[BLOG] March 31, 2022 Development Update

SeedyL3205 · March 31, 2022, 7:29pm

We are excited to announce our next testing opportunity will be available soon for Sim Update 9. Our main focus for this beta is:

Checking stability and performance
Testing against the release notes to confirm accuracy
Identify any regressions that may have taken place due to code changes
Providing an opportunity for 3rd party developers to test their products in a beta environment

Please remember this opportunity is for those who wish to provide feedback on the current state of the build, not for a sneak preview of the final build to be released at the end of April. Our goal is to fix any regressions you report as quickly as possible but note that some bugs may be prioritized for a later update as we will not be able to fix every report found during the beta window.

The Sim Update 9 Beta will be available to join in the next few hours, and the build will be available to download at some point during the day on April 1st. To join this public test, please see the instructions below for your preferred platform.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU JOIN

MS Store PC Users: There is always a risk that you may have to re-install the sim when joining/leaving a flight, so please keep this in mind before participating. When the flight ends, we ask that you manually remove yourself from the Preview. By doing so, you will get an update to MSFS with the latest public build. If you do not remove yourself from the group, we plan on automatically removing everyone on May 3rd. At that point, you will get an update to MSFS with the latest public build.

If you have MSFS content installed completely on a custom path, you will have a much lower chance that a full re-install will be necessary when the update is officially released. However, if your sim content is installed in the default path selected by the in-game content manager, you may have to reinstall the whole sim when moving from the test build to the public build. We recommend that those who wish to test with us ensure your sim content is located in a custom path before joining the flight to avoid full reinstallations in the future (Details on how to do this can be found here.) The best set up would be for your store app to live on the default C: drive and sim content on a custom drive.

Please remember if you decide to join the Beta and install the build, you will likely have to re-install your sim if you wish to leave the Beta before it ends.

There will be a public forum area to submit feedback and test the release notes on Friday, April 1st, so please stay tuned until then.

MICROSOFT STORE OR XBOX

Open the ‘Xbox Insider Hub’ on your PC or Xbox (or install it via the Microsoft Store if you do not have it yet)
On the left side, click ‘Previews’
Look for ‘‘Microsoft Flight Simulator – Sim Update 9’’ and click ‘Join’ to confirm your participation.
Xbox: Open the Store to Microsoft Flight Simulator to receive an update to your build
PC: Open the Xbox App to Microsoft Flight Simulator to receive an update to your build

If you would like to leave the pre-release test before it ends and re-install the live build, follow these instructions:

Open the ‘Xbox Insider Hub’ app
Navigate to ‘Insider Content’ > ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator – Sim Update 9’
Select ‘Manage’
Use the radio button to select ‘Unenroll (Leave this preview)’, then select ‘Done’
Wait an additional 30-60 seconds after unenrollment completes (Pending no longer appears in the Xbox Insider Hub). If not on a Custom path, you will have to reinstall the sim to restore the prior build.

STEAM

Open your Steam Library
Right-click Microsoft Flight Simulator
Click “Properties”
Click “Betas”
Select “flight_sim_beta – Sim Update 9”

If you would like to exit the pre-release test before it ends and revert back to the live build, follow these instructions:

Open your Steam Library
Right-click Microsoft Flight Simulator
Click “Properties”
Click “Betas”
Select “None”

Thank you and we look forward to your feedback!

MSFS Team

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

The Development roadmap has been updated for Q2 2022. Please see the new roadmap below. 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.

SDK Update

General:
- A new version of the Aircraft Editor with documentation & a video tutorial should be made available soon.
DevMode:
- Visual Effects Editor:
  - We fixed the node graph’s update that was not reflected when Stopping/Respawning an effect.
  - We fixed a crash that could happen when opening a VFX after deleting one.
  - We made UX improvements to Create, Delete, Rename & Clone pop-ups.
  - Enter & Escape keys are now functional to validate and cancel. The focus is automatically set on input text fields.
  - We fixed the SetScale node input that was always displaying the wrong input type.
  - We also fixed GetParticleAttribute & GetGroundAttribute that wouldn’t display the right output type.
- Project Editor:
  - We made some fixes on the package cleaning process.
- Aircraft Editor:
  - We keep polishing the new version of the Aircraft Editor. It no longer alters your .cfg files so you’ll keep your comments, line breaks, etc. Only the values are edited now.
  - Next step, we will focus on the resync function to make it more reliable.
SimConnect:
- It is now possible to remove Waypoint flags.

Third Party Update

As of 03/28, we have now approved 246 (+5) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and – so far 139 (+3) have released 993 products on PC (+13) and 697 on Xbox (+13).
In total, 1,990 products (+39) have already been released in 3rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 496 products (-70) from 3rd party developers are in production (256 announced, 240 unannounced). In total, over 2,486 3rd party products (-1) are either released or are in development.
Airports:
- 1404 airports (-10) are either released or are in various stages of development (removed duplicates).
  - 1209 airports (+19) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 676 airports (+11) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 83 airports (-36) beyond the released airports have been announced.
  - 112 airports (-14) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
Aircraft:
- 346 aircraft (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 114 aircraft (+5) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 78 aircraft (+2) have been released in the in-sim PC marketplace.
  - 53 aircraft (+2) have been released in the in-sim Xbox marketplace.
  - 158 aircraft (-1) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
  - 74 aircraft (-4) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
Scenery:
- 656 sceneries (+10) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 589 sceneries (+15) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 146 sceneries (+6) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 15 sceneries (+0) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
  - 52 sceneries (-5) are not announced, but the dev let us know that scenery is in production.
Mission Packs:
- 80 mission packs (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.
  - 78 mission packs (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
  - 9 mission packs (+1) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
  - 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.
  - 2 mission packs (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that they are in production.

MARKETPLACE UPDATE

Click here for a web-friendly version.

Today is the last day of the World Update 8: Iberia Sale! Click here to learn more about the 35 items currently on sale.
On Tuesday, we launched the Dornier Do J in the Marketplace for USD $14.99. You can learn more about this aircraft here.

There are 33 new and 24 updated products in the Marketplace today. Marketplace updates generally go live on Thursdays between the release of this blog post and 5pm PT.

TWITCH UPDATE

We stream weekly on Twitch.tv/MSFSOfficial! Following up last week’s Community Fly-In through Spain, tomorrow we’re visiting Portugal to explore more of World Update VIII: Iberia! Our flight plan will take us from Porto to Lisbon. Click here for details on Friday’s flight. All are welcome to participate!

Community Fly-In: Portugal. Starting on Friday April 1st at 1900Z.

We are also currently holding a vote to determine where to visit for next week’s Community Fly-in! So far through the community’s help, we have decided that next week we will be flying in South America. We still have a country and then later a flight plan to determine, so head over to vote on our forum post and on our Twitter!

COMMUNITY VIDEO

YouTuber Cinematic Flight has created a beautiful 4K video showcasing all the famous landmarks and points of interest in Madrid, Spain post-World Update VIII: Iberia. Check it out!