The MSFS 2024 developer stream

[toprob]

I've probably said this for every sim release in the last decade, but some of the community can get incredibly negative in the runup to a sim. This very first FS2024-specific (mostly) stream had a lot of good stuff, and plenty of unanswered questions, so I knew that this wouldn't answer all the questions for everyone, and would only make things worse for some. Oh well.

Here's the video.

As always, the team was Jorg, Seb and Martial. For Jorg, this is a big part of his job, enthusiastically selling the sim, he does a great job, and he always seems honest and open. The other two have improved a lot over the lifetime of MSFS, and this isn't really their job, but when they talk about something, it's worth listening. Both are non-native-english speakers, so there can be issues at times, but the community response from some is just horrible. I'm looking at you, Avsim. Ok, we could have a flash spin-doctor with perfect diction, but what we do get from these two is worth a lot more.

Anyway, some random take-aways -- no, you don't need to do all the bits of the career mode, you can skip to the checkride if you are that confident. Many things are still not sorted for the release, but as always this is a work in progress. Some interesting comments on ATC improvements etc, it seems that they are outsourcing this, which will be some time after release.

I was interested in the talk about load times, as this is an issue for me, at the moment it takes a long time to load the sim, I know it will be faster, but I'm not sure how much faster on my system. Sometimes I see a question on one of the developer forums, and although I know the answer, I really need to check the steps in the SDK first, but I know it'll take almost 15 minutes to check, so I don't bother. I've just timed the process, 11:52 to the main screen, ready to fly at 13:30, SDK loaded at 14:30. Ouch. Of course, subsequent loading is faster, with only 5:00 to the loaded flight. I really want under 5 minutes from cold, every time.

Some answers regarding the actual purchase -- versions, store etc -- you'll have to watch yourself, as I'm still not sure that what I heard is actually how it will work. For instance, if you own the premium deluxe sim at the moment, you can use the extra aircraft -- including updates -- in the new sim with the standard version of 2024. So less reason to buy the expensive version. And it seems that this time around we'll be able to buy individual premium aircraft, which means I'm happy with my decision to get the standard edition, as there are only 1 or two premium aircraft I'm interested in.

The new specs are another thing which has got some people riled up, again I'm not sure why this happens. When I saw the specs, I though hey, the levels are probably aimed at 1080p, 1440 and 4K, 30FPS, but I won't know for sure until it's stated that way. Now it is, so no sweat. Those who were 110% angry about the initial specs can now find something else to vent their anger on.

Some quickfire answers which I caught -- no, you can't import your settings/bindings from 2020, but you can now share bindings. Your logs won't transfer, neither will they work in developer mode, same as 2020. Oh well, hopefully nobody will check my logbook after I'm gone and think I prefer X-plane, as I'm always in MSFS developer mode.

[ZK-DWF]

Well said, Robin.

For some of us who have been privileged to run just about every version of Flight Simulator, the ability to interact with the actual developers is a breath of fresh air.
Back in the old days, you just paid your money and got the next version of FS.
Look at the number of Sim and World updates that are coming out each year - just amazing. The quality just gets better and better. So are the third party developers.
And all of the developers are listening to us.

Personally, I have never had a major problem with updating the software. Maybe, it's because I am in the IT industry and are familiar with upgrading software.

I can't wait for the new version (it looks great), but I might wait till after Christmas, just so that Microsoft can iron out the inevitable bugs.

[toprob]

Another live stream this morning, with the SDK and marketplace teams. While watching these streams I always get excited enough to think about getting back into scenery, but by the end of them I remember why I quit in the first place. Oh, well. At the moment I'm evaluating my current life style, being a live-in grandpa, which is great in a lot of ways, but quite frustrating in others. So reminding myself that access to the Marketplace will remain tricky, and that not a lot has changed to improve access to airports, helps keep me here.

Some randoms -- you'll be able to 'rent' a product in the Marketplace, and if you decide to buy (within a timeframe) the price will be reduced by the rental cost. This equivalent of a free trial is up to individual developers, but I'm hoping that most will go that way. There's also the ability to 'gift' products.

The stream was meant to be Marketplace-only, but as there were a lot of questions regarding the SDK tests for Marketplace developers, they included the SDK team. There've been a lot of reports of lack of backwards compatibility, which was originally promised, but it seems that this is the main focus of the testing, and it should work a lot better on release.

Also a mention of freeware on the Marketplace, might be a good avenue for people like me.

MS have changed their policy on showing weapons on aircraft, finally. However this won't mean the revival of Combat Sim:)

I always take away from the streams that MS is a vast, ponderous money-making machine, but luckily we have Jorg who seems to be able to make things happen despite that. The future looks slightly rosy.

[Adamski]

Thanks again for doing all the spade-work, Rob.

I haven't watched the stream (yet) but I'm fairly certain my take on it will be similar to yours.

I'm somewhat dismayed by what's going on at Avsim. It used to be a useful/worthwhile resource, but now it's 99% hot air. So many impatient people that can't (won't) read - or apply simple common sense. I think the problem is that flight sims used to be the domain of fairly intelligent people, quite keen on helping each other out, but is now open (via XBox etc.) to the great unwashed out there - that expect everything to be ultra-simple and available immediately, on-demand, and with no learning curve.

Rant over! Being the behemoth that MSFS 2024 is bound to become, I expect the vast majority of developers out there (free and payware) will lose no time in updating their products - though it may take a little time. What's so hard to understand about that, I wonder? Even the base/Standard edition ($119.95) gives you 70 aircraft (30 of which are new) ... which comes to about $1.71 NZD per aircraft. The Standard price is the same as just of one PMDG or Fenix aircraft!