Today marks the day that Sim Update 13 [1.34.16.0] is officially available to all. The latest update for Microsoft Flight Simulator contains a number of changes and fixes that should enhance the simulator in a fairly significant way.
Whilst this update sadly doesn’t feature anything new or groundbreaking, it instead serves as a major patch to update various aspects of the simulator. The changelog itself is impressive, with a number of fixes to performance, improvements to aircraft, and general bug fixes.
There are also some fairly significant improvements to the included aircraft. Some of the standout features of this new update include new EFB functionality.
Those new functionalities are part of the Boeing 787 and also the Boeing 747-8i, whereby the EFB can now integrate with SimBrief to request payload, wind data, routes and much more. The 787-10 now allows you to calculate takeoff performance and send it to the FMC. Furthermore, the first iteration of a computer and programmed step climb has been implemented.
It’s not just the heavies that saw some significant changes in this update. Glass cockpits with the Garmin G3000 / G5000 and the G1000 Nxi also got some love. The new displays can now show the wind vector on the Navigation Map, Nearest Map, and Weather Map panes. You will also be able to adjust the weather radar gain via the GTC Weather Radar Settings page.
In our post yesterday, Matthew best summarised what to expect from this update:
- White Dot Fix: The update adds two new options to the accessibility menu which will allow players to change the way that the toolbar and ‘white dot’ behaves in the sim.
- Horizon Line Bug Fix: Currently it is possible to see the horizon line in some situations through the sides of terrain and objects. This update sees a change that makes the line ‘less visible’, although according to the developers it is currently not possible to make the line go away completely.
- Stability and Memory Improvements: Simmers should notice that the platform is more stable then ever with several crashes being fixed in this update.
- Logbook Issue Fix: The in-sim logbook has been updated to allow for more flights to be saved. Currently after the logbook exceeds 16MB in size, flights get wiped off to keep the file at or below the limit.
- World Update Fixes: Microsoft, Gaya and Orbx have now resolved ‘the vast majority’ of open issues from World Updates 3 to 12.
- 40th Anniversary Aircraft Fixes: Microsoft and it’s partners here have closed ‘the vast majority’ of open issues relating to aircraft that were added in the 40th anniversary edition of MSFS.
- Piston Engine Update: Working Title have worked on enhancements to the piston engine model, which will be covered in greater depth later in this article.
- Boeing 747 and 787: Both Boeing jets that were patched in AAU2 by Working Title have had additional features added, which will be covered later in this article, as well as a raft of bug fixes.
Sim Update 13 has been in beta testing for a few weeks now, with simmers around the world providing feedback to help ensure it is ready for prime time. With this update now out the door, the team can focus its attention on Sim Update 14. You can read the full list of changes with Sim Update 13 on the official page.
