A few new tidbits of Microsoft Flight Simulator information were revealed in this week’s Development Update, including a clearer release window for helicopters.
The update starts by noting that the team is on track to deliver Sim Update VIII on the 28th of February, alongside a new plane model, the Beechcraft 17, on March 1st. The next world update, focusing on Iberia, is also set for a late March release on the 22nd.
In the middle of last year, Flight Simulator developers Asobo revealed that adding helicopters into the game was ‘planned’ and set for a 2022 release.
Well, with the latest developer update, it’s become clear that helicopters are still a way off. Helicopter support is now marked as ‘Started’ but has a Q4 2022 release window.
Asobo also left a brief comment, stating that they “made great progress on the CFD simulation that will already be available in SU9” and the “next focus will be on actual helicopter development.”
On the list of user wishes, the top voted entry is now ‘Implement Weather and Terrain APIs’ which the developers have marked as ‘under investigation’ for a 2022 release.
Under the VR-specific feature requests, Asobo have interestingly marked Leap Motion and UltraLeap hand tracking support as ‘under investivation’. Likewise, support for wide FOV VR headset is now marked as ‘planned’ for 2023.
There’s also a VR-specific bugs section, a posting discussing overexposed and washed-out landscape colors in VR has been marked as ‘under investigation’, along with a few other bugs.
