With Microsoft releasing the latest iteration for their flight simulator, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, later today, there is a lot of anticipation and hype within the community. At FSElite, we are just as excited as you are for the impending release of MSFS 2024. Therefore, we have collected some of the features that we are most looking forward to later today.
1. Thin Client
Before we even take command of a plane in the simulator itself, let’s start with the install size of MSFS. MSFS 2020 was a whopping 150 GB large, and that is without additional content and World Updates. We all know that having a lot of additional content installed quickly approaches several 100’s of Gigabytes. So we are very excited for MSFS 2024’s “Thin Client” technology. At launch, the simulator will require only 50 GB of storage space. MSFS 2024 will heavily rely on cloud streaming, including files that previously had to be stored on your PC. Though, keep in mind that while the install size itself has gone down, a good internet connection is of the essence.
2. All The New Aircraft
MSFS 2024 is set to release with a large range of aircraft: 70 in the standard edition, 10 more in the Digital Deluxe, 15 more in the Premium Deluxe and those who have purchased the Aviatior Edition will see their virtual hangar expanded by another 30 aircraft. Needless to say, there’s plenty of choice. While some aircraft are tried and true classics from MSFS 2020, such as the TBM-930 and the DA-62, these aircraft have all been upgraded to MSFS 2024 standards. And there are plenty of new additions to get excited about, such as the Airbus A330 (CEO), Boeing 737 MAX 8, PC-12 NGX and the Cirrus VisionJet. There is a huge variety of aircraft at your disposal to discover MSFS 2024’s “new world” with.
Microsoft has also partnered with many third party developers to bring us some of these new aircraft. These include the likes of iniBuilds, Got Friends, Hype Performance Group, Carenado and more. By partnering with these developers, Microsoft has ensured that we will have some amazing new aircraft available, offering an even higher fidelity than some of the default aircraft.
3. New World
Like I already mentioned above, MSFS 2024 is set to include a “new world”. Don’t worry, it’s still the same earth as it was in MSFS 2020; it hasn’t suddenly become smaller, bigger, or flat. But it has received a huge visual upgrade compared to the previous flight sim iteration. Instead of the flat ground textures that featured in MSFS 2020, the ground will be made up of 3D polygons in 2024. This allows the ground to look far more realistic, with bumps, cracks and tyre tracks of your aircraft. But it’s not just the ground itself that got a visual update: new satellite imagery, more TIN cities and new technologies all make for a much more visually stunning and immersive world. MSFS 2024 will feature 27 new biomes, with new species of trees and vegetation. And new technologies utilising AI will make the countryside and other areas without good satellite coverage appear far more realistic than before.
The weather also got a big visual upgrade. A new lighting engine will provide more realistic lighting of the sky and clouds. It features new scattering, with computational light values for clouds, fog, haze and more. MSFS 2024 features cirrus clouds, which have been in high demand from simmers, and ray tracing, allowing for better and sharper shadows.
4. Flight Dynamics
We’re still writing about a flight simulator, and as such, the flight dynamics are a crucial piece of that. MSFS 2024’s flight dynamics offer a huge improvement over its previous iteration. It features new physics methods, including rigid and soft body simulation, as well as tissue and rope simulation. Aircraft have more data points that developers can utilise to perfect and fine-tune their flight model. And the much lauded CFD (computational fluid dynamics) has received a big upgrade. So what does this all mean for us, simmers? We can expect to see a more realistic simulation and behaviour of the aircraft, as it’s being affected by multiple (new) factors. These include airflow affected by the terrain, such as mountains, and wake turbulence. Weather will also have a big impact on your aircraft, as new, atmospheric airflow changes how your aircraft behaves under different circumstances. Physics-based objects, such as cargo attached or loaded in your aircraft, can also be affected by how you fly, and in turn, affect your aircraft if you pull too many G forces during a manoeuvre.
Although not necessarily part of the technical “flight dynamics”, aircraft systems have also received a big update. All default aircraft systems have been overhauled and improved, with new electrical, pneumatic, fuel and hydraulic systems. The simulator now also sports a new payload as well as wear-and-tear system.
The Working Title team, which has been responsible for many upgrades and system enhancements in MSFS 2020, has continued to work with Microsoft to bring us new and upgraded systems in MSFS 2024. One of the most anticipated features for the new simulator is the new electronic flight bag (EFB). This EFB will allow you to plan routes, view airport and procedure charts, and change the settings of the plane you’re flying. The EFB will be included in all aircraft. Another anticipated feature is the new flight planning tool, allowing you to do performance and fuel calculations among other things.
5. Activities and Career Mode
Unsure of where to start with your new simulator? MSFS 2024 features new activities and a brand new career mode. Career mode allows you to start your virtual aviator career at an airport of your choice, and work your way through missions and flying tasks to earn certifications. Once you’ve certified yourself, you can start earning a reputation and in-sim currency by completing missions. This in-sim currency can be used to purchase new aircraft and unlock new types of missions to complete. You can fly banners around for digital advertisements, become a firefighter or perform search and rescue. If that’s not your thing, you can also go the way of the airlines, working your way up the ranks, amongst others. The skill-tree choices allow you plenty of choice and freedom to choose what direction you want to specialise in. And the missions are randomly generated in different parts of the world, taking into account the live weather and season of that location.
If you’d rather explore the world outside of the career mode, MSFS 2024 offers you plenty of options to do so as well. Free flight isn’t going anywhere, and you can pick any plane and fly anywhere in the world, anytime. But for a more structured way to discover what our planet has to offer, MSFS 2024 also offers a new Photography Mode. This mode will provide you with various photography challenges around the world, allowing you to take your plane anywhere to get the best shot possible of whatever it is you want to photograph, including various wildlife options.
All in all, MSFS 2024 offers plenty of new features and ways to discover the world. From the large range of new and updated aircraft, to the career mode, and all the various planning options in between. We are super excited about this new chapter in digital aviation, and can’t wait to share more of it with you. Check out our article covering the global release times here, allowing you to make sure you’re ready to fly when MSFS 2024 becomes available.
Let us know down in the comments what will be the first aircraft you will fly, and where in the world you will do so.
