openstreepmap (OSM) data partially is used in the sim to generate building, their height, shape, position etc, but there is far more data the sim could leverage using OSM data, such as bodies of water, radio mast locations, type, height, lighthouse data, chimneys, flare stacks, streetlight data, the list is endless.
Anyone can edit the maps in OSM, this means we could all contribute to building a better base map for the sim.
OSM data is constantly updated, so ideally, the sim needs to ingest the data on a weekly or monthly basis so we can identify issues, correct it, and have it fixed by the next week/month.
Also worth noting, OSM data is also used in the MS flight planner, meaning even better integration.
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It’s already being done. We generate radio rowers, cellphone masts, chimneys, radar domes and few other types of objects base don dozens tags. We also cross that data with each other. So for example we have a chimney with no other data.But we know it is placed on the same landuse as a nearby cooling tower. Based on that we can assume that it should be at least slightly taller than cooling tower. Because we measured all cooling towers diameters we can estimate height for both cooling tower and that unknown chimney.
We do a lot of similar checks and calculations. Adding to that we manually verify all objects close to airports. We also add specific probabilities per country, like for mast colours. And in some cases, like with cooling towers we check EVERY object manually and add properties to them.
Hopefully we’ll continue to add more object types and more models to cover all properties we have already.
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When you say ‘we’, who do you mean?
Are you talking about OSM data that’s already mapped?
Me and my team are responsible of bringing vertical obstructions to the sim. I’m a developer of We Love VFR addon for MSFS2020 that was quite popular and added those things. For MSFS2024 I was invited to bring them to the main sim with help from OrbX.
If there are any issues with the current data you can report them straight to me or at Scenery section of Bug reporting hub.
Current OSM and FAA data is from February. We can’t just update the OSM data weekly, or even monthly because it’s multipstep and complex process of crossing different data and tons of manual checks for conflicts between objects, odd data, conflicts with airports etc. Also some types of objects like cooling towers and radar domes are all manually verified cause they need to be measured by hand or need colour and type set that is not present in OSM data.
But we want to update it from time to time.
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Thanks for clarifying that, I loved your addons, now i remember your name too.
The point in my request and wish, is that we could all contribute to the map by editing OSM, and Microsoft could leverage data that’s already available right now, with more frequent updates, monthly if not quarterly.
As we are flying around the world, notice something not quite right, we can simply open up OSM, do an edit and next month, it’s there for all simmers, it makes sense that we’d have hundreds of editors checking info than just a few dedicated developers, such as yourselves.
Not only that, MS could dive much deeper into the data, that’s already present.
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Thanks!
As i said, we hope to continue our partnership and I want to do such updates periodically.
Of course I’m talking only about my part of work, not autogen.
If you have any suggestions on the data we currently provide I’ll be glad to hear them. But in case of autogen, that’s on Asobo side, and I have no control over it. And I’d have tons of ideas for it too 
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While a great idea, I see why this can’t be ingested too frequently. There is another issue: if the OSM data is always up-to-date, it will drift more out-of-sync with the Bing Maps aerials and might cause some strange effects.
Interestingly, I added a new supermarket to OSM at the end of June, on the edge of a new housing development. In MSFS 2024, with the Bing aerials, there’s nothing besides some bulldozed fields and a rough road, yet there is a building exactly where I mapped the supermarket, in the corner of the field. It looks slightly out of place, but that data is less than 6 months old and it made it into the sim 
So, keep on updating OSM and rest assured that your changes will - at some point - make it into the sim.
My biggest bugbear with the 2020 data is that all wind turbines seem to be enormous when many should not be. I suspect the data is quite limited, but hopefully it’s something that’s being worked on (haven’t had much chance to try 2024).
Keep up the great work, @PuffinFlight! I loved your mods for 2020 and it’s awesome that you were brought on for 2024 
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Good news! We took care of wind turbines. As you said data is a bit limited but I wrote a lot of code to make it more plausible.
We take into account distance between turbines, proximity of buildings, of course all useful osm tags. But we also created a database of few hundreds of wind turbine models, with their sizes listed.
Then if we have a model maker or model in the data we try to figure out the properties using database. But even if it doesn’t match, we try to figure out power and diameter based on the model naming conventions.
We still use old wind turbine simobjects and just scale them accordingly, but hopefully we’ll be able to add more varied ones at some point. Also there is new addition for offshore wind turbines coming soon.
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Thanks for sharing details of what you’ve been working on, that’s great to hear! 
I’ll hopefully get more time in the new sim soon to check them out. Of course, we’re less likely to notice appropriately-sized wind turbines than enormous ones that stick out where they shouldn’t, so, ironically, your excellent work will not be so noticeable unless compared with 2020 directly. 
Nevertheless, it is much appreciated!
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It sounds like there are some manual verification steps you need to do; I guess it’s something people could just do on the OSM site if so minded, but have you thought about a website to get the community’s help with the manual stuff?
If it’s something like just identifying which pictures are cooling towers like a captcha thinks, I’d be quite happy to spend a few minutes of my commute doing that to help out.
Probably more trouble than it’s worth to sort out, but…
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