After a delay to the original target release, Sim Update 1 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is now available for everyone on PC and Xbox. The new update provides a massive number of changes that bring stability and a host of bug fixes following the launch of the simulator back in November 2024.
Stability and performance were a huge focus of this update, taking the key learnings from the post-launch feedback. It includes numerous fixes and crash reports, general in-sim streaming stability, and fixes to the career mode to improve the overall user experience.
In addition to Microsoft/Asobo making some key changes to many parts of the simulator, they have also worked with their aircraft partners to fix a huge number of issues with the included default planes. From the Airbus fleet to smaller Cessna planes, pretty much every new aircraft has seen some kind of change or improvement.
If you have been on the open betas for Sim Update 1, then many of the changes and fixes seen in the changelog would’ve applied to you already. However, if this is your first time moving to Sim Update 1, then you should see a significant number of changes to your simulator. That said, Microsoft isn’t resting here as work on Sim Update 2 is well underway already.
Sim Update 1 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 can be downloaded when you launch the simulator. You can read the full changelog here (it’s lengthy).
As a reminder, if you have any products in your community folder, you should move or rename it before updating to prevent any errors launching the title post-update.
Marketplace Coming Soon
Sim Update 1 paves the way for the in-sim Marketplace, which will be out very soon. This has been long-awaited by many (developers and community members alike) and the final tweaks are being made before it’s available for release.
We’re confident Microsoft will make an announcement once it is available.
Stability & Performance
- Fixed rare crash during airport generation
- Fixed crash when selecting livery after reloading the game while not flying the default variation
- Fixed crash when using ‘Skip to’ feature at beginning of exam.
- Fixed potential crash when switching ON/OFF the VR mode during a flight
- Renamed “Bandwidth” to “Download” in DisplayFPS panel to avoid misinterpretation by the community
- Optimized texture memory usage of WASM gauges
- Fixed crash when closing the game during package mounting.
- Fixed crash when many avatars meet up online
- Fixed crash on Xbox that would occur when accessing areas close to the antemeridian, such as the Savusavu Airport (NFNS) for instance
- Improved loading times for packages with lots of individual files
General Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the controller was losing inputs if the user went into the filters advanced map layers leaves the sub menu then go back in it
- Fixed an issue where going to the world map filters layers would sometimes soft lock the user when going to another page
- Fixed community packages preventing streamed packages with the same name from being found by the sim.
- Fixed wrong HUD color (purple/white instead of green) on some aircraft
- Fixed scene flickering on Xbox sometimes when memory usage is high
- Added profanity check on Callsign and FlightNumber in aircraft configurator
- Fixed a bug where non selectable aircraft were not taken into consideration by various system after a mount/unmount or after a Build Package
- Fixed an issue where going into a showcase “Fixed camera” in the camera panel would cause the camera to go in the cockpit view when reopening the same panel
- Fixed multiplayer nameplate display range to low
- Fixed UI render issue of items outside of their frame
- Fixed Deluxe/Premium/Aviator content not being streamed when booting the game for the first time
- The camera panel no longer forces the cockpit view when opened
- Fixed swapped colors between Offline and Online friends
- Fixed missing music on legacy Discovery flight Activities
- Fixed CLOCK_HOURS/MINUTES_INC/DEC events not behaving as expected
- Fixed several time-related issues such as ZULU/CLOCK SET events not behaving as expected
- Fixed usage of real time instead of flight time when initializing switches (fixes light issues when starting a flight with a sim time that is different from the real time)
- Fixed community packages being duplicated inside content.xml on each boot. Already existing duplicates are removed from file on boot.
- Increased screen exposure under heavy cloud cover
Backwards Compatibility Bugs
- Fixed FS2020 planes exterior lights bleeding into cockpit when displayed in FS2024
- Fixed wrong font selected when rendering XML Gauge elements
- Forced 2024 SimVar AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR to return a very high value if requested from a 2020 sim (can happen if referencing an instrument that has been updated in 2024)
- Fixed textures referenced in FX files not properly loaded when the package is streamed
- Fixed emissives brightness
Aircraft (General)
- New aircraft: the Cessna 185F Skywagon from Carenado.
- Improved the grouping of 2020 aircraft with an empty icao_model in the Aircraft Selector/Configurator
Career Mode Fixes
- Fixed missions not starting at the date and time indicated in the briefing
- Fixed unexpected server error occuring when playing a mission at midnight
- Fixed crash when selecting airport to transfer an aircraft.
- Fixed a crash occurring when transferring an aircraft to a new airport
- Fixed profile bar not accessible when using shortcut in the aircraft management page
- Fixed unexpected server error after quickly activating and removing active pause
- Disabled the skip phase button while in active pause
- Mission distribution on the world map has been improved, including VIP charter missions and night missions.[These career mode changes will arrive later following the release of Sim Update 1]
- Estimated mission currency reward on the world map now takes reputation bonus into account (visual only). [These career mode changes will arrive later following the release of Sim Update 1]
- Passive income is now generated when flying employee missions. [These career mode changes will arrive later following the release of Sim Update 1]
- Fixed an issue where the passive income window is not shown when certain conditions were met meaning that players could not retrieve their passive income. [These career mode changes will arrive later following the release of Sim Update 1]
- Mission difficulty displayed on the world map has been fixed for the following specializations (visual only): [These career mode changes will arrive later following the release of Sim Update 1]
- Agricultural Aviation (Rotorcraft) (5 stars minimum)
- Cargo Transport – Hook (3 stars minimum)
- Scientific Research (2 stars minimum)
- Private Charter – VIP (2 stars minimum)
- Search & Rescue – Hoist (3 stars minimum)
- The following specializations have had their base reward increased: [These career mode changes will arrive later following the release of Sim Update 1]
- Aerial Advertising => 12.5% increase.
- Aerial Agriculture – Plane => 75% increase.
- Aerial Agriculture – Rotorcraft => 32.5% increase.
- Aerial Firefighting – Extended Attack => 35% increase.
- Aerial Firefighting – Initial Attack => 35% increase.
- Cargo Transport – Aerial Construction => 30% increase.
- Cargo Transport – Hook => 8.7% increase.
- Search & Rescue – Airplane => 33% increase.
- Search & Rescue – Rotorcraft => 33% increase.
- Search & Rescue – Rotorcraft Hoist => 66% increase.
- Skydive – Plane => 91% increase.
VR
- Fixed environment cockpit occlusion not working in the right eye
- Fixed an issue that caused the Yoke Hider interaction to fail in VR on the F18, 208B and 172
