January 16th was the release date of the latest video in Microsoft Flight Simulator’s discovery series, episode five, which focused on aircraft and simulator sounds. The video clocked in at slightly under ten minutes, but some sharp eyed viewers have pointed out a short three second clip where shared cockpit compatibility is confirmed. 

In the same clip, we can see there is leeway for helicopter engines, and maybe even gliders in the new flight simulator.

As Aurélien Piters, the audio director of Asobo Studio explained in the video, the team would like for the audio of Microsoft Flight Simulator to smoothly conjoin with the simulation itself. This ‘connection’ was shown through a list of engine variables which quickly panned across the screen. 

The list, visible from 1:20 to 1:23 in the video contained multiple sections mentioning shared cockpit. Note the beginning sentence (top), as well as a ‘multiplayer’ section header (right side).

Shared Cockpit integration has been a staple of the Flight Simulator series for years, since the release of FSX back in 2006, though until now there hasn’t been any news regarding two-man crews in the new simulator. The only mention of Shared Cockpit thus far is in the team’s Alpha Feedback Wishlist.

Having a closer look at this engine variables sheet, we see that shared cockpit is taken into account, though instead of being able to manipulate each individual engine (with a maximum of 4 indexes) like in single-player, shared cockpit mode will assume all engine’s data behaves identically. For example, the sheet lists “ENG MASTER ALTERNATOR” as a variable that can be manipulated by a shared cockpit user.

Helicopters were also a notable omission at the global preview event in Seattle last year, with the team remaining tight lipped about whether we would receive them at all, pre- or post-release. 

The section of the screenshot to take note of here is under “Engine Type”, which covers the various engines available in the sim. 

Among them are pistons, jets, turboprops - “unsupported” and also, Helo(Bell) Turbine [sic]. This in no uncertain terms suggests that helicopter turbines will be an option in Microsoft Flight Simulator’s core engine code and that support for them will be available from day one. 

Whether or not a default helicopter will be available on release, however, we do not know.

The six default engine types listed here also mention: “none” - this of course infers the presence of gliders. We already know that Flight Simulator 2020 will have thermals, which is essential to proper glider simulation. This further strengthens the possibility we’ll see gliders in the simulator.

In their January 9th blog post, Asobo displayed a wish list containing some of the most requested features for the simulator. As time goes on we’re seeing the list slowly dwindle in number, with AI traffic, seasons and today’s helicopters and shared cockpit being crossed off, leaving only air traffic control and VR/Track IR compatibility.

You can view the last status update from Microsoft and Asobo here.

Thanks to user Alliverti for making us aware of this clip.