MODULAR SIMOBJECTS
In previous versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, all objects in the simulation were all single "monolithic" SimObjects, and so if you wanted variations - for example, you may have an aircraft which can have floats to land on water, wheels to land on the ground, and skis to land on snow - you would need to create three different SimObject packages. Each package would require its own model, textures and set of config files, even though perhaps 90% of each of the three aircraft packages is the exact same. Obviously this is not very efficient, and leads to poorer performance in the simulation, unnecessary bloat in the packages, and more work from you, the creator.
Now, however, most SimObjects are distinct to previous versions SimObjects since they are now modular. The concept here is simple: you create a "common" base for a SimObject and then add (reusable) modular parts to it to create one or more different objects that the user can fly or see in the simulation. So, using the above example - an aircraft with variations for floats, skis and wheels - you would create a single common base with it's associated files, models and textures. This base file would contain the fuselage, the cockpit, and most of the CFG files that the aircraft requires. However the fuselage would be created without any landing structures, as these would be created separately as independent SimObjects which are then added to the package as "attachments". Finally you would create three "presets" which modify the common base to create the three different aircraft using a combination of modified parameters and the added attachments. Additionally, you can add in "liveries", which can then be applied to all the different presets to change the way they look superficially when being flown or placed in the world. The actual contents of these different folders and how they are all merged together is explained on the following pages:
You can find information on additional files that can be used in modular SimObjects from the following pages:
This modular approach to SimObjects gives a great deal of flexibility when creating objects in the world, requiring less work to get the desired features, and also improving performance in the simulation, since each attachment will have it's own LOD and behaviours. It's because of these benefits that all aircraft and most SimObjects in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 are now modular in nature.
IMPORTANT! Legacy-style "monolithic" SimObjects can still be created as per the guidelines outlined in the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 documentation, and for single-variation or small aircraft this may be the simplest way to go. However, modular aircraft offer a wealth of benefits when it comes to performance and long-term re-usability of assets, and are also the only types of aircraft that can be used in Career Mode, which is why we recommend switching to this system for all new aircraft being created.
Information specific to Aircraft SimObjects can be found here:
For examples of aircraft and their configuration files and folders, you can check the following directory:
<SDK Root>\Samples\Aircraft\
How to use these examples is documented in the following section:
Information on all the other non-aircraft SimObjects can be found here:
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