One fun exercise is to go through the current Wishlist of the customer feedback and then see which features are being improved in MS 2024, at least that we know about so far.
(full current info here)
So of the the ones with over 1000 votes, just to make this more manageable a comparison:
Bugs (with 2024 column added)
| RANK | VOTES | DESCRIPTION | APPROACH | 2024? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 → | 1193 votes | Live Weather Does Not Match | Ongoing | Looks Better in the demos? |
| #02 → | 1162 votes | Please Fix Photogrammetry and / or LOD | Started (Bridges)* | Yes, maybe or rather TIN etc |
| #03 → | 730 votes | Horizon Line Visible Through Mountains and Objects | Not Planned | No (yes I put a line through No, which means No) |
| #04 → | 670 votes | Your Bandwidth is Too Low (February/March 2023) | Started (Effective AAU02) | Thin Client is a wildcard in this? More bandwidth? |
| #05 → | 663 votes | ATC Incorrect Phraseology | Under Investigation | Not mentioned as yet, or of ATC at all I think? |
Wishlist (with 2024 column added)
| RANK | VOTES | DESCRIPTION | APPROACH | 2024? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 → | 2496 votes | Implement Weather and Terrain APIs for Aircraft Developers | Under Investigation | No mention of API as yet, but mention of aircraft devs getting ‘more control’ |
| #02 → | 1489 votes | Improve AI Traffic at Airports and in the Air | Started (Effective in SU12) | Was a mention of traffic and liveries, but nothing on AI? |
| #03 → | 1299 votes | Replay Functionality Missing | Started (Under Experimental) | Not sure if mentioned, I don’t think so (other than ‘all systems will get looked at’? |
| #04 → | 1172 votes | Open Up The Weather System WRITE access To 3rd Party Devs | Not Planned | Nope still I think, as maybe all in the cloud (heh) |
| #05 → | 1116 votes | Scenery Gateway System – World Hub | Started (Effective in SU12) | On its way and I guess 2024 compat |
| #06 → | 1100 votes | Enhanced API to Access All Aircraft States | Planned | About home cockpits etc, so no mention as yet |
So the major lead things of missions, performance, physics and systems revamp all sound good but didn’t make the 2020 wishlist (I guess who wouldn’t want better perf etc). The MSFS 2024 new features topic list is being gathered here - MSFS 2024 feature/improvement summary - Microsoft Flight Simulator / MSFS 2024 - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums
Things like the thin client and mission structure sounds like they would help with new Xbox players, which is important for MSFS. More detailed landscapes and animals is nice but didn’t see a lot of wishing around it, at least not to attract votes.
Stuff like ATC, Home Cockpits and VR have loud representation on the forums but no real mention as yet for 2024 features explicitly.
Obviously more reveals to come, as I get the impression a lot of the design decisions around 2024 are still baking and it won’t be something that’s going to be released super soon (in 2024). At least a year away maybe?
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” - Henry Ford.
