November 18th, 2021 Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator

Screenshot by Filippo20032222 (forum)

We are thrilled to release the Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year Edition as a “thank you” to our fans who have made the sim such a phenomenon. The GOTY Edition is a free update for owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator, and release notes can be read here.

Also released today is our Reno Air Races Expansion! Take off in the world’s fastest motorsport in this exhilarating online multiplayer racing experience. Choose from dozens of highly detailed racing aircraft, developed in close collaboration with the Reno Air Racing Association.

A big shout out and thank you to The Game Awards for nominating Microsoft Flight Simulator once again in the Best Sim/Strategy Game category! We are beyond honored for this recognition and are excited to be amongst so many other amazing games this year.

– The MSFS team

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

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FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

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KEY
SU = Sim Update (6, 7, 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 this issue
Not Planned = We will likely not work on this
Not Started = We have not begun investigation on this yet
Started = Development work as started on this item

Feature Discovery Seres Episode 11 – Reno Air Races

SDK UPDATE

General
- We spotted issues on the Sim Update 7 that couldn’t be fixed in time. Even though they are fixed now, you may encounter them, so here is a list of known problems:
  - PaintedHatchedAreas make the sim crash.
  - Null-size flags file in your package sources may cause invalid materials (pink aircraft). Delete them to solve the issue.
  - glTF errors may prevent you from building your aircraft when using some Blender exporters.
  - The aircraft control is lost when the Aircraft Editor is open. Closing the editor will restore controls.

Dev Mode
- We now ignore null-size flags file, to avoid invalid materials which result in pink aircraft.
- Creating a project with special characters (e.g. accents) in the project’s path no longer causes a crash.
- Scenery Editor:
  - We fixed a crash that could happen when trying to add a CarParking to the scene.
  - We fixed a crash that could happen when trying to add a PaintedHatchedArea.
  - We had an error “Parking not linked to the main graph” that prevented you from saving your scenery. We downgraded it to a “warning” only so that you can still build your package. However if your parking ~~have~~ has a weird appearance, linking them to the main graph will solve the issue.
  - We fixed an infinite loading after a restart when an airport has an invalid preset light.
- Visual Effects Editor:
  - We now allow spawning VFXs on SimObjects without setting any node or any contact point. VFX will be attached to the root node of the object.
- Aircraft Editor:
  - We fixed the interactions with the sim that were disabled when the Aircraft Editor is open.

3RD PARTY UPDATE

As of 11/14, we have now approved 225 (+0) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 126 (+2) have released 640 products on PC (+17) and 313 on Xbox (+21).
In total, 1,491 products (+32) have already been released in 3^rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 389 products (-4) from 3^rd party developers are in production (262 announced, 127 unannounced). In total, over 1,883 3^rd party products (+31) are either released or are in development.
Airports:
- 1169 airports (+19) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 951 airports (+18) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 515 airports (+11) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 112 airports (+4) beyond the released airports have been announced.
  - 103 airports (-6) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
Aircraft:
- 237 aircraft (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 80 aircraft (+2) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 52 aircraft (+2) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 133 aircraft (-2) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
  - 24 aircraft (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
Scenery:
- 432 sceneries (+12) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 415 sceneries (+12) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 41 sceneries (-1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 17 sceneries (+0) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
Mission Packs:
- 45 mission packs (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 45 mission packs (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 5 mission packs (+1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.

MARKETPLACE UPDATES

There are 51 updated products (31 on PC, 20 on Xbox) in the Marketplace today.

51 UPDATED PRODUCTS: 31 ON PC, 20 ON XBOX

Updated on PC ✅	Updated on PC and Xbox ✅	Updated on PC and Xbox ✅
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 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 ✅	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 ✅	Updated on Xbox ✅
Updated on PC and Xbox ✅	Updated on PC ✅	Updated on PC ✅
Updated on PC and Xbox ✅

TWITCH UPDATE

We stream weekly on Twitch.tv/MSFSOfficial! With the release of the Game of the Year Edition and Reno Air Races for Microsoft Flight Simulator, pilots now have access to some high performance hardware! That means it’s time for a flight through the famous Mach Loop, a circuit route through mountainous valleys in Wales. This is a popular training area for RAF and NATO pilots to practice high speed, low altitude flying. After completing our runs through the Mach Loop, we’ll continue on for a tour of the UK with touch and go landings in Liverpool, Birmingham, and Duxford before arriving at our final destination of Norwich. Click here for more details on how to participate.

COMMUNITY VIDEO

The Reno Air Races expansion is available now! Want to hone your flying skills around the pylons? Learn from a pro by watching this over-the-shoulder video from Biplane class pilot Sam Swift flying his #3 Pitts Special “Smokin’ Hot” at the 2021 National Championship Air Races.

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

You can now submit your screenshot via Instagram and Twitter with #MSFSchallenge or the Weekly Forum Post! This week’s screenshot challenge: Game of the Year

This past week our Screenshot Challenge was Gear Up!. Here are our runner ups this week:

Screenshot by gopensgo291 (Forum)