December 17th, 2020 Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator

Screenshot by YusufWardana

To wrap up the year with a ribbon, we present to you our final Feature Discovery series episode of the season featuring information on VR (see below)! VR drops this coming Tuesday, December 22nd, with Sim Update 2. We are looking forward to this release and might even have a few surprises coming your way! Stay tuned next Tuesday for the release notes and more. As this is our final, official development update of the year, we wish you the happiest of holidays. Keep flying, pilots!

Here are some of the most recent statistics:

–MSFS TEAM-

FEATURE DISCOVERY SERIES EP. #9 – VR

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

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FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

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SDK UPDATE

DevMode:
- Now that we announced the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox for Summer 2021, work on GDI+ is focused on allowing the legacy XML gauges system to work on Xbox.
- The new console is almost ready to go. The last details are currently being tested and this rework will be available in a near-future release.
- A new airport lights system is available in the Scenery Editor. It is currently in the testing stage and will be delivered in a near-future update.
- As usual, the team is working on improving the overall stability of the DevMode at the same time, giving special focus to the Project Editor, the Scenery Editor, and the Aircraft Editor. The community’s feedback continues to be helpful in identifying & fixing bugs and thus making the tools better.
WebAssembly:
- We modified the WASM loading sequence so that a flight cannot start before all WASM gauges are initialized.
- We fixed a clipping issue when using the GDI+ layer.

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

In the 4 months since launch, we have approved almost 100 3^rd party development teams to the Partner Program and they have released over 300 products on the platform to date. Several hundred more aircraft, airports and other add-ons have either been announced or are in production. All this is a great validation to the SDK team and we can’t wait to see all the amazing add-ons the third party community will develop in 2021!
- Airports:
  - 273 airports (+15 from last week) have been released for the platform so far.
  - 90 airports (+5 from last week) are already in our in-sim store.
  - 57 airports (+12 from last week), beyond the released airports, have been announced.
  - 116 airports (-1 from last week) are not announced but are in development based on information from 3^rd parties.
  - In total 446 airports are either already released or are in active production.
- Aircraft:
  - 12 aircraft (+0 from last week) have been released for the platform so far.
  - 6 aircraft (+0 from last week) are already in our in-sim store.
  - 60 aircraft (+3 from last week), beyond the released airplanes, have been announced.
  - 20 aircraft (+0 from last week) are not announced but are in development based on information from 3^rd parties.
    - So overall, 92 aircraft are either released or are in production.
    - Asobo continues to help Aerosoft finish the CRJ and we look forward to the aircraft in the near future.
- Scenery:
  - 46 scenery add-ons (+6 from last week) have been released for the platform so far.
  - 10 scenery add-ons (+1 from last week) are already in our in-sim store.
  - 4 scenery add-ons (+1 from last week) have been announced.

We continue to have very fruitful conversations with Working Title and are also in contact with Fly By Wire and several other teams that are pushing hard to enhance several of the launch planes. We aim to have more great news ins this area in early 2021!

MARKETPLACE UPDATE

On Tuesday we released 6 new products in our Marketplace and introduced 1 additional partner (Vidan Design).

6 NEW PRODUCTS

2 products have also been updated:

2 UPDATED PRODUCTS

TWITCH SCHEDULE

Join us for the Grand Canyon Razor Run! Your hosts will include Jayne, Simtom, and Chewwy94. We will feature 8 racers but everyone is welcome to participate in the race officially or unofficially! Click here for details.

That will be our last stream for the year. We look forward to more fun with you on Twitch in the new year!

If you are interested in giving a guided tour or joining us on stream, please send a DM to jummivana in the forums! Thank you!

HAPPY WRIGHT BROTHERS DAY!

Today marks the anniversary of a very special event. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made their first successful flight session using the Flyer.

This motorized aircraft took-off and landed for the first time more than a century ago in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Few people witnessed this achievement, but some pictures immortalized this moment.

Several attempts were needed days before for the Flyer to finally lift off the ground and fly 37 meters in 12 seconds without losing control. While creating the Flyer, the Wright brothers showed their ingenuity on many levels. Current aircraft are still using some of same principles of flight as the Flyer.

The Flyer can be seen at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Happy Wright Brothers Day from the Microsoft Flight Simulator Team.