem to support binding power state to subscribables. (AAU_02)
  - Extending SimVarValueType to include PercentOver100. (AAU_02)
  - Fixing bug with zulu time simvar in GNSS publisher. (AAU_02)
  - Changing SmoothingPathCalculatorOptions to contain all optional properties. (AAU_02)

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

As of 04/23, we have now approved 209 (+0) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 188 (+4) have released 1,845 products on PC (+14) and 1,553 on Xbox (+13).
In total, 2,963 products (+18) have already been released in 3^rdparty stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 889 products (+7) from 3^rd party developers are in production (352 announced, 537 unannounced). In total, over 3,852 3^rd party products (+25) have either been released or are in development.
Airports:
- 1,923 airports (+8) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 1,650 airports (+8) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 1,047 airports (+7) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 126 airports (+3) beyond the released airports have been announced.
  - 147 airports (-3) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
Aircraft:
- 603 aircraft (+5) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 235 aircraft (+4) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 173 aircraft (+3) have been released in the in-sim PC marketplace.
  - 148 aircraft (+2) have been released in the in-sim Xbox marketplace.
  - 205 aircraft (-2) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
  - 163 aircraft (+3) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
Scenery:
- 906 scenery packs (+7) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 781 scenery packs (+5) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 300 scenery packs (+5) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 20 scenery packs (+0) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
  - 105 scenery packs (+2) are not announced but the dev let us know that scenery is in production
Mission Packs:
- 175 mission packs (+1) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 148 mission packs (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 87 mission packs (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.
  - 27 mission packs (+1) are not announced, but the dev let us know that they are in production.
Livery Packs:
- 212 livery packs (+4) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 125 livery packs (+1) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 120 livery packs (+1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 1 livery pack (+0) beyond the released scenery has been announced.
  - 86 livery packs (+3) are not announced, but the dev let us know that scenery is in production.
Ships & Watercraft:
- 33 ships & watercraft (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 24 ships & watercraft (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 13 ships & watercraft (+2) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 0 ships & watercraft (+0) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
  - 9 ships & watercraft (+0) are not announced, but dev let us know that scenery is in production.

Community Fly-In

World Update XIII: Oceania is here! To celebrate the release, this week’s Community Fly-In will be an island-hopping tour in French Polynesia. Our flight plan will see us visit the stunningly beautiful islands of Tahiti and Bora Bora with their picturesque beaches and famous floating cabana resorts.

Be sure to download and install the free World Update from the in-sim Marketplace to best experience the scenery during this flight. We also suggest flying a float plane or amphib so you can land on the water.

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

Community Video

As an Expert Series plane, the ATR 42-600 / 72-600 requires some initial setup before you can get airborne and start punching holes in the sky. Through the convenient electronic flight bag (EFB) tablet located next to the captain’s seat, sim pilots have easy access to a multitude of configuration options. In this week’s Community Video, YouTuber BobbyFuzzy provides a very quick tutorial explaining how to calibrate the throttle for the ATR.

Note that Bobby is using a Thrustmaster TCA throttle, but his video will also apply to other flight sim peripherals available for PC and Xbox. Check it out!