Is it me or does that Telluride picture look like it contains some very subtle advertising for Tesla? Maybe it should be renamed Teslaride? 
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Belated news and the usual pretty screenshots:
March 19th, 2020 Development Update
POSTED BY: MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR TEAM
Screenshot Credit: SchereUlme68442
“Together.”
It is with immense pride that we stand with our community during this very challenging time. We continue to prioritize the health and well-being of our team, friends and families. We do so with an unwavering commitment to remain connected to the community as we continue to develop the next iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Your feedback, support, and encouragement continues to be an invaluable inspiration to the team.
With guidance from our leadership, we have taken steps to establish remote work spaces that will minimize impact on our development efforts. We have prioritized team focus on key deliverables core to completing the project, while pausing work on deliverables that are not. In the near term work will be focused on delivering an updated Alpha build, followed by assessing our Alpha participation. Once we’ve completed that process, we will turn our focus back to other deliverables we have in the pipeline (e.g. Feature Discovery Series Episodes, DR Roadmap Updates, Partnership Series updates, etc.). This is a temporary measure, we will continue to monitor the situation while providing frequent updates to the community.
For now, expect that many of the deliverables we’ve been working on will be delayed by a few weeks while we get the team working at optimal efficiency remotely.
In moments like this we are mindful of the importance of taking care of those that take care of us. From all of us, to all of you, we wish you good health and safety.
We are all in this together.
Sincerely,
– MSFS TEAM
The following deliverables have been postponed and the team will provide an update during the next update.
- POSTPONED – EPISODE 8 (Multiplayer) will be released.
- POSTPONED – DR roadmap preview for April/May will be released. (potentially delayed)
- POSTPONED – EPISODE 7 (IFR) will be released.
- POSTPONED – Partnership Series update will be released.
- POSTPONED – Feedback Snapshot update.
ALPHA BUILD UPDATE
The team is currently focusing on releasing an updated Alpha build which we are planning to release next week.
Build notes for the upcoming Alpha update:
HIGHLIGHTS
- We’ve added Groups to multiplayer, and while still early in development you should be able to Add Friends and find them on the world map, and click to join them.
- We’ve added Training Missions for those who are new to Flight Simulator. These missions will take you through the Basic Controls, Attitudes and Instruments, and Take-off, Level flight and Landing.
- The Cessna 152 has been added and is now cleared for takeoff
- We’ve added Live Events which are time-limited activities that we plan to switch out with different events frequently.
- Peripherals Support has been improved, and more devices added. Please note that due to these changes, previous mappings from the Alpha will no longer work with the current Alpha.
- We are hard at work prepping the airliners for release in the next Alpha update!
NEW CONTENT
- Training missions
- Cessna 152
- Sedona Landing Challenge
PLANE SPECIFIC UPDATES
· Cessna 172 Skyhawk (G1000) has been improved for flight controls and instruments
· DA40 TDI instrumentation improvements
· DA62 has improved pilot controls
· DA62 instrumentation improvements
· Beechcraft Bonanza G36 issues glass cockpits improvements
· TBM 930 flight controls improved
· TBM 930 instrumentation improved
· TBM 930 animations have been updated
ALPHA INVITATIONS
There have been a number of discussions in the community regarding Alpha build access recently. We are continuing to discuss our current participation strategy and will finalize any changes/communicate to the community, once we release the updated Alpha build. Our current top 3 tasks regarding Alpha participation are as follows:
- Ensure that everyone that received an acceptance email has access to the Alpha.
- Ensure that those that registered early for pre-release build testing, have access to the Alpha.
- Assess Alpha participation options for adding more people as quickly as possible.
MORE GREAT SCREENSHOTS FROM ALPHA PARTICIPANTS!
Screenshot Credit: Beechc23
Screenshot Credit: LeLapindeGiens
Screenshot Credit: SM4RT4N117
Screenshot Credit: Batlle777
Screenshot Credit: Virtual Flights
Screenshot Credit: garywinhk
Screenshot Credit: SulfonicCarp982
Screenshot Credit: CaseBug2496684
Screenshot Credit: BonhamFive
Screenshot: tomiaut1980
Screenshot Credit: Batlte777
Screenshot Credit: CaseBug2496684
NEXT UPDATE – 03.26
Sincerely,
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team
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Wow. A 152 is great.
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Have they put VR in there yet? Come on Microsoft! Come on!
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Track IR at least pwitty pweese?
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Saw this, don’t know if its new or not. Looks like a seamless multiplayer experience.
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Looks pretty good indeed.
I’ve never flown a civil flight sim in MP before. Could be fun.
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As an Alpha tester I can’t say anything. But I can say that I’m not all that fussed about the X-Plane 11.5 Vulkan update any longer
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Ok I guess this thread is pretty quiet because everyone except me is in the alpha and must not talk about it.
I watched the latest video by “Aus flight simmer” and I must say I continue to be impressed by the game’s visual quality and how it improved during the alpha already.
He also mentioned performance improvements which is good.
Now we need that VR or at least TrackIR in the game.
…although 3dof TrackIR should be doable if there is mouse view at least.
Cannot wait to hear about the ATC development, but the multiplayer news looked good already.
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I wished, I just sit here sad that I still didn’t get an invite. Though they did say that:
ALPHA INVITATIONS
We are wrapping up work on the Alpha build and have started to focus on the Alpha participation.
The primary objectives are listed below and we’ve started working on the first step.
- Ensure that everyone that received an acceptance email has access to the Alpha.
- Assess Alpha participation options for adding more people as quickly as possible.
- Prioritize access for those that registered early for pre-release build testing.
So when will new invitations be sent out?
Starting today
I did registered early for pre-release testing so 2 more weeks maybe?
My NVMe SSD is ready and internet connection wide open, bring it on Microsoft.
Also since I have X-Box Game Pass Ultimate, apparently I will own it as soon as it comes out, so why not invite Game Pass owners right away M$?
I’d like to help test, but cant ever get in when they’re open.
Since I cant currently do any work on my real world simulator, this would help pass the time.
I’ve spent a small fortune on P3D and addons. I’m just stuck in my ways I guess.
Happy flying though, looks great.
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If there is one constant in the flight sim hobby, its this. If you want to fly around with the amazing visuals, your going to need the latest and greatest.
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And the MSFS series have always demanded future hardware for max settings.
That said, I hear great things about performance in FS2020. I wonder how the VR performance will be…
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This. No VR, with acceptable performance, and no purchase from me. I don’t care how purty she is [in 2D, and I have 4k monitor so big I have to turn my head side-to-side to cover].
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That’s true - it always have been. I remember when FSX came out it was a slide show on high settings. On the other hand, the bigger budget behind it now and necessity to aim for console market - yes, it is planned for XBOX One and upcomming Series X, will no doubt introduce a lot of scalability and optimization. So I’m not worried about the performance aspect that much.
The worst thing about FSX is that it never really got better, even with very advanced hardware it never ran really good.
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Amen
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IIRC the first or second Service Pack (before FSX Acceleration) did improved the performance for me by a lot actually. It literally made the game playable for me, though the fps count was still probably around 30-40 at mid-high settings.
But yeah, the game engine is really ancient now, highly single core CPU bound and doesn’t utilize GPUs to their full potential.
That’s why I feel confident when MSFS2020 is using basically new engine (though they did based it on FSX engine).
No, it didn’t. FSX was DX9 but had a DX10 ’preview’ mode. But that didn’t work very well, and when all the hardware was DX10 compliant, FSX wasn’t anymore.
FS2020?
Are you thinking about Prepar3d? That was based on FSX.