18.12.2020 – 19:36z

MSFS Development Group Update Featuring VR (17.12.)

It’s that time of the week when the Microsoft Flight Simulator Team post, yet another, development update, and this one comes bearing teasers of the the up and coming VR update, due on the 22nd December.

Episode 9 of their feature discovery series shares more information on how VR will work with the simulator, but one thing they do highlight is that CPU and GPU usage is kept reasonably low, without affecting quality. Check out the video below for more details.

The Team have also posted a screenshot giving some interesting statistics about the new simulator. For instance, the most popular aircraft are the A320Neo (though, more likely the FlyByWire version), the Daher TBM 930, and the Cessna 172 with the G1000. The most popular destination seems to be New York City. The screenshot is posted below if you want to check out the statistics.

Read also: Your Burning PMDG 777 Questions, Answered in Q&A Session

MSFS Development Group Update Featuring VR (17.12.) - Microsoft Development Team, Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Roadmap, bug fix, and wish list screenshots share more information on the updates, especially on what to expect in 2021. The next big update, after the VR Sim update, will be on the 28th January, with a World Update featuring the United Kingdom.

SDK Update

  • DevMode:Now that we announced the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox for Summer 2021, work on GDI+ is focused on allowing the legacy XML gauges system to work on Xbox.
  • The new console is almost ready to go. The last details are currently being tested and this rework will be available in a near-future release.
  • A new airport lights system is available in the Scenery Editor. It is currently in the testing stage and will be delivered in a near-future update.
  • As usual, the team is working on improving the overall stability of the DevMode at the same time, giving special focus to the Project Editor, the Scenery Editor, and the Aircraft Editor. The community’s feedback continues to be helpful in identifying & fixing bugs and thus making the tools better.
  • WebAssembly:We modified the WASM loading sequence so that a flight cannot start before all WASM gauges are initialized.
  • We fixed a clipping issue when using the GDI+ layer.

Third Party Update

  • In the 4 months since launch, we have approved almost 100 3rd party development teams to the Partner Program and they have released over 300 products on the platform to date. Several hundred more aircraft, airports and other add-ons have either been announced or are in production. All this is a great validation to the SDK team and we can’t wait to see all the amazing add-ons the third party community will develop in 2021!
    • Airports:
      • 273 airports (+15 from last week) have been released for the platform so far.
      • 90 airports (+5 from last week) are already in our in-sim store.
      • 57 airports (+12 from last week), beyond the released airports, have been announced.
      • 116 airports (-1 from last week) are not announced but are in development based on information from 3rd parties.
      • In total 446 airports are either already released or are in active production.
    • Aircraft:
      • 12 aircraft (+0 from last week) have been released for the platform so far.
      • 6 aircraft (+0 from last week) are already in our in-sim store.
      • 60 aircraft (+3 from last week), beyond the released airplanes, have been announced.
      • 20 aircraft (+0 from last week) are not announced but are in development based on information from 3rd parties.
        • So overall, 92 aircraft are either released or are in production.
        • Asobo continues to help Aerosoft finish the CRJ and we look forward to the aircraft in the near future.
    • Scenery:
      • 46 scenery add-ons (+6 from last week) have been released for the platform so far.
      • 10 scenery add-ons (+1 from last week) are already in our in-sim store.
      • 4 scenery add-ons (+1 from last week) have been announced.

We continue to have very fruitful conversations with Working Title and are also in contact with Fly By Wire and several other teams that are pushing hard to enhance several of the launch planes. We aim to have more great news ins this area in early 2021!

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