May 6th, 2021 Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator

“Somewhere over the Amazon” – Screenshot by ScenicAtol3300

Hello all! Based on the results of our last flight, we would like to introduce a new flighting opportunity available for select individuals to help us test Sim Update 4 starting on May 12, 2021.

Our goals:

We would like simmers who are very experienced with our sim to help us identify regressions from our work on the update
We would also like knowledgeable simmers to help us test the specific feature work we have done for this update. These are distinguished from general feature requests that are not targeted for this release.

This testing opportunity will target areas of the sim in performance, stability, ATC syntax accuracy, Aircraft (Engine Performance, Roll Stability, Average Yaw Control, and Aerodynamics).

In order to achieve these goals, we are growing a list of select users from diverse backgrounds and setups to help in this process. These individuals include active forum users, 3^rd party developers, subject matter experts, and more. If you are on this evolving list we will be reaching out to you today to invite you to this opportunity.

In addition, 300 spots will also be open on a first-come, first-serve basis for those self-proclaimed experts in GA who would like to help provide feedback. Sign ups are limited to Windows Store sim users only (sorry, Steam!) this time around as you will be using the Xbox Insider Hub to register.

Registration will open Monday, May 10th at 8 am PDT, and close once we meet our max amount of users needed.

Thank you again for your help! We value your input and are excited for this new round of testing. More details on how to participate and the FAQ can be found here.

– The MSFS team

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

Click here for the web-friendly version.

FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

Click here for the web-friendly version.

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 05/01, we have now approved 166 (+7) third parties in the in-sim marketplace and so far 84 (+3) of them have released 356 products (+22).
Next Generation Simulations announced an exciting lineup of planes for the next 18 months, including several Embraer jets, Fokker, and Saab aircraft!
In total, 895 products (+25) have already been released in 3^rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 341 products (+24) from 3^rd party developers are in production (211 announced, 130 unannounced). In total, over 1,236 3^rd party products (+49) are either released or are in development.
Airports:
- 770 airports (+21) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 563 airports (+13) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 295 airports (+17) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 99 airports (+5) beyond the released airports have been announced.
  - 108 airports (+3) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
Aircraft:
- 145 aircraft (+10) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 34 aircraft (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 23 aircraft (-1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 89 aircraft (+10) 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:
- 284 sceneries (+8) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 268 sceneries (+9) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 23 sceneries (+1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 16 sceneries (-1) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
Mission Packs:
- 30 mission packs (+3) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 30 mission packs (+3) 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 made major changes to the Project Editor pages, specifically Marketplace Data and Exporting.
- We also added Livery samples to the Table of Contents.
- We updated the Xbox page to explain how to build a package.
- We added new tutorials for creating liveries.
Dev Mode:
- We finalized the first version of the Visual Effects Editor, which will be available on a beta version in the next release. Known issues are listed in the documentation and you can find a video tutorial which will help you get started and enable you to create your own visual effects.
- We made some changes to the Release Note section: added new icons, sub-labels and colors when the active release note is selected.
- We fixed aircraft filters disappearing when building an aircraft package.
- In the Scenery Editor, we fixed DisplayName for Rectangles so that they are actually saved and loaded properly.
- We fixed a bug in the legacy .air file parsing process that prevented proper conversion to the new .cfg-based system.

MARKETPLACE

Today there are 8 new products and 9 updated products in the Marketplace.

8 NEW PRODUCTS

9 UPDATED PRODUCTS

TWITCH UPDATE

Tomorrow, join us for Community Fly-in Friday! We will be airstrip hopping at the Sossusvlei Namib Desert. All skill levels welcome. More details can be found here.

Community Video

A time lapse of an approach and landing at Munich airport (EDDM) after a flight from Lagos in a A321.

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

This past week we challenged you to take a screenshot of “Peace and Quiet”. The winner is featured above. Below are our 10 runner up choices! This week’s Screenshot Challenge: My House

Last challenge’s Finalists: