Interview with Jorg Neumann and Sebastian Wloch - MSFS2024

Interview with Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator and Sebastian Wloch, CEO of Asobo Studios at FlightSimExpo 2024.
I talk to Jorg and Sebastian about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and get some insight on the mission system, landable worldwide ship placement, cold and dark starts on helipads and more.
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[@carlosmetal]

Thanks Sérgio, Nice questions as always. Eargerly waiting for the next three grumpy simmers to hear your insights.

[@Belatu42]

Great work Sergio! I am so relieved to have you as our ambassador to the devs on Helisimming! Keep it up!

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you very much. You're too kind. Thanks for watching!

[@b21-soaring]

I'm a sim sailplane pilot watching a sim heli pilot interview of the sim developers, and I think it's awesome each constituency can appreciate the needs and desires of the others. Thanks for posting this insightful interview.

[@HeliSimmer]

We all like different things and we should all root for each other, even if we don't use or we don't think we use what others want. A better sim for everyone is exactly that: better for everyone!

[@belgeode]

Jorg is such a dang tease. LOL.

[@HeliSimmer]

RIGHT? RIGHT?

[@AusFlightSimmer]

Amazing, one of the best interviews I seen with Seb and Jorg. 2020 was just the start. This will be amazing! Thanks for putting that together Sergio.

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you very much for watching and your kind feedback. I am glad you enjoyed the interview. Your words are highly appreciated. Thank you.

[@njyde]

This is a great interview! Thank you.

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you very much! And thank you for watching!

[@MrSunlander]

AI helos! cold placement on game helipads! Ship helipads and spawning! Full compatibilty! I want something like Lorby's fire fighting, that set up where actual fires were happening and let us set all kinds of aircraft to fight in (so long as you have it). Let's keep them on that! Thanks, Sergio, for all these years of advocating for us, listening to us, teaching us.

[@HeliSimmer]

#professionalnagging has started! I'll keep pressing for sure!

[@cptairwolf]

Amazing interview Sérgio, you're a seasoned interview pro at this point ;) I personally cannot wait for missions in the sim and I think if the tools are there for third party developers to create compelling content it's going to be a mad dash for who can create the most incredible missions in the sim. That will be compete the new form of DLC that most will be looking forward to!

[@HeliSimmer]

Ahaahh I wouldn't call myself a seasoned or a pro! Well, old maybe. Pro, naaaaaaaaaa... :D I'm rather curious about the mission system myself. Being able to perform helicopter operations other than just flying from point A to point B will be phenomenal! Can't wait to see what the community will do too!

[@akan46]

They should take a look at how HPG dealt with missions and MP aspect of it. By the way random generation is huge to me, I hope it will include randomly generated missions when it comes to the destination etc.

[@NicolasN]

well done Sergio ! good questions ! perfect; let's wait and see.. maybe getting more core meanwhile :) :)

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you very much, Nicolas. I think we're moving in the right direction. At least that's what we've seen throughout the last 4 years.

[@Aleksandar6ix]

Hi Sergio! Shame I didn't attend this year to meet you again. Hope you are well. You always ask the best questions

[@HeliSimmer]

Ah it's a shame indeed. It would be awesome seeing you in Vegas! You are also too kind. I am glad you liked the interview. Thank you so much for watching!

[@88Jakeyboy]

Great job with that interview! Thank you

[@HeliSimmer]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for dropping by and say something!

[@SparkySven]

Best interview of those two major creators of our beautiful sim. Thanks for being our voices and ask what we the community want to know. Great video

[@HeliSimmer]

Wow, thank you very much! I am glad that you enjoyed it. And humbled, really. Thank you!

[@get_outdoors]

Great interview, well thought out 👍

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you very much. It's very kind of you. I am glad you liked it. 🙏

[@harryalleman7381]

Thanks Segio, great interview, can't wait for fs2024. Good questions.

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you very much! And thank you for watching!

[@FritzWeinrebe]

Great interview Sergio. Thanks very much.

[@HeliSimmer]

Fritz! Thank you! Thanks for watching, my friend!

[@NZ255]

Thanks for the interview Sérgio. I appreciate your technical focused interviews and I understand you’re a dev so please lean into that more leveraging that understanding. I love when Seb gets going and sadly we don’t get to hear a lot of that, even in the Dev Q&As.

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you very much. I do love when Sebastian gets more technical but I need to maintain a hard balance. I can't make it way too technical (that's beyond the point of the HeliSimmer.com project) or most people will get bored. Also, I don't think Sebastian would be willing to talk too deep into technical details/secrets of the trade. I will try to always bring some of the technical part of things to light but, again, I need to balance it. I am glad you appreciate it too!

[@volkerjansen3901]

I am very happy to find myself in the "digital tourist" category. And what better way to experience this than flying helicopters!

[@HeliSimmer]

Oh yes! Just look at all the helicopter tours around the world, for example!

[@SuperApple1995]

Thank you very much for this interview! I think you asked a lot of interesting questions and it’s really exciting to see and hear the answers. Also waiting for the questions that have not been answered yet :D I hope helicopter flying is gonna be much more realistic (ground transition, flight dynamics, VRS etc.) now that they build the sim from the ground up with helicopters (and also gliders) from the very beginning. Regarding to start in cold & dark. Just make it a toggle like in X-Plane! :) Many aircrafts already have panel states, so you would just need to link this. And for more simple aircrafts it’s gotta be quite simple, too. Just let us select any starting position, any helipad, gate, runway… whatever. And give us a toggle to start with engines running or not.

[@HeliSimmer]

That's exactly what I talked to them about it! And Sebastian seemed surprised that it wasn't there. Looks like an oversight that no one ever asked them about!

[@dealwolfstriked272]

20:15 a career mode is what MSFS truly needs IMO aka as Sebastian says "flying with a goal" and add circumstance! I hope they add something special in this regard to all vehicles.

[@HeliSimmer]

I believe that's the goal. Jorg mentions that a lot; that they are trying to make it work for everyone. He mentions helicopters and gliders as an example since those are more niche groups inside the hobby but my understanding is that they will work on something for everbody.

[@adsilite]

Great interview!

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you!

[@firerx]

I always start my Helicopters in a parking spot so I can start it up cold and dark. Thanks for asking Seb to make the halipads C&D capable for us rotary wing pilots.

[@HeliSimmer]

It looks like it was an oversight! But there's no mechanics in the sim to allow for any aircraft to start either cold or hot, so that makes me wonder if they actually didn't think of that at all. It probably didn't cross their minds :)

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Jörg a fellow Trekkie? How does this guy constantly manage to be more likeable?

[@JDVVV378]

Great interview 👌

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you!

[@DemoNotReal]

I just wanna know if we get shared cockpits on launch!

[@HeliSimmer]

I would say it's very unlikely. But that's my guess based on everything that has changed and has been added to the sim. They know there's demand for it.

[@hezziek3]

Great interview

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you! Thanks for watching! I am glad you enjoyed it!

[@adr1uno638]

I tsill would like to know if a proper Semi-Rigid rotor with the CFD will be done, rigid rotors are cool but semi is so much fun.

[@br1ella129]

What i wanna to know is will be there support for FFB devices directly from the sim like in DCS by providing ffb data, coz rn it's all based on a calculations from telemetry and it's far from ideal, any info about that?

[@HeliSimmer]

I don't think it will at this time. I have talked to MS before about it and they have shown some interest but I wouldn't say it's something they have on their list for the first iteration of the 2024 version.

[@br1ella129]

@@HeliSimmer i see, well lets hope that with all the new ffb joysticks aiming for a mass market they will implement a support for it at some point, thx for reply.

[@HeliSimmer]

@@br1ella129 I believe they will. The market is shifting and Microsoft tends to be paying attention. They may not make it an immediate priority, but eventually it happens. Just look at VR. Back in 2019, when we were invited to the pre-release event, it wasn't a thing. But they listened!

[@ToBCreations]

This was a great interview! I'm very excited for what's to come.😊 I have increased interest for helicopters. They're certainly great for sightseeing. I still struggle a lot with both takeoffs and landings with my aging joystick though, but keep practicing. 😅

[@HeliSimmer]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. What's wrong with your joystick? Is it having precision issues or something like that?

[@ToBCreations]

@@HeliSimmer It is a Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X with twist rudder. Probably not ideal anyway. But I feel the controls are very sensitive and "nervous" I have tried experimenting with the sensitivity settings. It has helped and I'll keep trying more. I know helicopters are challenging, but it somehow feels a bit overdone. But of course it might just be my lack of experience. 😄

[@HeliSimmer]

@@ToBCreations I had a presentation at FlightSimExpo that covered the topic of controls and one of the things that I touched was the fact that, while any joystick will work, not all of them are equal and chances are you are fighting with it. It's definitely not ideal but it's doable. The learning curve is much bigger, though. I've been there. As soon as the FSE organization clears the content of the event, I will add the video to this channel. That was the 3rd presentation I did at FlightSimExpo and it kinda closed the cycle I wanted to make to help newcomers. Perhaps that will be helpful to you. I recommend watching the first 2 though. You can watch them here: kzbin.info/aero/PLTGeGJyF8yiAvGA_Ba3hQRQyyxcg9WNEd I would recommend you to start upgrading your controls if you can. It will make a huge difference.

[@ToBCreations]

@@HeliSimmer Yes, thank you so much.🙂👍 I plan to upgrade my computer and hopefully also other hardware during the year. I have limited budget and I also fly fixed wing aircraft, so I wonder if you have any recommendations if I go for another joystick and pedals?

[@Belatu42]

What is your control budget so the community can help with recommendations?

[@casstephens3124]

Honest interview. I maybe watched it. Lol. Great job Sergio

[@HeliSimmer]

Because maybe it was about helicopters? ;) Thank you very much for watching and thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you liked it!

[@urthgental]

First, excellent

[@tasercs]

My 'want' list for helicopters: More realistic dynamics around ground effect. Vibrations transitioning through ETL Rotorwash effects on ground surfaces (like SImFX) Autorotation VRS More helipads (seems to be well and truly resolved!) More obstacles, like masts (also planned by the sound of it)) Proper throttle integration Just a tick box for engines running/not running would be ideal during flight setup (like you said). Exciting though 2024 seems, I really hope that it lands running and we don't have to wait forever for a massive list of things to be implemented. For example, an unfinished, poorly thought through 407 that is only now decent with third party mods. It was sort of thrown at us and then forgotten.

[@HeliSimmer]

Throttle is properly integrated now, from what I know. At least from what I hear from some developers. It's a matter of making it work. I don't think it's well documented enough. CowanSim has managed to get the governor/throttle to work. Or are you talking about something else that I may have missed? Flight model improvements can come with better performance since more code can be added. The wake turbulence that Sebastian talks about it, for example, is a direct result of that. Hopefully, we will see more improvements coming.

[@MrPurpleraine11]

When discussing the missions in msfs2024 it makes it appear that its going to be a limited scripted set of "missions", I think we need some clarification that are we getting a proper career mode like neofly/onair or are we just getting a list of say 10 missions per class because we have the option to pass certifications. Not just Sergio but others have interviewed and keep saying missions, its starting to bother me and not one person I have found has got Jorg to confirm its a career mode or scripted missions. I am hoping its a proper career mode I really do, thanks for the interview Sergio.

[@HeliSimmer]

Microsoft is not ready to talk about that just yet. They have talked about a career mode but we have no details.

[@51im]

Why does nobody ever ask about model matching. If my friends have a certain plain I'm fed up with seeing generic Airbus for jets or Bonanza for GA and Bell 407 for helis.

[@HeliSimmer]

I have, on one of my previous interviews. They are aware of the problem.

[@Ben-kw8bo]

There's a good mod for that on PC. But yeah should be native

[@FlameBot]

What do you guys think about career part? Will we able to start low with C172 and have to earn money by flights ppl. or cargo from A to B to C etc.? Use the money to afford a bigger plane. And proceed? I hope so.

[@HeliSimmer]

That could definitely be a way of doing it. I know they were not ready to talk about it *yet*. But it seemed to me like we may have some news sometime soon. I am just guessing here, I don't have any inside info or anything like that. It just seemed that everytime someone asked Jorg, the way he replied hinted that.

[@RJiiFin]

Why are the days so long? Still 145 to go

[@HeliSimmer]

[@sstfairstar]

Hi Sergio.how about Xplane 12 did you hear anything worth talking about it ?

[@HeliSimmer]

I watched their presentation but it wasn't anything different from what they have been telling us for some time. Performance improvements, eventually a new terrain system but I was a bit disappointed, to be honest. I was really hoping they could give us a sneak peek of anything that's coming, even in a more distant future.

[@sstfairstar]

@@HeliSimmer Thanks Sergio I also was hoping for some visuals instead of promises .Thanks again!

[@HeliSimmer]

@@sstfairstar yeah me too. I'm not saying it's not cool to know what they are working on but I'd like to see some progress for sure. And you're welcome. I'm sorry I don't have better news.

[@user-is1rr6vx5c]

Quite disappointed that there was no question about VR.

[@HeliSimmer]

VR is confirmed. There's nothing else that MS will say right now about it.

[@casstephens3124]

That's a question for the other grumpy one with the purple hat. Lol

[@darthmelbius]

I was about to ask the same question. VR is dead to these guys. They simply don't give a shit to be real here.

[@darthmelbius]

​@@HeliSimmerso missions and everything you asked had been discussed and confirmed to death. Yet you ask about those topics not VR.

[@HeliSimmer]

@@darthmelbius VR has been confirmed several times. It has been working for a long time. Any issues with it have to do with performance in general. What do you want to know about it? Edit: there were some general talks, off-camera, about things like having 1-eye view on a monitor, for example, but nothing else specific and MS never got into any details. Knowing that, I had limited time and focused on what I thought I could have better answers to.

[@rmm9676]

FLIGHT MODEL QUESTION: Most YT channels that compare the MSFS and X-Plane platforms don't do a proper job of demonstrating various critical maneuvers. Try the cross control / base to final / too low - too slow maneuver. This is a critical maneuver that has been removed from PPL Skill Set. CFI's only demo this pilot killer at altitude. Student pilots don't have to demonstrate this to their CFI or to the Checkride DPE. No one remembers Asobo's DIRECT ASSURANCE during the by private invitation only, Global Preview Event that MSFS's thousand points on the wing flight model will properly have the C172 spin in. A broken promise.

[@HeliSimmer]

I don't fly fixed wing, so I can't really talk about it but I have seen folks try it back in 2019 and it did spin. And I saw some videos after the release, of folks showing that. Did it got broken somewhere down the road, maybe?

[@rmm9676]

@@HeliSimmer There have been many purported flight model reviews over the past four years. None really challenged the model fully or fairly. In one case on YT, during a stall, the wrong wing dropped. The YT reviewer just kind of mumbled something and went on. Better to keep Asobo happy. Please show some links to videos you mention. Go back to the 2019 speeches when Asobo was first introduced and you will hear the promise they made. Everyone forgets. I have never seen a proper test using the essential ACS standard flight maneuvers along with the base to final stall spin scenario. The emphasis is on entertainment, scenery, and airliners. The flight model is best tested with a single engine GA aircraft like the C172. Please pass this to Asobo.

[@HeliSimmer]

That video was shown at the Global Preview Event back in 2019. I remember it well because that's when they first talked about the many sub-surfaces on aircraft instead of a single-point like FSX had. I don't think it was ever made public from what I can remember. I will nudge them the next time I talk to them, but I am not the best person to talk fixed wing flight dynamics, to be honest.

[@rmm9676]

@@HeliSimmer Thanks. MSFS is designed for entertainment and long haul flights. X-Plane is better for support of GA aircraft and flight training. Pretty easy choice. Easy to have both or just choose your mission.

[@HeliSimmer]

@@rmm9676 I don't see it that way.

[@zaelu]

very difficult to follow questions. my 2 cents

[@HeliSimmer]

Why do you think so? What do you struggle with?

[@zaelu]

@@HeliSimmer with the "intros" to the questions. Look at their body language as you make your way to the questions. Asobo's boss is French you are not english either (right?) and is difficult in such situations to focus on a loooong intro and then understand the question. And in those conditions and with multiple questions presented like that you lose your guest and the content gets melted and trivial. I don't mean disrespect... just my opinion as a viewer.

[@HeliSimmer]

@@zaelu I appreciate the feedback. Thank you.

[@Greazer]

God don't even say it. MSFS should never become a "Game"

[@HeliSimmer]

There's room for everyone. Making it appeal to a broader audience allows for the growth of the community and more money being moved around which, in turn, adds to the survivability of the sim and of the companies that develop addons for it. Not to mention it brings new blood. People that would probably never look twice at it but that start enjoying flight simulation more and end up even becoming pilots in the real world - something they probably never thought about it before. The community should stop being afraid of that expression. It changes nothing, if the core features of what makes it a flight simulation game (the subgenre it belongs to) are there. Adding features is not removing features. We should welcome the expansion of the hobby. Gatekeeping can be what kills it.

[@Greazer]

@@HeliSimmer I was being Sarcastic. It is Okay to be a "Game" and a "Sim". But I don't want to see flying in the sky, popping balloons and it sounds like Super Mario.

[@HeliSimmer]

@@Greazer mmmm... I COULD suggest them that 😅

[@dankestosprey7281]

who cares about missions

[@HeliSimmer]

Not everyone will. And those who don't can ignore them. Those do do care, can go through them. That's the beauty of having something being made for everyone, not just catered for a single person or a single group. Thanks for participating in the comments section.

[@rmm9676]

FLIGHT MODEL DISCUSSION -- This is a follow up to the discussion about Asobo's flight model. Here are Sample YT Videos that address Mission Oriented Flight Simulation. Be Sure to See the Comments. Real World Pilots advise X-Plane is better for supporting Real World Training in GA Aircraft. Should be supported by a side by side or remote CFI. MSFS is great for scenery and enjoyment / entertainment / Long Haul flights. Former Army Pilot's Channel Name = Flight Sim Guides Video Title = Microsoft Flight Simulator? Or X-Plane? Which To Use? // Channel Name = FlightLevel180 Video Title = How to prepare for private pilot training using flight sims.

[@HeliSimmer]

For training, yes. Most people won't use it for training, though. That was my point in a previous comment. And, very often, the flight model is irrelevant since system procedures is what it's needed. There's a place for all sims. I still say the flight model in MSFS is not that bad and it's perfectly fine for the vast majority of users. The blanket statement that MSFS has terrible physics and it's very bad just doesn't make sense to me at all. Like I said, P3D has far worse physics than X-Plane or MSFS and it's used by companies and the military for training, for example. Out of curiosity, did you try the stall exercise you mentioned on your initial comment on X-Plane? Did it work as expected?

[@rmm9676]

@@HeliSimmer The current state of the art in Flight Sim hardware and software has opened up use of home desktop simulators to support real world training. Possible to match BATD level sim functionality. Pay for the sim in flight hours to PPL $$ saved. The sim then is free for use in IFR training and airport familiarity practice for years. Remote instruction with a CFI is now easily available. This is where X-Plane excels. See the comments made in this YT video. Channel = Yell@Screen Video Title = [MSFS vs XP12] Thoughts after the six flights I did

[@HeliSimmer]

@@rmm9676 I feel like we're going off rails here. The topic was MSFS and how the flight model isn't as bad as a lot of people believe or want others to believe. X-Plane and its uses as a training tool was never in question and not covered in the video.

[@rmm9676]

@@HeliSimmer OK. Good note to close on.