And we’re back! Yesterday’s FSExpo events were oriented primarily around product showcases and announcements on the main stage at the convention centre at The Rio Las Vegas. Today and tomorrow are different with a mix of panel discussions, tutorial how-to sessions, and lots of goings on in the exhibit hall. For today’s reporting, I’m going to be visiting booths and sitting on a panel discussion myself and I’ll probably attend a few others as well.

I will once again be live updating throughout the day though it will be a bit more sporadic as I’ll be spending time at different booths and connecting with people. If you’re here today, make sure to drop by the FSElite Exhibit Hall Stage for our panel discussion: “So You Want to be Virtual Combat Pilot?”

Live blog updated throughout the day

Combat pilot (10:31 am)

Well folks I’ve just come from my first experience with Combat Pilot and I’m very impressed. I keep saying it’s early days and there’s a rawness to it as they are just getting things going but that doesn’t matter. I loaded up in a Wildcat, it flies, it feels good, flew past the Enterprise, it’s good!

Controls work. TrackIR is working. I did a touch and go on the Enterprise. There’s asymmetric yaw, stalls and more.

Virpil (10:46 am)

I’ve just come from the VIRPIL booth and had a great time looking at their equipment. They’ve got some new more entry level equipment in the $199 USD range and a new Su-27/35/57 styled stick with a near 1:1 scale on the sizing.

More details to come soon on all of this!

MK Studios (11:05 am)

Had a great chat with the folks at MK Studios. They make lots of great scenery for MSFS these days. They just came out with Keflavik and are working on some exciting new stuff. They told me it can take upwards of 6 months to product a detailed airport scenery with something complex like Keflavik. Shorter for others. Fascinating stuff!

Microsoft Flight Simulator (4:25 pm)

We’ve got Jorg and Seb on the stage now. We’ve got the trailer for City Update Las Vegas. Jorg is thanking everyone for their enthusiasm and for trusting them with the sim and hobby.

They announced that as of today they e reached 15 million users. 1 billion flight sessions. Happened a week ago! 230 million in the last six months.

Creator community has created 5000 addons.

Talking about 2020 sustain. The project goes to 2028 and it includes 2020 and 24.

Now 2024. Partner teams include a huge list with a dozen of new ones. 800 people working on the sim all over the world.

Nothing is going away from 2020 but they are adding a lot. A ton of work has gone into it.

They want to talk about the trailer now. Their own breakdown.

Red Bull Racing will have two racers and the cones are inflated and simulated. They rip apart.

Next sequence is the airport. More realistic. Liveries. Lots of ground services. This is what’s possible with the modern SDK. JFK is improved by Gaya. A330 is by iniBuilds (confirmed). GE and RR, -200 and -300.

Yes we can now get out of aircraft and walk around. Open the door and go out. Preflight checklist is outside. New announcement for that system!

Rendering and lighting has been reworked. Indirect lighting is better. Makes the whole scene more realistic.

New fight model 2024 which lets you create everything in the model. It’s optional. Took an hour to upgrade aircraft to the new system. Amazing.

New shadow lighting is done by ray tracing. It’s very accurate.

We now have people walking on walkways. Scenery makers can make people move.

Huge amount of new character models. Company called Humane. Scan the faces of actors and bring into the sim.

PC-12NGX is from Carenado.

Azure AI, on the whole planet, does stone rock, sand, plants. Etc. Dozens of biomes for the whole planet.

Aerial advertising wasn’t planned but they made it and it’s fun. The rope affects the physics of the aircraft. Simulated rope physics.

Aspen and the VisionJet with FlightFX. CAPS system. Working with WorkingTitle and Cirrrus.

Speaking of which. New lighting for clouds and citrus clouds.

Azure can detect crops and fields and adds 3D props.

Robinson 66 done by Carenado.

Wake turbulence is simulated for minutes at a time for every aircraft.

New positional update from ships every 30 seconds. For ship traffic. Waves simulated in 3D and in sync.

H125 made by Asobo.

Helicopter sling loading is an accurate physics simulation.

Team is currently making every helipad on the planet.

Blackbird made the heavy lift helicopter.

IniBuilds made the A400M. Uses new propeller blade effect modeling the rotor. Very cool!

AT-802. Asobo made it. Did flight data recording with the real thing.

Tons of animals. Ground details and interactive grass and dirt with bush planes.

Balloons for people who want to go low and slow and explore.

Twin Otter. Talked to Aerosoft. Took theirs and is going to be redone. IniBuilds is doing the art. Hans and team are upgrading the systems. Part of the activity system.

A-10 is created by DC Designs.

Balloons. Physical simulation with visual and physics mesh connected closely together with their tissue material system.

Atmospherics is being shown off by Optica by GotFriends.

Aurora borealis looks awesome.

Partnerships. For the community with the community. Asobo is the core and others are bringing in their expertise. That includes Working Title. They were 5 and now they are 26.

Working Title is working on a route planning system. Can be done outside the sim or in the cockpit. Graphical and text planning. ETOPS planning. NOTAMS and VFR and charts. Available across platforms, mobile devices, and Xbox.

Avionics. Primus Epic 2. Available to developed for third party.

Climax. Game studio from 1998. Working with Reno and Red Bull. Regrets about Reno with base experience now being free in 2024.

New location in Roswell New Mexico for National Championship Air Races.

Will be adding in new race courses in 2024. Actually coming before the race happens!

Replay functionality is coming. Flight Control Replay is doing the system. Fabio is the developer. Will be integrated in 2024. Ghost plane, fly by camera, and take control too.

World partners. Gaya does most world updates and city updates. TIN cities got better. In 2024 airports getting a lot better. Ground markings a lot better. Glider airports coming too. Database of every glider school on earth. Including winches and types. Oil rigs too. Making all in the world.

Making 2024 ships with more detail. Can land on them. Giant fleet of ships. “Global ship AI” traffic will be built in.

Orbx another partner. Aircraft, DEM, world hub management. Etc. In 2020, there weren’t many towers or antenna modeled. Vertical obstacles with Puffin Flight.

Aircraft partners. Got Friends is a new partner. Optical rebuilt. New flight computer and avionics dedicated to gliding. New glider too!

New partner doing Draco X. Can fly it in the sim while it’s still being built. Mike Paytee. Got Friends is making it too!

Here’s the full list for now. More partners to come.

Asobo’s most complex aircraft ever. 737 MAX 8 will be part of the base simulator.