I’ve watched a bunch of videos, but certainly not all of them. Are there any that discuss the improvements in water physics they’ve talked about?
I didn’t see anything in depth about water. If I remember right AvAngel vaguely references it at about 10:45 in her video as she makes a water landing.
I can’t remember who, but someone else had a video that showed a small physical wake spreading on each side of the aircraft which was sort of cool.
Otherwise I don’t think I saw much of anything in depth about water physics.
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Looking at some of the footage MS released it looks like the vessels are now moving in the water as though they are actually floating in it (and affected by its movement) rather than sitting on a flat surface hidden below shallow water.
Did you note that, too?
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Yep, here:
Such a great interview, very informative.
Water isnt the biggest topic, but its talked about by Seb.
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Below are selected excerpts from an excellent article.
"Water Physics and Interaction
In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, water is no longer just a flat surface—it now interacts dynamically with aircraft and the environment. Sebastian Wloch demonstrated how water behaves in 3D, with waves that can affect seaplanes and amphibious aircraft. Pilots will need to pay attention to wave direction and height when taking off or landing on water, as these factors will now have a significant impact on the difficulty of the maneuver.
Interaction with the Ground and Water
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 also brings much more interaction between aircraft and the ground or water, which further enhances the realism, particularly in off-airport or bush flying scenarios. Wloch explained that landing on soft terrain like dirt or grass now requires more precision because of how detailed the terrain is. “You can’t just land an airliner on a field anymore,” Wloch noted. Pilots will need to consider the suitability of a landing site, as branches, rocks, and other obstacles can impact the landing.
In addition, as mentioned before, water now reacts dynamically to the presence of aircraft. Seaplanes, for instance, must take into account the direction and strength of waves, which will affect the takeoff and landing phases. Wloch emphasized that this increased realism forces players to approach each takeoff or landing with careful planning, just like real-world pilots would."
I recommend reading the entire article.
Source Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Fully Detailed: A Comprehensive Look at the Next-Gen Sim - MSFS Addons
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Thanks guys! Great info!
I thought I watched a Squirrel video that detailed some of this, but perhaps it was someone else. When landing in the water, and applying reverse thrust it caused an unrealistic wake, and wave in front of the plane, that kind of popped up out of the water like someone dropped something heavy into it, filmed in slow motion. WIP to be sure, but much better than what we have now. I think they said it might be possible to flip you plane over if you let the floats drop too low on landing. Can’t seem to find that video now, though…
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In BluGame’s video, the wake gets a bit weird and glitchy as the aircraft reverses. Here’s a screenshot but you can see it better in the video. Definitely not the best water effects ever.
The one I remember seeing was side on, and you clearly see the wake in front as reversers engage, and a small wall of water comes up out of the water before disappearing. For the life of me I can’t find that video now, but it was obviously someone who attended the recent Grand Canyon event.
I found the video, and it was actually TTM, cued to the point I was referring to.
You see the plane go into reverse thrust, then a wave appear in front of the plane. Definitely need some tweaking.
As much as I’d love to see proper water physics, I highly doubt they’ve done much more than some minor tweaks and improvements to the water. Hopefully it will come at a later stage. XP12 is the only sim I’m aware of with highly realistic water physics.
You should watch the videos that are out there before you commit to your assumptions.
The planes now react to the water and to waves. It’s all related to the fact that the ground is now 4K more detailed, down to rocks and sticks… and waves. There is less “simulation” now, because they have enough detail in the ground to actually compute interactions They are still working on the wave interaction according to Seb, as, for instance, ripples were initially too solid… Point being, the planes now rock with waves, and there’s interaction.
Am I expecting perfection upon release? Absolutely not. But it’s now a completely different interaction.
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I have watched quite a few of those videos, but so far I haven’t seen anything impressive except new special effects. We’ll find out if my suspicions are correct on Nov 19th 
Seb keeps saying it’s completely changed now. That the planes actually react to the water. Which, he says in fact they used to do, the problem was the water wasn’t very detailed.
What would constitute “impressive” for you?
I wonder how deep the “water” goes? Does that matter? Are the planes only reacting to the surface of the water, the edge of the plane that’s in contact with the surface IOW? Or do we have full body interactivity? Wind on the fuselage and the body of the plane immersed in the water? So acting with the full physics of a sail boat?
It may be too much to hope but it would be great if it could simulate how heavy the plane is, and have it sit lower in the water.
I’m sure it does that!
My question is are they doing the force calcs on the surfaces below the water and above the water (wind). I could see that going quickly out of control, but would be awesome if they are.
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One of the streamers, possibly TTM, said that it will now take more effort to turn in water, and take off, so it seems like friction is being taken into account. If its similar to what we have seen for ground interaction, where wheels carve ruts into dirt, then I’m hopeful.
The water spray I saw looked pretty impressive too, where you could even make out droplets of water in the air.
I believe it was in the Dev Q and A just prior to this most recent one that Martial said the new water was “3D” and issues like bridges having no water under them would be a thing of the past. I assume that anything in the water like marinas or docks would also act that way and hopefully all PG bridges will be out of the water in the new sim. It’d be fun to ‘sail’ your amphibious plane (I know theres a shorter word for that ??) under a large bridge like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I wonder if the wind gets shifty around bridges in the new sim?
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