[BLOG] May 13th, 2021 Development Update

Zurich - Screenshot by Steeler2340

Sim Update IV Community Testing is underway! We have already started to collect feedback from experienced simmers and pilots alike. The hope for this test is to catch any possible regressions and to test all the new features and bug fixes coming out in the next update.

Our next monthly Dev Q&A is coming up on May 26th at 10:30 am PDT! Feel free to submit a question for them here.

This past week, Microsoft Flight Simulator was inducted into The Strong’s World Video Game Hall of Fame! Here is a video from Jorg Neumann talking about this incredible moment:

- The MSFS team

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

Click here for the web-friendly version. Most recent update:

FEEDBACK SNAPSHOT

Click here for the web-friendly version.

Key:

SU = Sim Update (3, 4, 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 the issue

Not Planned = We will likely not work on this

Started = Work as started on this item

THIRD PARTY UPDATE

  • As of 05/09, we have now approved 176 (+10) third parties into the in-sim marketplace and so far 85 (+1) have released 364 products (+8).

  • In total, 934 products (+39) have already been released in 3rd party stores and the in-sim marketplace. Beyond that, another 333 products (-8) from 3rd party developers are in production (203 announced, 130 unannounced). In total, over 1,267 3rd party products (+31) are either released or are in development.

  • Airports:

    • 792 airports (+22) are either released or are in various stages of development.

      • 586 airports (+23) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
      • 303 airports (+8) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
      • 98 airports (-1) beyond the released airports have been announced.
      • 108 airports (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an airport is in production.
  • Aircraft:

    • 150 aircraft (+5) are either released or are in various stages of development.

      • 38 aircraft (+4) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
      • 23 aircraft (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
      • 90 aircraft (+1) beyond the released aircraft have been announced.
      • 22 aircraft (+0) are not announced, but the dev let us know that an aircraft is in production.
  • Scenery:

    • 295 sceneries (+11) are either released or are in various stages of development.

      • 280 sceneries (+12) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
      • 23 sceneries (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
      • 15 sceneries (-1) beyond the released scenery have been announced.
  • Mission Packs:

    • 30 mission packs (+0) are either released or are in various stages of development.

      • 30 mission packs (+0) have been released on the platform so far in various stores.
      • 3 mission packs (+0) have been released in the in-sim marketplace.
      • 0 mission packs (+0) beyond the released missions have been announced.

SDK UPDATE

  • General

    • The AnswerHub Q&A platform should go live within a month. We are experiencing some delays because we are collecting forum topics from the past 30 days to import into the platform and due to the website configuration.
    • The 3rd Party private section of the forum will then be turned into read-only mode once the AnswerHub Q&A platform goes live.
    • We fixed empty CG that was incorrectly set from user values.
  • Documentation

    • We cleaned up the SampleMaterials sample.
    • We edited the Missions documentation.
    • We added a new tutorial for airport creation using the Airport Creation Wizard.
    • We made a major update to the Project Editor section, especially Marketplace Data & Exporting.
  • Dev Mode

    • We are now ready to release the new Visual Effects editor, in a Beta version, with the next release.
    • We fixed a bug where recent projects list was not loaded when opening the Project Editor.
    • We added an “Open Recent” menu in the DevMode tool bar.
    • We added “Enable Terraforming & Water Flattening” in the DevMode option.
    • We added more precise gizmo control with shift key.

MARKETPLACE

Today there are 20 new products and 9 updated products in the Marketplace.

20 NEW PRODUCTS
616x514 617x515 626x515
618x515 619x516 617x515
618x514 617x512 625x515
615x515 627x516 !
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625x515 627x515 626x515
627x514 627x516

9 UPDATED PRODUCTS
627x515 625x516 626x515
627x517 625x515 625x515
626x517 626x516 626x518

TWITCH UPDATE

Tomorrow, join us for a guided tour around New Zealand with ATR pilot and flight simmer zkdos! And next Friday, May 21st, welcome back TheFlyingFabio for another group flight. More details to come.

SCREENSHOT CHALLENGE

This past week we challenged you to take a screenshot of “My House”. The winner is featured above. Below are our runner up choices! This week’s Screenshot Challenge: Movie Magic.

Last challenge’s Finalists:

Planet Earth - Screenshot by ScenicAtol3300

England - Screenshot by BobbyFuzzy

Canary Islands - Screenshot by Perretoso

Brighton. England - Screenshot by MarcG888

Planet Earth - Screenshot by ScenicAtol3300

North Rine - Westphalia - Screenshot by Jannik207

Halifax, Canada - Screenshot by gopensgo291

México City, México - Screenshot by Zerch00

Stoke-on-Trent - Screenshot by AgreedCashew361

Mt Hood - Screenshot by Dave00155

Oyten - Screenshot by GymmeFyve

NEXT DEVELOPMENT UPDATE BLOG – 5.20

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

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