March 23rd, 2023 Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator

Screenshot by vp_sim (Twitter)

This week has been full of activity for the team here at Microsoft Flight Simulator. On March 21, we launched the latest major release, Sim Update 12. You can read the full release notes on our forums here.

Also on March 21, we released the next plane in our Famous Flyers series, the Antonov An-2. This versatile STOL biplane from 1947 has been a big hit with players so far, and we’ve really enjoyed reading your feedback and comments. Additionally, Xbox players now have access to the Antonov An-225, previously released on PC three weeks ago.

On March 22, we hosted our latest Developer Livestream on Twitch. Our panel of Jorg, Seb, Martial, and special guests answered many questions from the community, discussed ongoing development, and went into detail about upcoming new content such as World Update XIII and the first of our Expert Series of aircraft, the ATR 42-600 / 72-600 from developer Hans Hartmann.

We also welcomed Evan Reiter from the Flight Simulation Association to announce that the MSFS team will be attending this year’s FlightSimExpo in Houston. If you missed the livestream, you can watch the replay video on our Twitch channel here. We will also publish it to our YouTube channel within the next few days.

During the livestream, Jorg announced a recent change to the pricing of some items in the Marketplace. As a way to show our gratitude to players who own the Deluxe, Premium or Premium Deluxe versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator, we are now happy to offer a 33% discount off the purchase of all first-party planes from the Marketplace to everyone who owns any of these editions or upgrades. Thank you for your support!

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.

This week we’re seeing the launch of FSReborn’s Sting S4 on Xbox! Check out the trailer for this ultralight aircraft:

There are 20 new and 43 updated products in the Marketplace this week. Thursday’s Marketplace update generally goes live between the release of this blog post and 5pm PT.

TUESDAY, MARCH 21:
New on PC and Xbox	New on Xbox	Updated on PC

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23:
	Updated on PC

THURSDAY, MARCH 23:

17 NEW PRODUCTS: 6 ON PC, 11 ON XBOX
New on Xbox	New on Xbox	New on Xbox
New on Xbox	New on Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on Xbox	New on PC	New on Xbox
New on Xbox	New on PC	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox		New on PC

41 UPDATED PRODUCTS: 20 ON PC, 21 ON XBOX
Updated on 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 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 and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox

Marketplace Backlog

Current Backlog: 1,068 Total

In the interest of transparency, we are now sharing the number of products that have been submitted by Third Party Developers for Marketplace approval. You can find this information in the tables below which show the number of backlogged products for PC and Xbox.

There are two tables: the first shows the number of new products awaiting release, and the second shows the number of products that have already been released but have an updated version pending.

BACKLOG: NEW PRODUCTS

CONTENT TYPE	PC	Xbox	Total
Aircraft	33	41	74
Airport	155	136	291
Bundle	7	8	15
Livery	76	76	152
Other	4	5	9
Mission	41	41	82
Pack	1	1	2
Scenery	135	133	268
Total	452	441	893

BACKLOG: UPDATED PRODUCTS

CONTENT TYPE	PC	Xbox	Total
Aircraft	13	9	22
Airport	41	32	73
Bundle	0	0	0
Livery	4	4	8
Other	2	1	3
Mission	13	13	26
Pack	0	0	0
Scenery	21	22	43
Total	94	81	175

SDK UPDATE

Asobo

With the release of SU 12, we have received several reports on DevSupport about terraforming issues. We brought a new terraforming technique to the simulation, which aimed at getting rid of the “staircase” effect on slopes. It is versioned and your existing packages still rely on the old terraforming technique. However, when opening your source project with the Scenery Editor and saving it, your terraforming shapes will be switched to the new version and new terraforming will apply. This is not configurable. Some changes can be expected and require modifications on your side. We detailed everything in this post.
SDK & DevMode latest developments:
- On the 3DSMax Exporter
  - We fixed the generate XML for simobjects (added .gltf in modelfile).

Working Title / MSFS Avionics Framework

MSFS Avionics Framework
- Documentation for the framework has been finalized for SU 12 and the source and project code publishing is also in progress – as soon as the packages are live, the documentation will also be published – keep an eye on our github MSFS Avionics Source Code Mirror this week for the update.
- Upcoming framework updates:
  - Introduced new Flight Plan Predictions Provider interface to the framework. (AAU_02)
  - Introduced new Wind Entry interface to the framework. (AAU_02)
  - Expanded MapAltitudeArcModule to enable setting an initial map visibility. (AAU_02)
  - Expanded Horizon Projection to support relative coordinates and camera relative coordinates. (AAU_02)
  - Expanded FMC framework to support more scratchpad options. (AAU_02)
  - Expanded FSComponent to accept a style object and to allow rendering elements without children. (AAU_02)
  - Expanded FADEC and EngineEvents to support a larger number of indexed engines. (AAU_02)

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

As of 03/19, we have now approved 209 (+0) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 184 (+0) have released 1,770 products on PC (+20) and 1,480 on Xbox (+16).
In total, 2,724 products (+18) have already been released in 3^rdparty stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 776 products (+10) from 3^rd party developers are in production (347 announced, 429 unannounced). In total, over 3,490 3^rd party products (+18) have either been released or are in development.
Airports:
- 1,864 airports (+12) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 1,600 airports (+11) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 1,004 airports (+11) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 120 airports (+1) beyond the released airports have been announced.
  - 144 airports (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
Aircraft:
- 587 aircraft (+2) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 217 aircraft (+3) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 155 aircraft (+3) have been released in the in-sim PC marketplace.
  - 125 aircraft (+2) have been released in the in-sim Xbox marketplace.
  - 207 aircraft (+0) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
  - 163 aircraft (-1) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
Scenery:
- 883 scenery packs (+14) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 770 sceneries (+5) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 291 sceneries (+8) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 20 sceneries (-1) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
  - 93 sceneries (+11) are not announced, but the dev let us know that scenery is in production.
Mission Packs:
- 166 mission packs (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 137 mission packs (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 70 mission packs (+3) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.
  - 29 mission packs (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that they are in production.

Reno Air Race Series

March 22 saw us complete the Grand Final round of our Reno Air Racing Series presented by Tobii. We were absolutely thrilled to welcome Dr. Fred Telling, Chairman and CEO of the Reno Air Racing Association, to our panel for the event. The seven finalists put on an absolutely fantastic performance, with all four races being very tightly contested. The five-way photo finish to the Unlimited class race was a particular highlight.

Congratulations to the top three podium winners, each of whom will take home an Eye Tracker 5 compliments of Tobii! If you missed it live, the replay is available on our Twitch channel (Part 1, Part 2)

Community Fly-In

For Greeks, March 25 is the Celebration of the Greek Revolution, a public holiday commemorating the beginning of Greece gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821.

For Fly-In Friday this week, we will be enjoying a beautiful and scenic flight over Greece, starting from the capital city of Athens where we will see globally-famous landmarks like the Acropolis and the original 1896 Olympic Stadium then onwards to Megara and Agrinio for touch & go landings before turning southbound and flying across the Peloponnese peninsula towards our full-stop at Kalamata.

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

Community Video

When flying a vintage aircraft such as the recently-released Antonov An-2, many simmers may wish to use only those navigational aids that were available to real pilots from that era. YouTuber Jonathan Beckett published a video demonstrating how to perform a cold & dark startup in the An-2 and then take off and navigate from A to B using the legacy radio navaids ADF (Automatic Direction Finder) and NDB (Non-directional Beacon). Check it out!