Third-party developers released new airports for Microsoft Flight Simulator and released new screenshots of a couple of upcoming add-ons.
That being said, the first news of the day come from Microsoft itself, which announced a brand new set of policies for the testing and publishing of third-party add-ons in the Official Marketplace of the simulator. This new process will require third-party developers to take ownership of the testing process while Microsoft will continue to keep an eye on policy compliance.
The goal is as follows.
- Remove the current bottleneck with Microsoft doing all testing to determine release readiness.
- Allow our Marketplace Partners, who know their content best and have the most expertise with it, to make the call when functionality of their product meets the bar for release.
- Reduce communication round trips among Microsoft Test, Content Managers and Marketplace Partners in reporting issues and confirming whether they are release blockers or not.
You can read the full policies in the official post from Microsoft.
Moving on to third-party developers, GazSim released Antonov-2 International Airport (UKKM) in Hostomel, Ukraine. This is the airport targeted during the early phase of the Russian invasion of the country, where the Antonov An-225 (which has recently been released for the simulator) was destroyed before the invaders were pushed back and forced to withdraw in the first major victory of the war for Ukraine.
It's pretty much the perfect complement for the new aircraft, and it includes plenty of static models of Antonov aircraft, a memorial with the destroyed hangar and An-225 if you set the date to February 24, 2022, various animations, and even Easter Eggs like a homage to the heroic Ukrainian farmers and their tractors.
The developer pledges that 10% of the proceeds from the sale of the airport will be donated for the rebuilding of the Antonov An-225.
It's available on Orbx Direct for $9.99 and it'll be released soon on the official marketplace. Below you can read a list of features and check out a couple of videos.
- Over 50 Custom static and animated buildings and aircraft
- 2K and 4K PBR Materials
- The famous AN-225 Hangar with Static AN-225 Aircraft. The Aircraft also de-spawns when you choose to fly your own AN-225 or an Aircraft of choice!
- 2 Animated Hangars. Based on the real-world counterparts, the Hangars’ doors automatically open from 8am-8pm and can also be manually opened by the player after hours.
- TimeShift Visual Feature on the AN-225 Hangar – a memorial allowing you to view the tragic aftermath of the Antonov AN-225’s demise when you set the date to: 24th February 2022.
- Animated Antonov AN124 – Animated Cargo Doors with a special surprise!
- Over 10 Antonov Static and Animated aircraft, featuring: Antonov AN2, AN22, AN30, AN70, AN74, AN148, AN124, AN225, Bayraktar Drones, various spare supply craft, Ukrainian Buses, and even some special guest tractors?
- Fully re-created taxiways, with added ILS, upgraded to international standards.
- Animated Airport Staff Entrance Gate, animated shuttle bus route and staff recreational area.
- History Museum. The main taxiway corridor has been flanked with a variety of Antonov Aircraft, as they reside in real life. Each aircraft also has a small display with history about the aircraft and its origins.
The next airport released today is Fly2High's Daegu International Airport (RKTN) in South Korea. It's available on iniBuilds' store or on Simmarket for $19.06.
- Daegu Airport fully modeled
- Hand-made ground textures with crisp, bespoke texture sets (Runways, aprons, paths, roads)
- Fully modeled and detailed terminal interior
- Custom-built jetways with realistic variations using PBR texturing and animations
- Frame rates friendly
- Animated people models
- Animated traffic & flags flying in the wind
We then get to take a look at new screenshots of the Maule M-7-235 by Pilot Experience Sim. This time around, we see the version with floats. The beta test is coming to an end and the developers are preparing to send the aircraft to Microsoft for release on the official marketplace.
Last, but not least, Drzewiecki Design shared even more screenshots of its upcoming Tallinn Airport (EETN) serving the capital of Estonia. At the moment, we don't yet know when this airport will launch.
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 have daily Microsoft Flight Simulator news to keep you updated on the many add-ons coming and released for the sim. We have also recently interviewed Microsoft's Jorg Neumann about the Antonov An-225 "Mriya" and reviewed Orbx's Oslo Gardermoen Airport.
