Microsoft took to the stage at FSExpo 2024 to talk more about the highly anticipated and upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Jorg Neumann, head of Microsoft Flight Simulator, joined by Sebastian Wloch (CEO of Asobo Studio), talked more about some of the features the team has been previewing so far in the trailers, as well as the current status of MSFS 2020.
To begin with, Jorg stated that Microsoft intends to continue supporting MSFS 2020 for the nearby future. After the announcement of 2024, a lot of people questioned the future and continued support for Microsoft Flight Simulator’s current iteration. Microsoft is planning several more updates to MSFS 2020, including City and World Updates.
Following this, Jorg talked about the upcoming MSFS 2024. Through a breakdown of the trailer, Jorg started talking about the activities that are new to 2024 and the technology powering it. Through a picture of Monument Valley taken in sim, Jorg shared how the ground is now completely comprised of 3D (versus a flat 2D texture). On top of this 3D ground the team then adds procedurally generated vegetation. There are almost 30 different biomes in the simulator, which will add their own type of procedurally vegetation and ground details.
When talking about activities, Jorg also shared that MSFS 2024 will see a larger focus on the airline simulation world. AI aircraft are now more realistically modelled, and they include real-world liveries. Also visible in the trailer, commercial aviation was previously shown as one of the new activities coming to MSFS, and Jorg confirmed that iniBuilds is indeed making the A330 in the simulator, as many were speculating about, including the -200 and -300 variants with different engine types. Adding to this, Sebastian shared that the sim will now allow you to go outside of the aircraft and complete pre-flight checklist items, such as removing engine covers.
On a more technical aspect, Sebastian also shared that MSFS 2024 has a lot more points of data compared to its predecessor. It allows developers to add more points of interaction with the simulator, allowing for more accurate flight dynamics and simulation. MSFS 2024 will feature ray-traced shadows, and, when talking about the aerial advertisement activity, Sebastian explained how new methods of simulation will impact the aircraft. This will include the impact of the towing rope and the banner itself flapping around in the wind. Similarly, when doing cargo transport, the weight of the cargo will impact the rope and the aircraft carrying the payload itself.
When it comes to making the world feel more alive and accurate, Jorg and Sebastian also announced several new features. Jorg shared that there are renewed default airport, developed by Gaya Simulations, and airports now include passengers that walk around in the terminal and can enter your aircraft through the jetway. The lighting and cloud engine got an upgrade as well, and the simulator will now feature cirrus cloud, previously absent from the simulator. The new lighting engine will also affect the way that clouds are lit, with the clouds featuring more accurate colours depending on how the light affects it. Furthermore, MSFS 2024 has worked with a large range of glider ports in the world to bring more tow vehicles to the simulator, and all oil rigs in the world will be modelled.
Flight dynamics and CFD will get a large upgrade as well. The CFD simulation will now persist for 6 minutes per aircraft. It will also feature wake turbulence, and aircraft downwash, affecting the ground and trees.
A large topic is of course the new third party aircraft that are coming to MSFS 2024. Jorg and Sebastian officially announced several of the new aircraft visible in the trailer, and the developers creating them. On top of the previously mentioned A330, iniBuilds is also developing the A400M, and working on the Twin Otter that Microsoft obtained from Aerosoft. Got Friends was announced as another aircraft partner, with developer Got Gravel announcing that the Optica has been updated and brought into MSFS 2024. Furthermore, Got Friends will bring more enhanced gliding capabilities to the simulator, including a new gliding avionics system. Last but not least, the Got Friends team announced a new aircraft coming to MSFS 2024, with the announcement of the Stemme S12 glider. This is a motorised glider running on solar power. Mike Patey announced that the Got Friends team will also bring his Draco X to the sim.
Jorg also invited several of the new partners onto the stage; Working Title, well known for the avionics updates for MSFS, shared that MSFS 2024 will bring a new flight planning tool, including fuel and payload planning, airport information and charts. Last but not least, Working Title will be bringing a new Primus Epic 2 avionics system to the simulator.
The second partner announced was Climax. This is a game studio that has developed several games for Microsoft and Xbox. Climax will be helping Microsoft bringing some of the racing activities to the simulator, such as the Red Bull Air Race and Reno Air Races. The Reno Air Races will include a new location, similar to its real world counterpart, in Roswell, New Mexico.
The third partner for MSFS 2024 is Flight Control Replay, who will bring their instant flight replay tool from FCR Version 5 to MSFS. It will also include the ghost plane functionality, allowing you to add a “virtual wingman” by flying together with your recording.
Following these partners, Jorg announced that the Gaya Simulations team will again take care of a large portion of the world and scenery, including some of the enhanced default airport. Henrik Nielsen’s Global Ship AI Traffic will be included in MSFS for enhanced ship traffic and Holger Sandmann from Orbx took to the stage to announce obstructions and obstacles coming to MSFS. These will including antennae, towers, turbines, masts, cooling towers and more. This is done together with freeware developer PuffinFlight, known for their We Love VFR add-on.
Closing the seminar, Jorg and Sebastian announced “one more thing”, with Asobo Studio’s most detailed aircraft to date. Coming as default plane to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be the Boeing 737 Max, garnering a lot of applause from the crowd.
