Opinion of SSG 747-8

[stekeller 7]

Good news!

 

The Freighter has been released with many new features...

 

http://www.supercritical-simulations.com/?p=1685

 

And the Intercontinental has been updated to incorporate the advances from the Freighter as well.

 

- Stekeller

SSG

[MarioDonick 752]

After nearly a year of scepticism yesterday I purchased the SSG 747-8 (both the passenger and the freighter version), and I must say I like this aircraft very much.

 

The developers found the sweet spot between fun and complexity. The systems are certainly not PMDG-like, but they are not too dumbed down either. The FMC is based on UFMC, which is not 100% Boeing-like, but very close. It _feels_ natural, even if it's not, and that's important for me.

 

If you take the time to do the tutorial flight (the one described in the quickstart manual), you will be successful very soon. I also must say that the manuals are very well written. It's not like with some other developers where you simply get real-world manuals (which would not apply in many cases), but you get a well-written take on the 748-8 in general. The developers not just give you systems descriptions or checklist, they explain to you what to do. I find this very userfriendly. When there are differences to the real world, the developers often also explain the reason for it, and they also include annotations from their (real-world) test pilots.

 

It was the first time I use such a big modern (i.e. glass cockpit and heavily automated) airliner and really enjoyed it. The biggest one I was flying so far was Jardesign's A320neo, but I had immediatly more fun with the SSG 747-8 than I ever had with the A320neo.

 

The model also has some cool unique features, e.g. the airport diagram on the nav display, and the VNAV profile. I was also pleasently surprised by the very good ground handling. And I like the sound.

 

Overall, my initial and long scepticism has been replaced by lots of enjoyment. The only thing I don't like are the cockpit textures, but I can live with that very easily.

 

I posted some pictures of a takeoff I did earlier today in Sydney (YSSY) here.

[Pugilist2 878]

Thanks for the short review Mario.  The cockpit textures are also the only thing keeping me from purchasing it.  Hope they make better ones in another update or a third party does.

[MarioDonick 752]

Thanks for the short review Mario.  The cockpit textures are also the only thing keeping me from purchasing it.  Hope they make better ones in another update or a third party does.

 

You'll getting used to the textures in no time. The cockpit does create plausible Boeing feeling.

[jcomm 5,939]

Indeed a nice and very smooth experience.

 

Did just a small circuit around LPPT, as usual, for testing this new Cargo version, using the Atlas Air livery.

 

Really liked the hand flying, and also using the A/P and FMC. 

[stekeller 7]

Thank you mariodonick for your review. 

 

Certain things stood out in what you said, and one of them is our manuals. Since I write them (shameless plug) I was very pleased that you appreciated our approach. We try to strike a balance between good technical information, with the "look and feel" of the real Boeing manual in the case of the FCOM, along with explanations on how things work from the perspective of your average simmer rather than for a trained and type-rated airline pilot. And you validate our philosophy of ensuring the aircraft is "fun". That is exactly what we are trying to achieve with the 747-8 series so it pleases us immensely to hear you say that. 

 

As for the FMC, we try to make it as close to possible to the real 747-8 FMC in terms of pages and layouts, so I am not sure what you mean by not "Boeing like" - it is a bit different from the 747-400 FMC so that might be what you are referring to. And we appreciate the inevitable comparisons with the PMDG 747 (an excellent product) and not all systems are as in depth as you point out, but again it is important to keep in mind that the SSG 747-8 is a simulation of the 747-8, which does have some differences compared to the 747-400.

 

Great screenshots by the way!

 

And thank you too jcomm for your positive feedback. I insist that the aircraft handle well because I like to hand fly it and we will continue to work hard to make it as realistic as possible in that respect. I can tell you that real world 747 pilots and others who have flown the 747 sim give us great feedback on the SSG 747-8's handling, as well as some pointers on what could be improved. As a result, each update has some tweaks and modifications resulting from our test flights. This is one of the areas where X-Plane is so different from other simulators because of the way flight dynamics are simulated and it is always a challenge - one that I enjoy. 

 

- Stekeller

SSG

[jcomm 5,939]

Yes Stekeller I am noticing a few remarkable differences between the 744 and the 748. Unfortunately the next week will be too busy and away from my X-Plane 10 PC, but I will take with me the Manuals, which are, indeed, very well written!

 

Again, congratulations for an even better SSG 748i :-) 

[FlyBoyMike 38]

I haven't yet had a chance to download and try out the update so hopefully will get some time this weekend. So far I've been very impressed with this aircraft and has become one of my favourites in X-Plane. I actually quite like the updated the cockpit textures that came with the previous update.

 

 

 

I posted some pictures of a takeoff I did earlier today in Sydney (YSSY) here.

 

Love those screenshots! Are you using any additional scenery for Sydney area? I notice a nicely detailed city centre in the background of one of them.

[MarioDonick 752]

As for the FMC, we try to make it as close to possible to the real 747-8 FMC in terms of pages and layouts, so I am not sure what you mean by not "Boeing like" - it is a bit different from the 747-400 FMC so that might be what you are referring to

I said "not 100% Boeing", that's a subtle number you left out in your quote ;-)

 

With that I simply mean that the FMC seems to be basically UFMC with a skin, 3D-integration and (the most important part) a very good integration with the autopilot. Or are there any additions in functionality the regular generic UFMC does not have?

[SpeedBird4509 0]

The new update is amazing, WOW! Love it.

[stekeller 7]

mariodonick:

 

First of all, thank you for the support and kind words. I guess my point about the FMC was that no flight simulator add on fully simulates its functions and for which there are multiple software versions - one of our technical advisors told me that on the 737NG he flies it has a different software package that has less capabilities than other 737s he knows about. These systems are very complex, so I was unclear about the "100% Boeing like" comment and I wanted to know what you were referring to specifically. 

 

As for the SSG 747-8 Series FMC, of course it is based on the UFMC (no point in reinventing the wheel - all FMCs do some standard things); however it is much more advanced than that and fully customized for the 747-8. Here are some examples (although this list is not exhaustive): 

 

- Customized fonts and font colors

- Full performance tables embedded (rather than a single config file)

- Kilo / pound option

- Navigraph and Aerosoft full AIRAC data update compatibility, including transitions and approaches

- Full integration with autopilot and ND information display

- RTE PAGE based on the real 747-8’s, with RTE PAGE 1 and 2

- COST INDEX management fully implemented and customized for the 747-8

- TAKEOFF REF including PAGE 1 and 2 based on the real 747-8’s

- Realistic flap settings on the TAKEOFF PAGE based on the real 747-8’s

- VNAV PAGES based on the real 747-8’s

- NAV RAD page selections are fully integrated into the ND, radios and autopilot

- APPROACH PAGE is customized based on the real 747-8’s and allows modified gross weights to check the Vref speeds.

- Full integration with ND PLN mode

- Info representation on the LEGS PAGE is customized based on the real 747-8’s

- Many internal computations have been redone or drastically improved for the SSG 747-8 Series

- In the latest version the FMC pop-up can also be resized to twice its original one for clarity (and for people with larger monitors)

 

I can tell you that, in general, when we spot a difference between the real 747-8 FMC and the SSG one (within the features that are implemented), Javier works hard to correct it. The software is simply different and has its own development evolution, it is not tied to the UFMC at all. 

 

I hope this helps!

 

- Stekeller

SSG

[MindYerBeak 73]

 

 

Thanks for the short review Mario.  The cockpit textures are also the only thing keeping me from purchasing it.  Hope they make better ones in another update or a third party does.

 

Same here. The cockpit textures that I have seen in vids on youtube are not so great. Were they improved ? Any   747-8 own could possibly post  some VC screenshots ? 

 

Thanks

[Old_As_Dirt 160]

I will say that the cockpit textures are not the best I have experienced in any flight simulator, but all the "tools" are there. That being said, the overall experience more than makes up for that and you soon are absorbed in flying this aircraft and the textures are moot.  It is, by far, not the worst I have seen, nor the best, but you don't fly textures!

 

The latest version smooths out a lot of "wrinkles" and makes the experience more "flying" and not "trying to fly" - if that makes sense.  Having flown several heavies, this one was a little upward curve in the learning experience, but was made easier by help from stekeller and others on the dedicated board on the other site.

 

While my first thoughts were, "Did I make a mistake?", I am now proud to have this one in my hangar (a big hangar) and am enjoying having this classic to experience.  If there were one thing I would like to see added, it would be a passenger cabin, but I realize that this would be a massive undertaking and you don't fly from the back anyway.  There is always the freight version for that.

 

John

[Pugilist2 878]

Unfortunately, the cockpit textures have not been improved.  It really ruins the immersion factor for me and I rarely fly it.

[MindYerBeak 73]

Unfortunately, the cockpit textures have not been improved.  It really ruins the immersion factor for me and I rarely fly it.

 

 

Eek, thanks. I was about to buy it.