Hi everyone,
It has been a year since our last big forum organization! Some things worked as well as we had hoped and some didn’t - c’est la vie. Since then we have had a chance to collect more feedback from users and moderators, analyze some painpoints, and understand which categories you tend to use the most.
Based on the analysis throughout the year, we plan to make several changes to the categories on the forums. Our hope is that this will help both new and returning forum users find where their conversational topic or question fits best. It will also start the backbone of what will come down the line once we are ready for MSFS 2024 forum implementation.
Here is a description and inside look of what we have planned as well as an FAQ section below that.
Official Microsoft Flight Simulator
News & Announcements
- Remains unchanged. This will host official announcements from the Community Team.
Polls & Feedback
- Renamed from “Official Feedback” but wholly unchanged - Will host mega-threads from specific releases hosted but the Community Team where you can express your sentiment around certain updates as well as vote in our polls.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- Remains unchanged. This will still be hosted by the official Support team and provide read-only tips, current known/emerging issues, and useful troubleshooting steps.
Forum Navigation
- Updated from “Forum Guides” - A place for users to learn how to make the most out of their forum experience.
Wishlist
- Remains Unchanged but moved to a new parent category. This is where you can upvote feature requests or create a new Wishlist thread.
Community Content Hangar
Become a part of the community by sharing your latest screenshots, videos, and tutorials, or simply come here to search for upcoming fly-in events, groups, and more!
3rd Party Product Announcements
- Remains unchanged. This category is for third-party developers to announce newly-released add-ons or updates to their existing addons. Announcements here are also mirrored on the official MSFS Discord server.
Community Events
- Remains unchanged. Create, join, or browse through community-made MSFS events here.
Community Guides
- Remains unchanged. Find user-made wiki guides on how to navigate Microsoft Flight Simulator, use the SDK, and more! This category is by post-approval only.
Videos & Streams
- Title change only, wholly unchanged. If you are a Youtuber or Streamer, this section is for you! This sub-category is where you can post your MSFS-related videos on the forums. Follow the rules listed here.
Friends, Clubs & Groups
- Remains unchanged. Create and join your own flight group here! Anything from Bush flying clubs to ATC groups, the sky is the limit.
Screenshots
- Title change only, wholly unchanged. This category is to share screenshots, flight plans, or discuss different routes you are taking around the world.
Discussion Hub
This sub-category is your one-stop shop to discuss any and all core or 3rd party products and features in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
General Discussion
- Remains unchanged. This category encompasses any general discussion or miscellaneous topic related to Microsoft Flight Simulator that does not fall under any of the other sub-categories.
Aircraft
- The sub-categories “Gliders” and “Helicopters” will be dissolved back into this as tags as these two categories did not get enough posts. This is a sub-category for simmers to discuss existing and upcoming aircraft and liveries (core, 1st, or 3rd party) and their opinions and recommendations on specific aircraft and liveries.
Activities
- This is a sub-category for simmers to discuss core or 3rd party activities (bush trips, missions, landing challenges, etc.) in the sim.
Airports
- This is a sub-category for simmers to discuss core or 3rd party airports in the sim.
Home Cockpit Builders
- This sub-category is for all things related to building your home cockpit.
MSFS 2024
- Remains unchanged. This is a sub-category for all comments and speculation around Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. We look forward to sharing more information about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 in the future.
Real-life Aviation
- Remains unchanged. This sub-category is for discussion of real-life aviation, whether it’s to talk about progress on your PPL or sharing the latest in aviation.
Tools & Utilities
- Remains unchanged. This sub-category is for discussion of any 3rd party tools or utilities you are using for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
World Discovery
- Remains unchanged. This is a sub-category for simmers to discuss core or 3rd party scenery (photogrammetry, DEM, TIN); flight planning and routes; weather; live weather; fauna, land, and sea traffic.
Bug Reporting Hub
Official location to report bugs in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
All categories remain the same.
Aircraft & Systems
- This section is dedicated to aircraft visuals, avionics, flight model, flight performances, instruments, aerodynamics, and more.
ATC, Traffic & NAVAIDs
- This section is dedicated to ATC, traffic, and navigational aids (e.g. vectors and procedures, VOR/NDB/AIRAC data, ILS, ATIS).
Crashes (CTDs)
- This section is dedicated to crashes on your desktop or console.
Hardware & Peripherals
- Updated name to include Peripherals. This section is dedicated to hardware (Xbox, PC specs, Peripherals, etc.).
Install, Performance & Graphics
- This section is dedicated to download & installation, performance and graphics issues.
Scenery & Airports
- This section is dedicated to airports (e.g. buildings, airport vehicles and personnel, airport lighting, including runway and approach lights) and scenery (elevation issues, trees, water, etc.).
SDK
- The SDK Bugs & Issues section is no longer used to create topics. If you are looking for help or would like to ask questions specific to the SDK, please visit the dedicated DevSupport Forum.
User Interface & Activities
*This section is dedicated to user interface (menus) and activities (e.g. bush trips, flight lessons, landing challenges, live events, Reno Air Racing, Top Gun: Maverick, etc.
Virtual Reality (VR)
- This section is dedicated to virtual reality (VR and VR hardware).
Weather & Liver Weather
- This section is dedicated to weather and Live Weather
Miscellaneous
- This section is dedicated to miscellaneous (e.g. audio/sound, accessibility, flight planning, liveries, logbook, marketplace, etc.)
Resolved
- If a thread or bug is resolved as fixed or complete, it will move here.
User Support Hub
Updated name from “Community Support”. This section is for user-to-user support. Feel free to ask questions here to other simmers who may be able to help with your issue.
We have decided to mirror the categories here with the categories in the Bug Reporting Hub for ease of understanding and moving threads.
Aircraft & Systems
- This sub-category is dedicated to aircraft visuals, avionics, flight model, flight performances, instruments, aerodynamics, and more. This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
ATC, Traffic & NAVAIDs
- This sub-category is dedicated to ATC, traffic, and navigational aids (e.g. vectors and procedures, VOR/NDB/AIRAC data, ILS, ATIS). This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
Crashes (CTDs)
- This sub-category is dedicated to crashes on your desktop or console. If your sim abruptly terminates with or without a warning or error message, this is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
Hardware & Peripherals
- This sub-category is dedicated to hardware (Xbox, PC specs, Peripherals, etc.). This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
Install, Performance & Graphics
- This sub-category is dedicated to download & installation, performance and graphics issues. This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
Scenery & Airports
- This section is dedicated to airports (e.g. buildings, airport vehicles and personnel, airport lighting, including runway and approach lights) and scenery (elevation issues, trees, water, etc.). This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
SDK
- The SDK Bugs & Issues section is no longer used to create topics. If you are looking for help or would like to ask questions specific to the SDK, please visit the dedicated DevSupport Forum.
User Interface & Activities
- This sub-category is dedicated to user interface (menus) and activities (e.g. bush trips, flight lessons, landing challenges, live events, Reno Air Racing, Top Gun: Maverick, etc. This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
Virtual Reality (VR)
- This sub-category is dedicated to virtual reality (VR and VR hardware). This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
Weather & Liver Weather
- This sub-category is dedicated to weather and Live Weather. This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
Miscellaneous
- This section is dedicated to miscellaneous (e.g. audio/sound, accessibility, flight planning, liveries, logbook, marketplace, etc.) This is for user-to-user support and not for official bug reporting.
FAQ
When will this all change?
Throughout December, we plan to slowly start making changes to the forum. You will likely get many notifications about your thread being “Edited” - if you get this, it means we have just moved it to a different category or added a tag to it.
Please have patience as it all comes together, and we hope to have it complete before the start of the new year.
How do I know if my thread belongs in the Discussion or User Support Hub?
If you are asking a question about an issue you are experiencing and want to see if someone else is also experiencing it or want help solving the issue, your post belongs in the User Support Hub.
If you are posting a thread about your thoughts on certain core of 3rd party products or features and want to engage others in sharing their thoughts as well, your post belongs in the Discussion Hub. The Discussion Hub will host many mega-threads by 3rd party devs for their products.
Where will the Beta categories be?
Beta categories will appear as its own section whenever a Beta is active, and disappear when no Beta is occurring.
Why am I getting a notification that my post is showing as “Edited”?
This means that a member of the Forum Team has moved your post to another category or added a tag to it
Cheers and happy browsing,
The MSFS Team