Flight Simulator 2024 Accessibility

 

Introduction

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is intended for a wide audience, from experienced pilots to newcomers to aviation.
  • The following page explains a number of features and settings intended to make the simulator accessible and approachable.

 

 

Section A: Requirements to use the simulator

Xbox account

    • Flight Simulator 2024 is available on the Microsoft Store and Steam platforms. Regardless of which version you use, you will need to sign into an Xbox account (https://www.xbox.com/en-US/live) to launch the simulator.

 

Constant internet connectivity

    • Flight Simulator 2024 requires a constant internet connection to stream content, and will not allow you to use the simulator if you are offline.

 

Input devices

    • Flight Simulator 2024 supports a variety of input devices on both PC and console.
    • These range from dedicated flight simulation peripherals, to common devices such as keyboard, mouse, or Xbox controllers (including the Xbox Adaptive Controller).
      • Menu navigation requires a mouse, keyboard, or Xbox controller.
      • In-flight controls are best experienced using peripherals with analog inputs, such as joysticks, yokes, or an Xbox controller.

ℹ️ Notes regarding using PC peripherals on console:

        • Unless otherwise specified by the hardware manufacturer, most flight simulation peripherals sold for PC are NOT compatible with Xbox Series X|S devices.
        • Devices that are compatible with both PC and Xbox Series X|S often have a physical button somewhere on the device allowing users to switch between PC or Xbox compatibility mode. Refer to your device’s instruction manual for more details.

 

 

Section B: First-time User Onboarding

  • The first time you launch Flight Simulator 2024, you will progress through a few onboarding menus to tailor your experience.
  • The exact flow varies between the PC and console versions, but can be summarized as follows:

 

1. Enable screen narration (both PC and console, English language only)

    • If you launch the simulator in English, you will be prompted to enable or disable screen narration.

ℹ️ At this time, screen narration is not available in any other language except English.

    • If narration is enabled, the simulator will use your system’s default text-to-speech voice to read the text content of most UI screens.
    • If you later wish to change your narration settings, you can do so via the Accessibility section of the settings menu.

2. Title screen (PC and console)

    • When loading is complete and you have signed into an Xbox account, you will arrive at a title screen containing 2 options.
      • The first option – “Accessibility” – allows adjustment specific Accessibility features such as increased font size or Xbox controller rumble intensity.
        • The Accessibility option is available every time you launch the simulator, not just the first-time experience.
      • The second option – “Start Setup” – begins the onboarding flow.

 

3. Graphics screen (PC only)

    • After selecting Start Setup, you will arrive on the Graphics preset screen.
    • From here you can choose between 4 different presets for differing graphical fidelity.
    • You can review or adjust individual graphics settings via the “Customization” button.
    • You can also switch to other optional onboarding screens for Controls and Language settings by pressing [Q] or [E] on keyboard, [LB] or [RB] on Xbox controller, or clicking the relevant buttons if using mouse.

 

4. Controls screen (PC and console)

    • From here you can review all the input devices that Flight Simulator has detected on your system.
    • If Flight Simulator recognizes your device, we will apply a preset control scheme.
    • You can open the “Customization” section to review or adjust individual controls for each connected input device.
    • Alternatively, if Flight Simulator does not recognize your device, you can create a custom control setup via the “Customization” button.

 

5. Language screen (PC and console)

    • From here you can adjust the language used for the user interface, spoken dialog during flight, and choose whether Air Traffic Control always speak your default spoken dialog language or use an authentic language for whatever part of the world you are flying.

ℹ️ Screen Narration is only available if interface language is set to English, and will be deactivated if changing to any other language.

    • You can also adjust units of measurement between metric, US standard, or a hybrid of the two.

 

6. Assistance Presets screen (PC and console)

    • Flight Simulator 2024 contains a number of Assistance settings that affect either realism, or the amount of visual and mechanical aid users receive from the AI during flight.
    • From the Assistance Presets screen you can choose between 2 different options:
      • “All Assists” is aimed at both newcomers to aviation, and also users with accessibility needs who may require assistance controlling parts of the aircraft.
      • “Default Assists” deactivates the majority of assists, leaving just a handful of settings that intermediate users may still need to keep aircraft stable.
    • You can review or adjust individual assistance options via the “Customization” button.

 

7. Customize Identity screen (PC and console)

    • New to Flight Simulator 2024 is the ability to customize your pilot avatar seen during every flight.
    • From here you can change your appearance, hairstyle, clothing, and voice used when talking to Air Traffic Control.
    • After you confirm your pilot avatar, you will have completed the Onboarding process and arrive at the main menu.

 

 

Section C: Main Menu functionality

  • After completing the Onboarding flow, and on all subsequent launches of the simulator, you will arrive at the Main Menu.
  • The main menu contains the following sections:

 

Free Flight

    • If you want to explore at your own pace, then the Free Flight screen will allow you to quickly start a flight from anywhere on Earth.
      • By default, the Free Flight screen lets you pan and zoom around an interactive 3D globe to find your desired start location.

ℹ️ You can quickly launch a flight by pressing [SPACE] on keyboard, or [A] on an Xbox controller anywhere on the 3D globe, then selecting Fly Now.

      • Alternatively, you can use the text input search fields at the top of the screen to type in a departure and/or arrival point (the search supports latitude-longitude co-ordinates, airport names or ICAO codes, or any of the thousands of Points of Interest included in Flight Simulator).
      • From this same screen, you can change the aircraft used in your flight, and the flight conditions (including time of day, weather, and visibility of other air traffic during your flight).
        • You can switch between manipulating the globe and browsing the menus via the [G] key on keyboard, or [Y] on an Xbox controller.
      • After you have chosen either a departure or arrival point, you can launch the flight via the [CTRL+ENTER] key combo on keyboard, or [MENUS] on an Xbox controller.

 

Career

    • An opportunity for you to progress through the ranks as a freelance pilot anywhere in the world, starting as a newcomer receiving guidance from a mentor, and eventually owning and maintaining your own fleet of aircraft.
    • Career allows you to experience a wide variety of different mission types, from passenger transport to medevac or aerial firefighting.

 

World Photographer

    • A series of missions where you are challenged to visit a particular part of the world and photograph either a famous location or specific species of wildlife.
    • In many missions, there are secondary objectives to take a photograph with specific criteria, such as at a particular time of day, or with something in the background of the image.

 

Challenge League

    • A competitive mode where you attempt to set the best score possible in a ranked cohort (mini-league), competing against other multiplayer pilots over 3 different courses that change each week.
    • The events consist of:
      • Rally Races, attempting to complete a point-to-point slalom course in the fastest time.
      • Low Altitude challenges, attempting to cross uneven terrain with a score generated via a combination of fast times and maintaining close proximity to the ground.
      • Precision Landing challenges, requiring accuracy and control to land as close as possible to a specified location.
    • At the end of each week, the highest ranked pilots in cohorts will be promoted to a higher division, and a new weekly competition will begin with new courses.
      • After several weeks of competition, the League series will end, and users will begin a new series.

 

Activities

    • The activities section includes individual Training flights, rally races, low altitude challenges, landing challenges, and other mission types coming soon.
    • You can also download custom content from the Marketplace and find them in the Activities section.

 

Marketplace

    • The Marketplace is where you can acquire additional content, including aircraft, airports, activities, scenery and more.
      • The Marketplace includes both free and paid items from various publishers, including Microsoft and various third-party developers.
      • Some paid items include a free trial period, or the ability to rent the item before making a purchase.
    • The Marketplace section also contains the My Library screen, from where you can manage the installation or streaming status of all owned content.
      • Any compatible content you purchased in Flight Simulator 2020 will also be available for use in Flight Simulator 2024 via the My Library screen.

 

Menu bar

    • The menu bar is displayed in the top-right corner of every menu screen – including the pause menu during a flight.
    • It can be accessed by pressing either [RS] on an Xbox controller, or [B] on a keyboard.
    • The menu bar allows access to the following sections:
      • Pilot Profile
      • Notifications (represented by a 🔔 bell icon).
      • Social panel (represented by a 👥 silhouette icon).
      • Group Chat communication panel (represented by a 💬 speech bubble icon).
      • Marketplace (represented by a green shopping bag icon).
      • Settings (represented by a ⚙️ gear icon).

 

 

Section D: Social & Multiplayer features

  • Flight Simulator 2024 allows you to fly in Free Flight with other users – either your Xbox friends, or other pilots flying in the same location on the same server.

 

Creating or joining a Group with others

    • You can create or join a group with up to 5 other users, in order to participate in joint flights or (new for Flight Simulator 2024) to use voice or text chat features.
    • To create a new group:
      • Select the Social panel button (👥 icon in the Menu bar) to see a list of your current Xbox friends.
      • Select the gamertag of any friend who is currently online to send them a Group invite.
    • To accept a group invite from another user:
      • Select the Notification button (🔔 icon in the Menu bar) to see the incoming invite.
      • Choose “Accept”

 

Viewing the list of Group Members

    • Whenever the Social panel (👥 icon) is open, you can press [Q] or [E] on keyboard or [LB] or [RB] on Xbox controller to switch between viewing the Friend list and the Current Group.
    • The leader of a Group is shown with a yellow pilot hat icon next to their gamertag.
      • The Group Leader is responsible for basic moderation such as kicking other group members.
    • Group Members can leave the group via the “Leave Group” button at the bottom of this screen.

 

Communicating with other Group Members

    • After joining a group, you can plug in a headset or microphone to use voice chat with other group members.
    • You can also open the Group Chat Communication button (💬 icon in the Menu bar) to access text chat.

 

Flying with Group Members

    • Group Members are not obliged to take part in the same flight activity, or visit the same location.
    • However, if Group Members do decide to take part in a Free Flight in the same geographic area, they will be able to see each other more easily on the World Map or in flight.

 

 

Section E: Settings & Assistances

  • Flight Simulator 2024 contains a comprehensive set of settings menus, including numerous features that directly or indirectly affect accessibility.
  • The settings menu is divided into the following sub-categories:
    1. General
    2. Assistances
    3. Controls
    4. Accessibility
    5. VR (PC only)

 

Settings sub-category 1: General

    • After opening General Settings sub-category, you are presented with the following additional sub-divisions:
      • 1. Graphics settings
        • On PC, the Graphics section contains many options to customize visual quality, including full-screen resolution, anti-aliasing, v-sync, texture quality and motion blur.
          • You may experience reduced performance if using high settings on a low-spec PC.
        • On Xbox, you can enable or disable high-dynamic range (HDR) visuals if your television or monitor is HDR compatible.
      • 2. Language settings
        • The Language section lets you customize the language used by the simulator for text interface, spoken dialog, and simulated Air Traffic Control.
      • 3. Sound settings
        • The Sound section contains various sliders to adjust individual volume levels separately (examples include engine sounds, character dialog, music, environment sounds, or a global master volume).
        • The section also contains options to adjust the output device (for example, so users can output simulated radio traffic via a headset while environment sounds output via speakers).
        • Additionally, there are various options to simulate the audio degradation experienced in a real-world cockpit, such as reduced VHF signal quality if communicating with a distant air traffic control tower.
      • 4. Online settings
        • The Online section lets you manage the amount of bandwidth used by the sim, and track the total amount of data consumed per month.
        • ℹ️ Reminder: Flight Simulator 2024 requires a persistent internet connection at all times and may stream large amounts of data if frequently traveling to new locations within the sim.
        • The Online section contains various toggle switches to enable or disable certain online features such as streaming photogrammetry, live weather, live traffic, or multiplayer activity.
          • If these options are enabled, the simulated world will seem more realistic and active, but this will consume significantly more bandwidth.
        • You can also enable a Rolling Cache to store a local copy of recently visited locations, to save bandwidth by re-downloading the same data on subsequent flights.
        • Finally, this section also contains Multiplayer communication settings, allowing you to enable or disable various voice and text chat features, including Speech-to-Text to transcribe incoming voice chat or Text-to-Speech to voice outgoing text messages.
      • 5. Camera settings
          • The Camera section lets you adjust the default behavior from various different cameras:
            • sitting inside the cockpit,
            • flying from external camera,
            • looking at instruments in close up,
            • or walking around outside the aircraft.
          • This section includes various slider options to adjust values such as the default camera height, zoom level, turn speed and momentum.
          • Other options include whether various camera adjustments require a press-and-hold or a toggle input.
      • 6. Flight Model settings
        • The Flight Model section lets you choose between different physics simulation fidelity.
        • By default, the “Modern” flight model is selected, which applies the full physics model for FS 2024 and cannot be customized.
        • Alternatively, advanced users seeking to experiment may wish to use the “Legacy” flight model, which offers various sliders to adjust settings from earlier version of Microsoft Flight Simulator, such as Crash Realism, the amount of gyro precession with analog instruments, or the amount of propeller torque generated.
        • ℹ️ These “Legacy” settings are offered for experimentation only and are not under active development. The settings may not work with all aircraft in all game modes.
      • 7. Flight Interface settings
        • Flight Interface allows you to toggle various UI elements during flight, such as the Heads-Up Display (HUD) overlay showing a simplified version of cockpit instruments.
      • 8. Advanced Options
        • Advanced Options contains features mostly of interest to developers of custom add-ons and marketplace items, who want to test their products within the sim.
      • 9. Legal and Credits
        • This section displays a list of licensing and development credits.

 

Settings sub-category 2: Assistances

    • Flight Simulator 2024 contains a number of assistance settings that affect either realism, or the amount of visual and mechanical aid users receive from the AI during flight.
      • ℹ️ Note that the wide variety of aircraft in Flight Simulator 2024 each handle very differently, and therefore some assistances may not function perfectly with every aircraft.
      • This is especially true if attempting extreme maneuvers that would be near-impossible in real world aviation.
    • Users can either switch between different Assistance Presets to adjust multiple options simultaneously, or customize individual settings one by one.
    • 1. Piloting assistances
      • The following is a list of Piloting Assistances intended to simplify the minute-by-minute experience of controlling an aircraft.
        • ℹ️ These assists may also aid users with certain motor or cognitive disabilities.
        • Auto-Rudder
        • AI Auto-Trim
        • (Gliders only) Tow plane take-off assistance
        • (Helicopters only) Assisted cyclic
        • (Helicopters only) Assisted tail rotor
        • (Helicopters only) Assisted collective
        • (Hot air balloons only) Accelerated envelope inflation
        • (Hot air balloons only) Moored basket
        • Automixture
        • Gyro drift
        • Visual Assistances
        • Realism Assistances (only available in free flight)
    • 2. Visual assistances
      • The following is a list of Visual Assistances intended to help users navigate during flight.
      • Visual Assistances can be quickly toggled during flight via the [LS] button on Xbox controller.
        • ℹ️ These assists may also aid users with certain cognitive disabilities.
        • Active waypoint marker
        • Flight path
        • Taxi ribbon
        • Piloting and controls notifications
    • 3. Realism assistances (only applied in free flight)
      • The following is a list of Realism Assistances intended to reduce the consequences of user error during a flight.
        • ℹ️ To ensure gameplay balance, most of these assists are forced OFF during Career mode, Challenges, and many Activities including Flight Training.
        • Disable crash damage
        • Disable aircraft stress damage
        • Disable engine stress damage
        • Icing effect
        • Unlimited fuel
        • Turbulence setting
        • G-Effect setting
        • G-Suit
        • AI manage Radio Communications during flight

 

Settings sub-category 3: Controls

    • Flight Simulator 2024 contains a large number of individual control actions, any of which can be remapped to your input device of choice.
    • Within this list of remappable controls are three presets that allow you to adjust:
      • UI and menu navigation controls
      • Global aircraft controls that apply to your entire fleet
      • Aircraft-specific controls (for example, to create one control scheme uniquely for the Boeing 737 and another for the Airbus A321).

 

Settings sub-category 4: Accessibility

    • The Accessibility Settings sub-category is further divided as follows:
      1. User interface and font
        • Text size
          • Adjust the in-simulator font size via a slider.
          • ℹ️ Note that this option adjusts the ‘minimum’ font size specifically, so text that is already above the minimum value (e.g. dialog subtitles) will not be affected until you move the slider closer to the maximum value.
        • Background opacity
          • Adjust the background transparency in menus.
        • Menu main color adjustment
          • Adjust the primary color used in menus.
          • This includes various alternate color schemes designed for users affected by common color deficiency issues such as protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia, as well as high contrast variations.
      2. Narration and audio
        • Screen Narration (English language only at present)
          • This will narrate all key on-screen text for the majority of in-sim menus.
          • You can also adjust narrator volume, pitch and speed.
        • Convert audio to Mono
          • This will output all simulator audio as single-channel mono sound.
      3. Subtitles
        • Subtitles
          • Adjust whether dialog spoken during Career missions or by Air Traffic Controllers during any flight is subtitled.
          • You can also adjust the subtitle text size and background contrast.
      4. Effects and Animation
        • Controller vibration
          • Adjust the strength of Xbox controller vibration via a slider.
        • Camera Shake
          • Adjust how much the cockpit camera shakes when experiencing turbulence or extreme G-forces during flight.
        • Xbox controller cursor movement speed and acceleration
          • Adjust the speed and acceleration of the on-screen cursor when navigating with an Xbox controller (note that this option does not affect mouse cursor movement speed).
        • Show white dot cursor in freelook
          • Users who are sensitive to motion sickness may find it helpful to enable a small white dot cursor reticule in the center of the screen.
        • Allow 2D cursor on all peripherals
          • Extend the white dot cursor to other input devices (by default it only appears when using an Xbox controller).
    • ℹ️ Accessible communication features such as Speech-to-text to transcribe incoming voice chat and Text-to-speech to convert outgoing text messages to speech are located in the Online sub-menu found in General settings.

 

Settings sub-category 5: VR (PC only)

    • Flight Simulator 2024 on PC supports many leading virtual reality headsets. From this section you can learn the key shortcuts to activate and control VR mode.
    • You can also set dedicated graphics presets when flying in VR mode.

 

 

Section F: In-flight experience

Pause menu

    • All of the settings listed in the previous section can be accessed during a flight by pressing [ESC] on keyboard or [MENUS] on Xbox controller to open the Pause menu.
      • ℹ️ Note that opening the pause menu will not freeze time during live multiplayer sessions or in Challenge League events.
    • The pause menu also allows you to restart or abandon the current flight, returning to the main menu.

 

In-flight Toolbar panel

    • You can access various panel overlays during a flight via the on-screen Toolbar.
    • This toolbar can be accessed during a flight by pressing [Left Stick click] + [RB] on an Xbox controller, or by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the screen.
      • ℹ️ Note that due to the complexity of input required for flight systems, this toolbar and overlay panels available from this menu cannot be accessed or navigated via digital input.
    • Depending on the type of flight being flown (Free Flight, Career, Activity, etc.), different toolbar options will be available, including:
      • 1. Communication toolbar panel
        • The Communication panel allows users to communicate with both Air Traffic Control, and send text chat messages to other Group members.
        • ℹ️ To access the communication panel via digital input such as keyboard or D-Pad, open the Pause menu, then select the communication panel (represented by a 💬 speech bubble icon) found in the menu bar displayed in the top-right corner.
      • 2. Camera toolbar panel
        • The Camera panel allows users to quickly adjust camera settings during flight.
        • ℹ️ Unlike the Camera Settings menu in the pause menu, any setting changes applied here are temporary and will not persist in future flights.
        • The Camera panel also contains the “Showcase” camera, which allows users to detach the camera from the aircraft and look freely around the environment (for example, to create cinematic shots).
        • The Showcase camera is best experienced using an Xbox controller.
      • 3. Mission Steps toolbar panel
        • The Objectives panel is used during Career and Flight Training to summarize your current objective, as well as the input(s) necessary to progress to the next step.
      • 4. Weather toolbar panel
        • The Weather panel allows for immediate adjustment of both weather and time-of-day conditions during flight.
        • Some users may find night flying to be more difficult, and may prefer to adjust to daytime hours in order to take off or land safely.

 

Section G: Known issues

In-Flight Notifications

    • While in active flight, there is no visual indication when a group invite, text chat, or speech-to-text message has been received. Users can open the Pause menu to see a visual indicator displayed on the Notification icon or Messaging icon in the Menu bar found in the top right corner.

 

Screen Narration

    • Load screens are not narrated. Load screens appear when loading into Flight, or when loading into certain game modes, and load times typically range from 30-60 seconds.
    • In Career mode, users relying on screen narration may experience difficulty selecting a starting location. To select a start location, press [G] on keyboard, or [Y] on an Xbox controller to switch to Panel navigation, then use the Search input field to search for a location. Once a location is selected, switch back to World Map using the same input used to switch to Panel navigation, slightly move the cursor using any navigational input, then press Select.
      • Note: Some locations are unavailable as starting locations, via screen narration this is currently indicated by not narrating [SPACE]/[A] to Select. If a location is unavailable, repeat the above steps to find a new location.