Third-party developers have delivered news about several upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator add-ons, including aircraft and airports.
We start with acclaimed general aviation developer A2A Simulations, which decided on AccuSim 2.0 as the name of its next-generation engine, the successor of the popular AccuSim.
The Piper PA-24 Comanche 250, which will be the debut platform for the new systems on Microsoft Flight Simulator is now "days from beta," and interestingly, we mentioned that 975 sounds have been recorded for it.
"We are days from beta. There is a crazy amount of stuff for these guys to chew on. My hope is it doesn't get bogged down, which is always the risk load testing new tech (a lot of large new independent systems). Not just flight physics but the internal engine has been completely made new and at high resolution. The engine is infinite in what it can do, it's literally a collection of real parts twirling, rubbing, sparks, air, fuel, combustion, oil, pressures, etc. It's a miracle it all works like it does. Testing and breaking things over and over again is never comfortable, it always feels like I'm hurting something valuable (like a $45,000 engine).
The sound system is even more intertwined with the physical airplane. 975 sound recordings as of today inside the Comanche 250 library. I was at the hangar today recording the sound the oil door makes when operating it and talking to a friend saying "you have any idea how many sounds an aircraft can make?"
The team is hyper focused. I feel like I am working with the Avengers."
We also hear more about the AccuSim engine, which apparently is very streamlined and efficient.
"Since day one we've always taken pride in not just doing proper 3d art, physics, features, etc., but doing them with the utmost efficiency. The new code is so streamlined, it is actually smaller in size to the old. We were able to remove so many Accu-Sim->FSX/P3D cooperative dependencies now that it's 100% independent. The older hybrid approach code was far more costly than just running it straight, and even that system had low overhead. In Accu-Sim v2.0, forces are instant, frame by frame. This can be seen in response and shakes. The flight modeling is fluid with consistent smooth output. It's amazing what can be accomplished when you are writing all the code, as you can see it all happening. It's only the code you don't have access to that creates hurdles that require sometimes funky, creative solutions to get around."
Moving on to a bigger bird, Blue Bird Simulations has provided a new screenshot of its Boeing 757 (which you can see above) and also provided an update, addressing concerns about the possibility that they would be using default sounds. That has been labeled as "totally untrue" and the team is recording custom sounds. It'll be a while before they're integrated in the aircraft, but the developer promised that they'll "knock our socks off."
Switching to airports, Drzewiecki Design provided new screenshots of its upcoming Tallinn Airport (EETN) serving the capital of Estonia.
Last, but not least, Simman released Sakon Nakhon Airport (VTUI) in Thailand. It's currently available on Simmarket for $9.45 plus applicable VAT. It comes with the following features.
- Custom 3D Model of terminal and most buildings
- Custom terminal interior
- Realistic taxi path and parking positions
- Realistic Apron markers
- Realistic Runway markers
- Custom runway and taxiway lights
Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently available for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, including Game Pass. If you'd like to learn more, you should stay tuned on TechRaptor as we host daily Microsoft Flight Simulator news to keep you updated on the many add-ons coming and released for the sim.
