DELIVERING THE DELIVERABLES WE SAID WOULD BE DELIVERED DURING THE DELIVERY OF UPDATES

 We are pleased to announce that the first episode of our Feature Discovery Series has been released! Recently presented at the Global Preview Event, Episode 1 (World) is an in-depth look at the world we’re building for the next generation of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Head into the Insider Area to watch Episode 1!

FEEDBACK PIPELINE

 TLDR  – There is a Feedback Dashboard. The dashboard contains a summary of all feedback we collect from community discussions on a daily basis. Feedback is triaged, prioritized, and assigned a plan of action. We will provide the output of this pipeline to the community in a document tentatively called the “Feedback Snapshot” on a regular basis.

 There has been an incredible amount feedback from the press coverage of our recent Global Preview Event. This feedback, along with all feedback we’ve been collecting, is critically important to the team to ensure the voice of the community is being put into action through a collaborative and transparent process (i.e. use the Feedback Snapshot to give the community transparency into the feedback we’re prioritizing for action). Features like ATC, Seasons, VR, Rotorcraft, SDK, etc. can be found in the Feedback Snapshot along with our current plan for next steps and timelines for resolution. The Feedback Snapshot will be released at regular intervals and we will announce the date for our first preview release in our next update.

TECH ALPHA

•  10.15 – Recruitment for Tech Alpha 1 ends. If you would like to sign up, please head into the Insider Area and fill out the survey.
• 10.17 – Build release preparation begins. Insider acceptance confirmation communication begins and will run through 10.24.
• 10.24 – Release Window Opens. We will begin granting access to the Tech Alpha build to Insiders that have received acceptance confirmation.

BUILD PROGRAM UPDATE

 We are currently targeting mid/end November for our second build release (Tech Alpha 2). We expect to open recruitment for Tech Alpha 2 closer to the end of October but expect a final date in our 10.17 update.

DR Update and Episode 2 information coming next update.

Next update 10.17.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

Redmond Washington – Today, we have reached another critical milestone in our development. On September 19th and 20th, Microsoft hosted a small number of press and community representatives at the Rainier Flight Service in Renton Washington to attend the Global Preview Event for the next evolution of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The team was honored and humbled to share our passion for flight with attendees from around the world. From taking actual flights in Cessna 172s to sitting down and spending a few hours playing our pre-alpha build, the entire event was a magical opportunity to sit down and talk in detail about the development and product.

The Global Preview Event also marks the next step in our communication with the community regarding more granular product details. The team gave technical presentations on four important topics during the event:

1. World
2. Sky
3. Aerodynamics
4. Cockpits

Starting today, you’ll get to see and hear the reactions from those in attendance. Starting in October, these presentations will be delivered to the community as part of our Feature Discovery Series.

Since our introduction at E3, it’s been an incredible journey. The engagement by the community and support we’ve received from flight simulation fans around the world, has been truly amazing. Today we embark on our next phase of development and look forward to a new level of collaboration and communication with the community!

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

“Et tu, Connor?”

The team is incredibly excited to officially kickoff our Feature Discovery Series with a preview of Episode 1 (World), posted in the Insider Area. In this series we will be covering the core features in attempt to answer many of the most discussed topics throughout the community.

We’re also delivering an updated DR outlining our October deliverables. Insiders should expect a DR update within the next few weeks that will provide a preview of our November deliverables.

A note on deliverables – we’re moving the Feedback Pipeline overview deliverable to our next post coming early October. This will allow us to allocate more update space to this deliverable to provide greater detail.

Finally, as we bring September to a close the entire team would like to thank everyone out there patiently waiting for more granular information on the next iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator. The information you seek, is much closer than you think.

Next development update – Early October!

Sincerely,

 Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

×

The grass is always greener…
especially when it’s procedurally generated.

Tech Alpha Timeline

• October 10: Release testing complete. Lock final delivery schedule.
• October 17: Build release preparation.
• October 24: Release window opens.

×

QUIT STALLING!

Apologies to those folks living outside the PST time zone. We’re trying to improve the timing of our posts and clearly we’ve got more work to do but we’ll get there… eventually. We’re not stalling, we swear it.

TECH ALPHA RECRUITING IS NOW OPEN!  HEAD INTO THE INSIDER AREA.

If you’re interested in participating in the upcoming Tech Alpha release, please make sure to sign into the Insider Area and follow the registration link.

On September 19^th, we will be releasing more information on the Tech Alpha build goals and release timeline.

On September 26^th, we will be releasing the preview for our Feature Discovery Series.

A preview release of version #1.10DRR of the Development Roadmap has been posted in the Insider Area. We’ve added dates for October and will be adding November deliverables over the next few weeks. So expect another rev of the Development Roadmap by the end of September.

Next update September 19th.

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

×

Wandering into the grass of irrelevancy attempting to flush out the rodents of inaccuracy in order to bring you the “real news”.  

As we bring August to a close, the team wanted to provide a few quick updates and some new content.

• Development Roadmap – General release of the DR is here! We’ve added a few updates for September to improve clarity.
• Web Post Timing – For those of you ”across the pond” and in time zones not “PST” – we are working to deliver our updates earlier in the day. So look for earlier post times starting in September.  
• Build Program Update – Tech Alpha sign-up starts September 12^th!
• Feature Discovery Series – The Feature Discovery Series (preview in September, launch in October) is our deep dive into the areas of the simulation, driven by a number of threads we’ve seen across the forums we follow closely. We are on track to provide a preview at the end of September and the kickoff of the series in early October.
• Media Update – We posted (2) Screenshots and (3) clips from early 2019 builds. Head into the Insider Area to check out the goods!

Next update coming September 12^th!

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

×

Say less, do more.

August has been busy month for the team! We continue to make great progress on the Tech Alpha build, Feature Discovery Series, and many of the other exciting things we are working on for release in September and October!

3^rd Party Progress Update – We expect to release the first rev of plans and partners in October.

• Phase 1 – Outreach and Engagement (in-progress)
• Phase 2 – Code and Content Integration (in-progress)
• Phase 3 – Content Release Timeline (kick-off)

Head into the Insider area if you’d like to check out 3 new screenshots from some previous builds.

In the meantime –

Philosophical Question

If a tree falls on a sloped runway but there is no one there to see it, is the runway still sloped?

Answer:

We hope so, because we’ve got curved/sloped runways in the next iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Next update on August 29^th!

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

×

Insider Program Cleared for Takeoff

 
Today is a day more suitable for pictures (well technically screenshots, clips, and a preview copy of our Development Roadmap but that didn’t sound nearly as impressive so just pretend this part isn’t here) than words!

“Insiders – We are now boarding, please proceed to the log-in area.”

Next update August 22nd!

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

×

AUGUST!

The team is excited to move into the next phase of communication with the community regarding our development plans. As we mentioned in our July 25^th update, August is about setting expectations regarding our development process through launch. September is about defining how we will involve the community in that process.

Here is our current schedule for August:
 

• AUGUST 15^th – Insider Program Kickoff (preview of Development Roadmap Release)
• AUGUST 22^nd – Development Roadmap Release (General Release)
• AUGUST 29^th – Build Program Kickoff

 
But wait there’s more!

One of the most important topics we see being discussed in the community is WHEN we plan to start talking about the project. You want the information, the team wants to share this information, so where exactly IS the information? It’s coming. The challenge with creating a transparent development process built on collaboration is that we have to work on the foundation for delivering that information before doing so. With that said, we will be kicking off our Feature Exploration Series in the fall where we will be working closely with the community to walk-through the next iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator in granular detail.

But wait there’s more!

That said, because we understand the importance of this topic to the community, the team is working hard to adjust the schedule to see what information we can share earlier than currently planned. In our August 15^th update, we will provide more clarity on where we at in the process.

Insiders! DRR preview release in t-minus 7 days…

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

×

In 2014 Microsoft entered into an agreement allowing Dovetail Games to bring Flight Simulator X to Steam. Today, we are announcing that we’ve reached the end of our partnership agreement.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to Dovetail Games for the partnership they’ve provided over the past 5 years. Going forward, Microsoft will take over support of Flight Simulator X and we look forward to sharing our next steps with the community in the very near future.

Paul Jackson CEO Dovetail adds “We are incredibly proud to have looked after this fantastic flight sim during the last 5 years and we will continue publishing existing and new add-ons for FSX: Steam Edition on Steam”.

This change will not impact your game experience or impact existing or future add-ons purchased from Steam.

Microsoft

The return of Microsoft Flight Simulator X is an important step in embracing our accountability and responsibility to those that have come before us. And to those that continue to value and invest in the Microsoft Flight Simulator X experience.

That passion, investment, and appreciation must be recognized and reflected in our commitment to carry the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise into the next generation. We are not building on, but building from, the product and history that is Microsoft Flight Simulator X.

Today, with a bit of bittersweet sentiment, we say “Welcome Home” to an old friend.

More on our FSX plans coming soon…

Sincerely,

The Microsoft Flight Simulator Team

×