Did I see somewhere that they’re going to open up applications to start beta testing sim update 1?
(I’m reading that like sim update 1 will be some time in the spring and sim update 2 maybe in june or july?)
I read it in the 16th of Jan developer update.
Did they provide a form to sign up for the beta testing? Or have they yet to create the form to sign up to be a tester?
Hello @DeathBySybian,
Public testing for Sim Update 1 will be starting soon. There is no need to apply; anyone can opt in to download the pre-release test build regardless of your platform (PC-MS Store, PC-Steam, or Xbox Series X|S). We will post instructions on how to join the beta as soon as it is available.
Any speculation about dates you read that isn’t from an official Microsoft source should be treated only as a rumor.
Thanks,
MSFS Team
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Will the beta branch install a separate version of the simulator, or will it overwrite the existing installation?
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A beta for the beta.
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If it’s like every other beta they’ve done, it’ll overwrite the existing install.
Given how much basic functionality is broken in 2024, it’s not like a 2020 sim update that might break a feature you’ve been enjoying – if SU1 isn’t appreciably better WRT 2020 compatibility and other very core functionality that’s broken in 2024, something’s terribly wrong in France.
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You (MS/Asobo) did push the hype up to launch with pretty frequent updates, you did start the pre-sale 2 month in advance with a lot of promises.
And now after 2 month you still not be able to provide a date for a SU? Or at least give us some insight into what will be included. Even if it is not final. Right now we do have 3 items somehow “confirmed” to be aimed for being part of the SU1
You know how you could end rumors! Just communicate!
I hope there will be a bit more in the dev blog today.
Maybe even some info about the missing Marketplace.
You could do better!
Finaly it is not about you, I understand that you personally have your limitations on what is allowed to communicate. I feel sorry for you guys from the CM department.
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Just out of curiosity… Do we need to pay to upgrade the game from current state to Beta? 
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Do we have any idea yet of how the opt in/opt out process will work?
You may remember a lot of users had issues where they ended up having to re-install the entire sim when they tried to leave the Beta early, which I believe was down to having a non-custom installation folder.
Hopefully that side of it will have been tested before we gain access to it to avoid any further disappointment.
The installation process shouldn’t be part of the Beta test, in other words.
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I think that’s called …"doing everyone a favour "
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That’s fine I suppose since the installer is smallish nowadays instead of the 160Gb+ reinstallation of 2020. Fingers crossed it starts to fix some of the stupid issues.
Sure, sign up, doing beta testing for them. That should be their job.
Also as mentioned above … the game is not in beta stage. It’s not feature complete. It’s alpha version. Considering most of it is from 2020, 2024 is a tech demo.
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What would you propose as an alternative to improve the sim going forwards?
Surely it’s good to have a beta period where people can say “hey, you know this thing you fixed - well, it broke something else” rather than everyone being stuck with issues that get missed by a smaller team?
Sometimes it’s great to have “unbiased eyes” (i.e. a large testing group) during testing. In fact, it’s absolutely necessary on something with this scope. Yes we’re customers but it’s also in our interest to help out if we want to enjoy the sim going forwards - it might be unpaid, but it has a reward (a decent sim in the end).
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No, what we currently have is alpha version. It’s too bugged and too many features are missing to call it beta.
It will be the first beta I will participate in. It can’t be worse than the current version, right?
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SHHHHHHHHH!!! 
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Well ATC is worse than in 2020 so I’m pretty confident it can be worse.
Public beta is the best, proven practice for any software company. No company, not even Microsoft or Apple, can test all the scenarios possible in their complicated software - such as operating systems or open platforms. And Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is an open platform, with a very large number of options by itself. Add different add-ons, and the number of options to test is way beyond any company’s capabilities.
I just hope Microsoft will provide easy reporting tools directly from the simulator, to report bugs and other issues.
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I know both Microsoft and Apple also do closed, invitation-only alpha and beta testing. Apple’s efforts in that regard go back close to 20 years, I know from personal experience. NDAs are typically involved.
That said, MSFS is consumer entertainment software, not core operating system and device functionality testing like the Microsoft and Apple programs with which I’m familiar. An instrumented beta that delivers usage and crash stats and telemetry across tens of thousands of users can uncover needles in digital haystacks that small, targeted alpha- and beta tests won’t find.
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It’s about them if they get sued…