Today Microsoft and Asobo Studio hosted a livestream about Microsoft Flight Simulator in which the developers answered plenty of questions from the community.
We get details from head of Microsoft Flight Sim Jeorg Neumann, Asobo CEO Sebastian Wlock, and lead software engineer Martial Bossard.
First of all, we learn that beta testing will continue beyond launch. Details were not provided, but the community testers will be able to help check out new features before they are implemented.
Another interesting details is that developers would like to include a replay feature and it’s in the backlog of features to be worked on.
Liveries are also coming and there is a surprise related to this coming for alpha and beta testers. The development team “literally contacted all the airlines” to license their liveries. Some allowed them to “do it now,” while others will take longer.
Very early in development, the team prototyped seasons. Snow was the easiest thing to implement, so they decided to include seasonal weather first.
In the game, changing the date already changes daylight settings, but the actual effects of seasons like brown leaves are missing. Those aspects of seasons are in the backlog and will be implemented at a later time.
Interestingly, the first major update will include a new effects system, but no date has been shared for now.
Developers are also already working on shared cockpit multiplayer. It’ll be released when it’s finished so no dates have been announced for the implementation of the feature.
Helicopters are also coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator, and the community will be asked to test them when the time is right.
The game is going to get World Updates as new data is fed into Bing Maps, then processed, and put into the simulator. World Updates are going to be released by region with the addition of more details, points of interest, hand-crafted airports, and more.
On the other hand “Sim Updates” will bring features and improvements, while big updates with a lot of content may be paid DLC but will take longer to develop. For example, one of those may be a large number of flyable helicopters. This doesn’t mean that players will need to play to fly helicopters, as the functionality will be free and part of the Sim Updates.
Speaking of additional content, close to 700 third-party developers have signed up to create additional content for the game’s marketplace.
Lastly, the Xbox version is being worked on but it “needs to be great” so there is no release window yet.
Microsoft Flight Simulator launches on August 18 for Windows 10.
If you’d like to see more, you can enjoy the trailer released at X019, alongside a gallery of screenshots, a second batch, a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, an eighth, a ninth, a tenth, an eleventh, a twelfth, a thirteenth, a video from a few months ago showing the world, one showcasing the advanced aerodynamics simulation, another about cockpits, one showing snow, one featuring advanced audio, one focusing on airports, one explaining the multiplayer, one focusing on IFR, one showcasing airports and aircraft, and one focusing on Blackshark.ai.
