Flight Simulation developers are continuing to work hard on platforms and add-ons, with the teams behind Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 sharing relevant details about its progress.
As usual, before we get down to business, below you can find a link to news that received its own individual coverage.
You can check out all the news below.
Microsoft Provides Update on the State of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Announces Upcoming Patches.
We heard from Microsoft today, providing an update on the progress of fixing the issues that came up at launch. The statement, signed by Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann himself, mentions that the issues with streaming have been resolved and reliability is now above 99.999%
On top of this, Neumann promises another update for the week of December 2 “with further stability improvements and other fixes” followed by another the following week.
We are happy to report that the issues regarding access and streaming have been resolved. The distribution layer capacity has been increased to handle the immense interest in the simulator and the reliability is now above 99.999%. Our servers and services are also all performing as expected.
We successfully deployed hotfix 1 last Friday, Nov 22nd, which increased stability and addressed several experience issues. We are currently preparing another patch for the week of Dec 2nd with further stability improvements and other fixes. Subsequently, we are planning on providing a third, larger patch during the week of Dec 9th.
We have recently ported much of the marketplace content from Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS 2020) to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (MSFS 2024). Recent reports from the community show that some 3rd party add-ons are causing significant issues, including preventing some users from entering the simulator. Until we identify which content is causing these issues, we will temporarily deactivate all MSFS 2020 non-aircraft content from MSFS 2024.
As part of the patch planned for the week of Dec 9th, we will add the ability for users to disable/enable content on their own. We will also add a safe boot option to deactivate 3rd party content in case of a crash when booting up the simulator.
Next week, we will hold our regular Dev Q&A stream where we will provide further updates and answer community questions.
We will keep our FAQ updated with the latest findings.
Working Title Discusses Progress of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024’s Flight Planner
One of the most interesting additions to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is its flight planner, and developer Working Title provided discussed its progress since launch on its Discord server.
We just wanted to thank everyone who participated in giving us feedback and reports in this first week of MSFS 2024 release. It’s been amazing to watch folks use the new flight planning tools; the interest has been humbling and exciting, with tens of thousands of flight plans saved already, many terabytes of charts served, and peaks of some hundred thousand requests per minute. We’re also thrilled that our architecture and infrastructure has paid off, and I have to thank all of the folks here who all put in so much work and sweat to make this all possible; I can’t understate just how proud of everyone I am. Indeed, even though we haven’t made any explicit announcements, not just one but six(!) updates have been deployed so far to https://planner.flightsimulator.com/.
Some update highlights include:
- Better auto-route capability that now also selects any required departure and arrival procedures
- Overhauled route preview with color coded flight segments
- Better handling for approach selection, including circling approaches
- Improvements in text-based route parsing
- Better navaid prioritization on the map and tweaks to map styling
- Refinements in many controls, including the chart viewer, precipitation layer control, and right click context menu nearest navaid search
- New options: preferred chart provider and length units setting
- A whole host of bugfixes, including fixes for saving plans with alternates, procedure previews, runway lengths, passenger weights, route pane performance, and more
Please continue to offer your feedback, we warmly welcome it and truly do appreciate everything you all do.
Boeing 777 Freighter by PMDG for Microsoft Flight Simulator Gets Release Date
PMDG’s Robert Randazzo announced that the Boeing 777 freighter variant is going to release on December 6, 2024 during the evening GMT.
It includes “accurately modeled supernumary controls and functions, main deck lighting systems, manual or automatic operation of the main deck cargo door to include the door sill mating plate, safety guards and other features.”
The price will be announced at release.
As for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, the developer is pressing forward in creating a native version of both the 77W and the freighter, with no timeline, as there are issues with the toolkit that need to be solved by Microsoft/Asobo.
The goal is to provide an upgrade pathway for the aircraft that won’t require a repurchase or a big price tag for the users.
Sikorsky S-76C++ for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and 2020 Gets New Screenshots
Cowan Simulations released new screenshots of its upcoming Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter, which will be coming to both MSFS and MSFS 2024.
We don’t have a release date yet, but it certainly looks good.
General José Antonio Anzoátegui International Airport Released for Microsoft Flight Simulator
Fssdesigner released General José Antonio Anzoátegui International Airport (SVVA) serving Barcelona, but not the city in Spain, the one in Venezuela.
It’s available on Simmarket for $23.75 and it’s for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.
Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport Released for X-Plane
Fly2High released Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (KJAN) in the United States for X-Plane 12 and 11.
You can find it on Orbx Direct and Simmarket starting at $16.54.
It includes the following features:
- Highly Optimized
- Custom orthophoto covers airport and surroundings
- Detailed ground markings based on recent charts of parking stands and new taxiway layouts including recent changes in taxiway layout
- Custom taxiway signage
- Custom HDR lighting
- Complete PBR + normal texturing of all objects and ground
- Most models and textures are based on photos taken at the airport
If you’d like to get into flight simulation but you’re perhaps a bit intimidated by its apparent complexity, you can read our introductory guide, alongside the second episode focusing on installing add-ons, and another showcasing the basic instruments.
You can also read more flight simulation news in the previous roundup article.
