October 21st, 2021 Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator

Screenshot by fs_spotter_kaf from Instagram

We would like to take a moment to say a big ‘THANK YOU’ to the community. Firstly, to those who choose to help with our pre-release testing efforts. We received great feedback from the Sim Update 6 Flight and are looking forward to the Reno flight that starts tomorrow. If you haven’t signed up yet, click here to learn more. And of course, to everyone who participates in the forums, Discord, Reddit, and more: Thank you for being a part of the community! New information has also been shared on our upcoming Reno Air Races DLC, coming November 18th. Learn about all the planes being added below:

Of course, this week we announced our upcoming Game of the Year Edition, which includes new aircraft, airports, missions, features, and photogrammetry cities all free for existing users coming this November 18th.

More news has been shared on our recent Live Dev Q&A, which you can find in the Twitch section of today’s update. Happy flying!

– The MSFS team

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

Click here for the web-friendly version.

FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

Click here for the web-friendly version. To learn more about Accessibility in Microsoft Flight Simulator, click here.

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

COMMUNITY TRIAGE UPDATE

Click here to see our Known Issues list.

Multiplayer Functionality/Live AI Traffic Intermittently Missing since Sim Update 6
- Our team is currently investigating this issue. There are two possible root causes at this time and they hope to make a server-side fix as soon as possible. We will keep you updated on progress.
Avionics Screens Going Black
- While reports of small improvements have been shared post Sim Update 6, the team is still investigating. Sebastian Wloch from Asobo gave this update in the recent Dev Q&A:

SDK UPDATE

General
- Sim Update 6 is live! We found issues in the Project Editor that are already fixed for the next update. Below is some information about the issues:
  - “Remove Package” & “Remove Asset Group” don’t do anything. You will have to edit your Project and/or Package definition XMLs manually to remove entries.
  - If you use the “Export for Community” function, a “MarketplaceData” folder will be mistakenly created in your package which will causes the validation to fail. As an easy workaround, build you package through the “Build package” button of the Project Editor and zip it manually if required.
  - We received reports regarding the fspackagetool not providing feedback anymore upon running. The issue has been identified on our side.

All those issues are fixed on the next update.

Dev Mode
- We fixed an issue with the “Display Collisions” tool which didn’t display the names correctly.
- Scenery Editor
  - We fixed a crash on the Object selector that could happen after building the package.
  - We fixed the floating taxipoints.
  - We now prevent taxipath type changes to or from parking type.
  - We fixed the search filters that no longer worked.
- Visual Effects Editor
  - We added a StaticMesh node.
  - We made major improvements to the Bezier Curve UX/UI.
  - We fixed the duplication of VFX template references when opening effects for edition multiple times.

3RD PARTY UPDATE

As of 10/17, we have now approved 219 (+0) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 119 (+0) have released 558 add-ons on PC (+10) and 203 on Xbox (+18).
In total, 1,403 products (+11) have already been released in 3^rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 391 add-ons (-2) from 3^rd party developers are in production (254 announced, 137 unannounced). In total, over 1,794 3^rd party add-ons (+11) are either released or are in development.
Airports:
- 1123 airports (+8) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 903 airports (+9) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 448 airports (+9) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 107 airports (-1) beyond the released airports have been announced.
  - 113 airports (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
Aircraft:
- 229 aircraft (+2) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 74 aircraft (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 46 aircraft (+3) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 131 aircraft (+1) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
  - 24 aircraft (+1) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
Scenery:
- 399 sceneries (+1) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 383 sceneries (+2) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 38 sceneries (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 16 sceneries (-1) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
Mission Packs:
- 43 mission packs (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 43 mission packs (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 4 mission packs (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.

MARKETPLACE UPDATES

There are 52 new products (24 on PC, 28 on Xbox), and 13 updated products (12 on PC, 1 on Xbox) in the Marketplace today.

UPDATES RELEASED TUESDAY, 10/19: 2 ON PC, 2 ON XBOX

52 NEW PRODUCTS: 24 ON PC, 28 ON XBOX

New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on Xbox ✅
New on Xbox ✅	New on Xbox ✅	New on PC ✅
New on Xbox ✅	New on Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on Xbox ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC and Xbox ✅	New on PC ✅	New on PC and Xbox ✅
New on PC ✅		New on Xbox ✅

13 UPDATED PRODUCTS: 12 ON PC, 1 ON XBOX

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

COMMUNITY UPDATE

Have you made a cool Halloween livery? We are running a Spooktober livery conteest! There is still plenty of time to submit your entry, but voting has opened up today! The winner will receive a year subscription to Discord Nitro, and will also be featured in both the 10/28 Development Update and the Community Fly-In stream the following day on Friday, October 29th. Join our Discord and look in the #halloween-livery-contest channel for more details.

TWITCH UPDATE

We stream weekly on Twitch.tv/MSFSOfficial! This week, there is no Friday Fly-in. Catch Senior Community Manager Jayne and ForderLearntoFly next Tuesday, Oct. 26th at 2100Z (2 pm PT) for our next Flying Lessons in the C172 G1000! And if you missed it, here is the latest Developer Q&A:

COMMUNITY VIDEO

When flying NORDO, air traffic control will use red and green lights to direct your airplane. Keep this in mind as you tour Squid Game Island from the popular Netflix series in this gorgeous 4K video from YouTuber Sam van Breda.

FEATURED FREEWARE MOD

While Squid Game may be the most hyped show of 2021, the popularity of the tv series M*A*S*H was unrivaled back in the 1970s and 80s. With this freeware mod from forum user Photosbykev, you can visit M*A*S*H’s filming location in California and re-create the show’s iconic opening aerial sequence.

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/update-v1-1-m-a-s-h-the-film-set-photosbykev/459429

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

You can now submit your screenshot via Instagram and Twitter with #MSFSchallenge or the Weekly Forum Post! This week’s screenshot challenge: Color Series – Orange

This past week our Screenshot Challenge was Fly Me to the Moon. Here are our runner ups this week: