April 8th, 2021 Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator

Screenshot by EvilerGlitter37

Mark your calendars! We are excited for our next live Developer Q&A slated for Tuesday, April 13th at 10:30 am PDT (1730Z) on Twitch to discuss World Update 4 as well as future updates coming next month. Not only that, but we recently announced in the forums a quarterly SDK Q&A that we will bring to you live on April 21st at 10:30 am (1730Z) as well. We can’t wait to chat with the community again and answer more of your questions.

– The MSFS team

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

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FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

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Key:

SU = Sim Update (3, 4, etc.)

WU = World Update

ASAP = As Soon as Possible

TBD = To Be Determined

Several Releases = Fixes will come over a series of updates

Ongoing Fixes = An item we will continually be working on

Planned = Scheduled to be worked on

Under Investigation = The team is currently looking into the issue

Not Planned = We will likely not work on this

Started = Work as started on this item

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

As of 04/04, we have now approved 149 (+0) third parties into our marketplace and, so far, 75 (+4) have released 301 products (+21). In total, 802 products (+25) have already been released in 3^rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 286 products (+1) from 3^rd party developers are in production (154 announced, 132 unannounced). In total, over 1,088 3^rd party products (+25) are either released or are in development.
Airports:
- 695 airports (+19) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 508 airports (+14) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 249 airports (+18) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 77 airports (+5) beyond the released airports have been announced.
  - 110 airports (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
Aircraft:
- 126 aircraft (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 30 aircraft (+1) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 23 aircraft (+1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 74 aircraft (-1) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
  - 22 aircraft (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
Scenery:
- 241 sceneries (+5) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 238 sceneries (+8) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 20 sceneries (+2) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 3 sceneries (-3) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
Mission Packs:
- 26 mission packs (+1) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 26 mission packs (+1) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 3 mission packs (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.

SDK UPDATE

Documentation:
- We added a Package Installer sample (Visual Studio solution with both Wix & Custom Action DLL projects). The installer will automatically detect Store and/or Steam Community folders and install your packages into them.
- We created a new tutorial for creating liveries.
- We also updated the modeling documentation.
Dev Mode:
- We fixed a bug that would not properly reset fonts when using Reset Settings.
- We also fixed a crash in the Project Editor, which could happen when loading a project that already contained built packages.
- In the Aircraft Editor, extend time and retraction time can now be set to 0 for fixed gear.
- In the soon-to-be released Airport Wizard, we fixed an issue with empty airport ICAO list.

MARKETPLACE

There are 5 new products and 1 updated product coming to the Marketplace today.

5 NEW PRODUCTS

1 UPDATED PRODUCT

TWITCH SCHEDULE

Check out what’s coming on Twitch!

Community Video

The community has been enjoying this silly, fun, free mod, a Cardboard Spitfire.

COMMUNITY SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

This past week we challenged you to take a screenshot of a “spontaneous landing.” The winner is the featured screenshot in todays Development Update. for a creative take on the challenge! Thanks to all those who participated! Our next challenge: My Friends and I.