23.6.2024
MSFS

Microsoft Flight Simulator Development Update at FSExpo 2024

 

As the premier presentation of FSExpo 2024, the Heads of Microsoft Flight Simulator and Asobo Studios shared with the flight simulation world the future of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and its highly anticipated successor: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

The Future of MSFS 2020

Both Jorg and Sebastian came to the FSExpo 2024 with plenty of news and context to share regarding Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and the recent trailer shared at Xbox Gamescon. Their presentation began by sharing news on the sustainment of MSFS 2020 during and after the release of MSFS 2024. As the new simulator has taken development resources away from its predecessor, the practice of monthly updates will no longer be maintained. Jorg clarified, however, that the lifecycle of MSFS 2020 was intended to be eight years. Therefore, since its release, MSFS 2020 will receive a total of 18 City Updates, 38 World Updates, 39 Local Legends, 22 Famous Flyers, and 24 Sim Updates before being considered complete.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Jumping immediately from clarifying the future of MSFS 2020, Jorg and Seb moved to the core of their presentation, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The public has had very little information shared about the upcoming simulator, with the second trailer only released two weeks before FSExpo 2024 at the Xbox Gamescom Event. This trailer snuck many details and teases regarding the upcoming simulator, and as such, Jorg and Seb break the trailer and highlight some of these key details.

Read also: Just Flight Hawk T1/A Receives Weapons Functionality and MSFS 2024 Compatibility Update

Trailer Breakdown

Jorg began the breakdown by addressing the development and continued focus on pilot lifestyle and career management. (As confirmed in the Q&A session following the presentation, the career mode will involve a licensing system and is intended to move away from a game-like experience). Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will maintain the core features of MSFS 2020 and instead build upon or improve features that were determined to be lacking or outdated. Introducing pilot lifestyles and career modes is intended to improve the user experience and bring more purpose to the simulator rather than detract from the simulation.

Terrain Generation

Seb shared details on the changes to terrain generation and showcased some comparison pictures between MSFS 2024 and 2020 to demonstrate the impact of the new generation system. MSFS 2020 utilized a two-dimensional (2D) terrain generation system that created ground mesh textures based on satellite and aerial imagery. This resulted in the flatness that MSFS 2020 is known for. Moving into MSFS 2024, the team at Asobo has partnered with an aerial imagery company that can capture the 3D images of terrain for implementation straight into terrain meshes. As a result, the terrain meshes themselves are 3D, and ground clutter is placed on top of them using an Azure AI implementation.

The Azure AI implementation has a database of 3D models for stones, rocks, plant life, and other ground clutter. The model processes aerial and satellite imagery, finding the highest likelihood match for the ground clutter in the imagery and placing the database models into the mesh. The result is a significantly improved visual experience compared to MSFS 2020.

Read also: TFDi Design Releases Major MD-11 Updates

Bush Pilots will be the most affected by the consequences of the 3D terrain implementation. With complex geometries in the terrain mesh, it has become much more important to analyze a landing spot for bumps or crevices. Otherwise, you might find landing a taildragger going from hard to impossible!

Airports

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will overhaul one of MSFS 2020’s weak points. New airport models, generation, and texturing will bring much-needed improvements to default airports around the globe. The effort to improve immersion has brought a multitude of higher quality and diverse ground clutter models, improved ground markings, and taxiway textures. Additionally, in partnership with scenery developer Gaya, airport terminals, towers, and hangars have received a significant overhaul, introducing interiors, moving jetways, and a much-appreciated feature of animated passengers.

As part of improving airports’ appearance, the lighting engine (which has received considerable attention) has been improved to correct color aberrations and artifacts that caused taxiways to appear too grey and aircraft to have strange shadows. Additionally, new AI traffic models and real-world liveries utilize live traffic for accurate AI aircraft placement and movements. Together, these changes will help the ground environment feel more alive than ever before!

Read also: Fly2High Teases Muan International Airport for MSFS

Atmosphere

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will also see a massive improvement in its overall atmosphere with the introduction of ray tracing and light scattering. This work will improve the shadows produced in the cockpit and the orange and purple effect seen at sunrise and sunset. Asobo has put extensive effort into maximizing graphical improvements at a low performance cost, resulting in an immensely improved simulator experience. Even city night lighting is significantly improved by the light scatter and engine improvements. Additionally, the ocean has received new fully modeled ships, which are accurately positioned in accordance with real-time traffic data.

Another change to the atmosphere (this time literally) is the addition of cirrus clouds and cloud lighting improvements. With the implementation of light scatter, the way light interacts with different cloud types is accurately simulated and represented in the gorgeous screenshots showcased in the trailers and presentation. Additionally, seasons will impact not only the temperature but also ground clutter and conditions, reflecting changes such as Fall with orange and brown leaves, Winter with snow cover and ice, and Summer with bright green fields and crops. This, coupled with the Aurora Borealis in the North, which is an accurately simulated shader, will create a truly spectacular experience.

Aircraft

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will add many new aircraft, all of which will be included in the base package upon release. The biggest announcement regarding aircraft is the addition of the Boeing 737 Max 8, which is being developed by Asobo. They state that this will be their most advanced and thorough add-on to date. The team has made a significant step forward in the flight dynamic simulation for their aircraft and has countless partnerships granting them access to real-world aircraft for referencing flight characteristics.

Read also: inFlight Introduces Sound Module for MSFS

Other notable aircraft were tied to developers during the presentation. A full list is included below.

  1. Airbus A330-200 and -300 (GE / RR variants included) – iNiBuilds
  2. Boeing 737 Max 8 – Asobo
  3. MXS-R – iNiBuilds
  4. Zivko 540 V2 and V3 – iNiBuilds
  5. PC-12 NGX – Carenado
  6. Vision Jet – FlightFX (in partnership with Cirrus)
  7. Robinson R66 – Carenado
  8. Airbus A400M – iNiBuilds
  9. AT-802 Firefighting Aircraft – Asobo
  10. Joby S4 – FlightFX
  11. Twin Otter – Aerosoft
  12. A-10 Wathog – DC Designs
  13. Magni M24 Orion – BlueMesh
  14. Optica – Got Friends
  15. Stemme S12G – Got Friends
  16. DracoX – Got Friends

All of these aircraft will be introduced alongside various quality-of-life and simulation improvements. MSFS 2024 will introduce a walkable exterior, allowing pilots to exit aircraft and even carry out pre-flight checks on the ground. This includes the addition of fully simulated and interactible covers and pitot flags. Additionally, MSFS 2024 will introduce a new modular aerodynamic system that will allow developers to easily create accurate aerodynamic meshes for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and even balloon aircraft. The CFD for these systems will also receive significantly more memory, maintaining active disrupted airflow for up to six minutes for every aircraft in the game. All aircraft will have modeled wake turbulence.

  • Releasing November 19 2024

Partnerships

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has been developed with community involvement in mind. As such, the developers have recruited many of the community’s beloved 3rd- Party Developers to implement their products into the base simulator. Working Title, Climax, National Championship Air Races and Air Show, Flight Control Replay, Gaya, Orbx, and Got Friends are all official partners of MSFS 2024 and are bringing their unique products to the sim.

Read also: MSFS 2024 Sim Update 1 Delayed

Some notable additions include Working Title’s Primus Epic 2 Avionics, which will be added to their avionic framework for all developers. Additionally, they will implement Foreflight directly within the simulator for flight planning and en route mapping. The application will also be available for mobile devices, which will be integrated in-simulator to increase accessibility and home-simulator options. Got Friends will also be bringing the LX Family of glider flight computers to MSFS 2024 to increase the realism of glider operations and flight planning significantly.

Orbx has partnered with Puffin Flight, the freeware developer responsible for VFR improvement add-ons, to create a database of all VFR landmarks worldwide to be introduced into the simulator. This is a much-requested feature that will take the VFR experience in-simulator to another level.

Conclusion

Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Development Update concluded with a reiteration of the release date, November 19, 2024, and a thank you to all the players and developers that have formulated this flight simulation community. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has reached an audience of 15 million unique players, who have completed a total of 1 billion flight sessions. The future of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is looking incredibly promising. As the release date nears, expect more information and specifics on all the new features coming to the game.

Read also: FSExpo 2026 Venue Location Voting Now Open

For more FSExpo 2024 news, check out our dedicated FSExpo 2024 news page here!

Feel free to join our Discord server to share your feedback on the article, screenshots from your flights or just chat with the rest of the team and the community. Click here to join the server.

 

As the premier presentation of FSExpo 2024, the Heads of Microsoft Flight Simulator and Asobo Studios shared with the flight simulation world the future of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and its highly anticipated successor: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

The Future of MSFS 2020

Both Jorg and Sebastian came to the FSExpo 2024 with plenty of news and context to share regarding Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and the recent trailer shared at Xbox Gamescon. Their presentation began by sharing news on the sustainment of MSFS 2020 during and after the release of MSFS 2024. As the new simulator has taken development resources away from its predecessor, the practice of monthly updates will no longer be maintained. Jorg clarified, however, that the lifecycle of MSFS 2020 was intended to be eight years. Therefore, since its release, MSFS 2020 will receive a total of 18 City Updates, 38 World Updates, 39 Local Legends, 22 Famous Flyers, and 24 Sim Updates before being considered complete.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Jumping immediately from clarifying the future of MSFS 2020, Jorg and Seb moved to the core of their presentation, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The public has had very little information shared about the upcoming simulator, with the second trailer only released two weeks before FSExpo 2024 at the Xbox Gamescom Event. This trailer snuck many details and teases regarding the upcoming simulator, and as such, Jorg and Seb break the trailer and highlight some of these key details.

Read also: FlightFX Releases P180 Turboprop for Microsoft Flight Simulatorย 

Trailer Breakdown

Jorg began the breakdown by addressing the development and continued focus on pilot lifestyle and career management. (As confirmed in the Q&A session following the presentation, the career mode will involve a licensing system and is intended to move away from a game-like experience). Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will maintain the core features of MSFS 2020 and instead build upon or improve features that were determined to be lacking or outdated. Introducing pilot lifestyles and career modes is intended to improve the user experience and bring more purpose to the simulator rather than detract from the simulation.

Terrain Generation

Seb shared details on the changes to terrain generation and showcased some comparison pictures between MSFS 2024 and 2020 to demonstrate the impact of the new generation system. MSFS 2020 utilized a two-dimensional (2D) terrain generation system that created ground mesh textures based on satellite and aerial imagery. This resulted in the flatness that MSFS 2020 is known for. Moving into MSFS 2024, the team at Asobo has partnered with an aerial imagery company that can capture the 3D images of terrain for implementation straight into terrain meshes. As a result, the terrain meshes themselves are 3D, and ground clutter is placed on top of them using an Azure AI implementation.

The Azure AI implementation has a database of 3D models for stones, rocks, plant life, and other ground clutter. The model processes aerial and satellite imagery, finding the highest likelihood match for the ground clutter in the imagery and placing the database models into the mesh. The result is a significantly improved visual experience compared to MSFS 2020.

Read also: MSFS 2024 Sim Update 1 Delayed

Bush Pilots will be the most affected by the consequences of the 3D terrain implementation. With complex geometries in the terrain mesh, it has become much more important to analyze a landing spot for bumps or crevices. Otherwise, you might find landing a taildragger going from hard to impossible!

Airports

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will overhaul one of MSFS 2020’s weak points. New airport models, generation, and texturing will bring much-needed improvements to default airports around the globe. The effort to improve immersion has brought a multitude of higher quality and diverse ground clutter models, improved ground markings, and taxiway textures. Additionally, in partnership with scenery developer Gaya, airport terminals, towers, and hangars have received a significant overhaul, introducing interiors, moving jetways, and a much-appreciated feature of animated passengers.

As part of improving airports’ appearance, the lighting engine (which has received considerable attention) has been improved to correct color aberrations and artifacts that caused taxiways to appear too grey and aircraft to have strange shadows. Additionally, new AI traffic models and real-world liveries utilize live traffic for accurate AI aircraft placement and movements. Together, these changes will help the ground environment feel more alive than ever before!

Read also: Orbx Releases Sandane Airport for MSFS 2024

Atmosphere

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will also see a massive improvement in its overall atmosphere with the introduction of ray tracing and light scattering. This work will improve the shadows produced in the cockpit and the orange and purple effect seen at sunrise and sunset. Asobo has put extensive effort into maximizing graphical improvements at a low performance cost, resulting in an immensely improved simulator experience. Even city night lighting is significantly improved by the light scatter and engine improvements. Additionally, the ocean has received new fully modeled ships, which are accurately positioned in accordance with real-time traffic data.

Another change to the atmosphere (this time literally) is the addition of cirrus clouds and cloud lighting improvements. With the implementation of light scatter, the way light interacts with different cloud types is accurately simulated and represented in the gorgeous screenshots showcased in the trailers and presentation. Additionally, seasons will impact not only the temperature but also ground clutter and conditions, reflecting changes such as Fall with orange and brown leaves, Winter with snow cover and ice, and Summer with bright green fields and crops. This, coupled with the Aurora Borealis in the North, which is an accurately simulated shader, will create a truly spectacular experience.

Aircraft

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will add many new aircraft, all of which will be included in the base package upon release. The biggest announcement regarding aircraft is the addition of the Boeing 737 Max 8, which is being developed by Asobo. They state that this will be their most advanced and thorough add-on to date. The team has made a significant step forward in the flight dynamic simulation for their aircraft and has countless partnerships granting them access to real-world aircraft for referencing flight characteristics.

Read also: FTXDes Previews Progress on Eindhoven for MSFS

Other notable aircraft were tied to developers during the presentation. A full list is included below.

  1. Airbus A330-200 and -300 (GE / RR variants included) – iNiBuilds
  2. Boeing 737 Max 8 – Asobo
  3. MXS-R – iNiBuilds
  4. Zivko 540 V2 and V3 – iNiBuilds
  5. PC-12 NGX – Carenado
  6. Vision Jet – FlightFX (in partnership with Cirrus)
  7. Robinson R66 – Carenado
  8. Airbus A400M – iNiBuilds
  9. AT-802 Firefighting Aircraft – Asobo
  10. Joby S4 – FlightFX
  11. Twin Otter – Aerosoft
  12. A-10 Wathog – DC Designs
  13. Magni M24 Orion – BlueMesh
  14. Optica – Got Friends
  15. Stemme S12G – Got Friends
  16. DracoX – Got Friends

All of these aircraft will be introduced alongside various quality-of-life and simulation improvements. MSFS 2024 will introduce a walkable exterior, allowing pilots to exit aircraft and even carry out pre-flight checks on the ground. This includes the addition of fully simulated and interactible covers and pitot flags. Additionally, MSFS 2024 will introduce a new modular aerodynamic system that will allow developers to easily create accurate aerodynamic meshes for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and even balloon aircraft. The CFD for these systems will also receive significantly more memory, maintaining active disrupted airflow for up to six minutes for every aircraft in the game. All aircraft will have modeled wake turbulence.

  • Releasing November 19 2024

Partnerships

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has been developed with community involvement in mind. As such, the developers have recruited many of the community’s beloved 3rd- Party Developers to implement their products into the base simulator. Working Title, Climax, National Championship Air Races and Air Show, Flight Control Replay, Gaya, Orbx, and Got Friends are all official partners of MSFS 2024 and are bringing their unique products to the sim.

Read also: Miltech Simulations Announces the MH-60 for MSFS

Some notable additions include Working Title’s Primus Epic 2 Avionics, which will be added to their avionic framework for all developers. Additionally, they will implement Foreflight directly within the simulator for flight planning and en route mapping. The application will also be available for mobile devices, which will be integrated in-simulator to increase accessibility and home-simulator options. Got Friends will also be bringing the LX Family of glider flight computers to MSFS 2024 to increase the realism of glider operations and flight planning significantly.

Orbx has partnered with Puffin Flight, the freeware developer responsible for VFR improvement add-ons, to create a database of all VFR landmarks worldwide to be introduced into the simulator. This is a much-requested feature that will take the VFR experience in-simulator to another level.

Conclusion

Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Development Update concluded with a reiteration of the release date, November 19, 2024, and a thank you to all the players and developers that have formulated this flight simulation community. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has reached an audience of 15 million unique players, who have completed a total of 1 billion flight sessions. The future of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is looking incredibly promising. As the release date nears, expect more information and specifics on all the new features coming to the game.

Read also: Bell UH-1 from Nimbus Simulation Studios Now Compatible with X-Plane 12

For more FSExpo 2024 news, check out our dedicated FSExpo 2024 news page here!

Feel free to join our Discord server to share your feedback on the article, screenshots from your flights or just chat with the rest of the team and the community. Click here to join the server.

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