In a short yet detailed development video, the head of the MSFS team, Jorg Neumann, described what the near future of MSFS will look like. Touching on the upcoming World Update 14, Local Legend 11, and outlining the development roadmap leading up to the release of Sim Update 13. Unfortunately, this development video was strictly for MSFS, and no further details were revealed regarding MSFS 2024.
Starting off with a recap of the past few months, we saw the announcement of MSFS 2024 details as covered in their FSExpo2023 presentation. We also received several new aircraft, the Latécoère 631, the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, and the Ford 480e Tri-Motor. Additionally, the highly anticipated Aircraft and Avionics Update 2 was released, significantly improving the systems of the Asobo 747 and 787. Lastly, several French cities received updates to celebrate the Paris Air Show, alongside the Texas city updates to celebrate FSExpo2023.
World Update 14 – Central Eastern Europe:
Moving swiftly to the new content, MSFS is receiving a comprehensive update to Central Eastern Europe. Spanning six countries, including 10 custom cities, 103 points of interest, and six airports, World Update 14 promises to please many European pilots wishing for more detailed scenery.
Included in this update are the following countries: The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Croatia. These countries have received a new custom digital elevation model and completely new aerials. Additionally, 10 cities have been fully modeled, including Brno, Plzen, Prague, Budapest, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, Maribor, Split, and Dubrovnik. Add that to the six airports and 103 points of interest, and every pilot, from commercial to regional, should have hours of terrain to explore.
Local Legend 11 – Aero Ae-45 and Ae-145:
Releasing alongside the Central Easter Europe World Update are the Aero Ae-45 and Ae-145, classic Czechoslovakian planes developed just after World War II and proving a great success. The quirky aircraft, named after its ability to carry “4 to 5” passengers, sold well throughout Europe, with some examples even making it to the United States and Australia. Twin piston engines, with the later 145 model having superchargers, made the Aero-45/145 extremely capable, agile, and quick.
The Aero Ae-45/145 was highly advanced for its time period. Some unique features include fully electronic flaps, retractable landing gear, and pitch-trim controller. The all-metal design and streamlined canopy create a striking and unique aircraft with excellent all-around visibility from the captain’s chair.
Sim Update 13:
While this was not intended to be part of the development video, the Q&A session turned into a Sim Update 13 section. Briefly, Jorg disclosed that there should be a beta released around mid-August and that, for the most part, Sim Update 13 is addressing bugs associated with Aircraft and Avionics Update 2 and stability improvements.
Wrap Up:
The stream concluded with a brief overview of the procedure for uploading content to the MSFS Marketplace. They outlined the different tests that ensure add-on functionality and no significant loss of performance. Additionally, they provided more clarity that add-ons wishing to be released by the Thursday MSFS Marketplace update must receive functionality signoff by Wednesday of the same week; however, there is no outline for how long functionality signoff can take.
Finally, Jorg discussed the roadmap for the next six months going into 2024 and bid adieu until next month. Before closing out, he made clear the Local Legend 11 and World Update are releasing on 25/07/2023 to the MSFS Marketplace. He did not confirm when Sim Update 13 will release. However, with beta testing opening in mid-August, it should be released sometime in September.
