Since the developer Q&A last week which addressed top community concerns, a lot has happened in the world of Microsoft Flight Simulator. The title was released for PC on August 18, followed by the posting of a list of known issues that users who got started with the simulator may experience. On the same day, the game joined the list of titles available for Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Now, the tech giant has unveiled the first development update for Microsoft Flight Simulator since its PC release. Arriving a bit later than its usual weekly time, the news update discusses the first public SDK release, a new Partnership Series update - highlighting Bing Maps -, and the first episode of the Around the World Tour series.
For starters, it has been noted that the team behind the scenes is working hard to provide a patch update that addresses recently reported issues. More information on this should arrive with next week"s regular update. A support page that details currently known issues, as well as workarounds, has also been highlighted.
Moving on, a video that describes Asobo Studios" partnership with Bing Maps to leverage modern mapping tech and large-scale spatial data has been posted. After the latest Partnership Series update, improvements that have been made to the Flight Simulator SDK with the release of its first SDK update have been noted.
The following changes have been made since the last release in the Closed Beta:
[...] We have improved the documentation on several fronts; most notably aprons, taxiway signs, painted lines and lights. We added samples for the lights and for navigation data. The developer mode has seen many issues and crashes fixed, and now has the option to build an entire project at once, rather than requiring the developer to build package by package.
For complex aircraft, WebAssembly is still undergoing active development. We are working on some much-needed features and providing code to help port existing C++ aircraft. In addition to this, we are also actively working on mapping out the functionality of the SimConnect API.
Finally, a new series dubbed the "Around The World Tour" has been launched, with the first episode being revealed earlier this week. Essentially, the series comprises a look at a variety of places through the in-game world in Flight Simulator. You can check out the first episode below:
Aside from Oceania, other continents and areas that will be explored in the six-part series include Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The next episode will focus on Asia, with the "eastern and western hemispheres, including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia" being delved into.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is available to download on PC through the Microsoft Store and through Steam. The Twitter channel @MSFS_Support can be followed to keep up to date with server information and issue reports.