Launch day:

have been following this add-on for a few years, not extremely closely but with interest nonetheless. Yesterday the launch happened. Checked the trailer: "Your airport will never be the same again" states the developer. Of course, my pants are blown away by the raging excitement of the new replacement to GSX. Head to the store, cough up the cash, wait until evening to get home and get rid of GSX.

Get home, uninstall GSX and install UGCX. Read all the documents for the starting part, all good. Fire up P3D, put in my home airport which i customized using GSX with SODE jetways and customer vehicle positioning. I was expecting the jetways to disappear, they were put there by GSX after all, but I was fine with the default ones. Load into the Airport - well, now what? what is the shortcut for the UGCX control panel? Calm the documentation, nothing, could not find any shortcut. Fine, used the Add-ons options from the sim. Open the control panel, read the options there - a lot of Marshaling and push/tow options, configs...where are the other services? Go back and read the documentation. After 20 minutes I realize that there is no other service in the add-on. Quit the sim, re-install GSX; kind of bummed up. Meh, I guess it was my fault for not documenting myself about the add-on's actual content. 

The functions it already had are outstanding - talking to the ground crew (buttons, I did not use voice), configuring the type of Tug will appear for any given aircraft type ( so you no longer get super-heavy tugs for 737s), wing walkers, great, honestly.

Fine, let's use GSX to do the pre-flight and UGCX to push. Getting to gate departure - "Pin inserted, release brakes". "Brakes released" - Red message from GSX to put on the brakes immediately. Ignore it as there obviously is no integration between the 2 tools (not that i was expecting that, it was fine) but after 20ft GSX despawns all the vehicles. Great, so much for my immersion here. Push is fine, nothing really different from GSX. Take off, go to destination (EHAM - FlyTampa).

After landing i decide to test the Follow-me service and ask for a follow-me car. The FM car gets to me, stops in front of me, no queue to start moving. Anyway, i guess i would move and it would. And so it was, until i got to a speed above 15-18 knots. Then the care in front of me starts violently drifting left to right and speeding up as it does. At a certain point i could no longer see the FM car as it was either too far or had despawned. All of this was happening at night so i tend to say i lost it from view.

Get to the gate, deboard, and initiate the Tow to parking. The marshallers appear and engine wash-off effect appear in front of one of them. Strange, i look at the Aivalsoft EFB - it is seeing 3 planes in close proximity to my plane. I guess this was a compromise to get the objects to appear. Fine, that is not a big issue (even though it does not really make my immersion warm and fuzzy). Tow starts. I choose the speed of 15 Knots to clear the busy airport terminal area quickly. After about 2 minutes the tug starts drifting just as the FM car was, with the plane doing the same as it, as it was in tow. Reduce speed to 12 knots - still drifting but not as hard. Down to 9 knots - it stops drifting. Finally get the plane to parking and the "plane" marshallers with their engine wash-offs appear to direct the final parking tow.

 

Plane is parked, I sit and contemplate what i have seen for my 35 Euros - 

• A relatively better pushback process (not the push itself but the available options)
• A gimmicky tow process that did not really work well
• A follow-me car which did not work well at all

Now, my initial reaction was to submit a refund ticket, but of course i voided my refund right the moment i downloaded the add-on, so i feel like i am pretty much stuck with it now, like it or not.

 

Conclusion:

This add-on has massive potential and i know that FS2crew team can and will pull it off, but i feel that the marketing has been misleading for the launch and flashing a Road Map to push out a somewhat finished product is not the best excuse to get money, especially in the wake of Battlefront 2 and Anthem's disasters.

I would recommend to all that want to purchase it to first thoroughly document yourself if it really is what you want and then spend you money. And if it is, go nuts, buy it, you will enjoy it as it will meet your expectations.

 

As for the Developer, i still have trust i will get my money's worth out of this tool as i know you have a habit of making great add-ons, but now it is very far from it and i honestly expected more after 3-4 years...And that is the key here - you over-promised and under-delivered in my honest view. I might be wrong and I am subjective here, but this is what i feel. I hope you get what i am saying and do not become defensive about it. This is constructive criticism.

10 minutes ago, alexandrunt said:

Then the care in front of me starts violently drifting left to right and speeding up as it does. At a certain point i could no longer see the FM car as it was either too far or had despawned.

I can confirm that behavior. Happened to me in EHAM last night

For once, it's refreshing to read a review (or first hand experience) which contains constructive criticism and nut just rant. You've clearly have taken your time to write and contemplate this - and for that alone, I thank you. 

I cannot agree or cooperate your experience (since I don't own the program), but I hope that the issues you're experiencing will be sorted out. I know Bryan will do everything he can. 

With that being said, I don't think that UGCX is meant (at least not in its current state) as a replacement for GSX. It's a little sad, that there's not integration between the two programs. 

Hi Folks,

I was vaguely interested -  not really a tubeliner guy - I just watched the promotional video which didn't show much of anything - thanks for the write up - I was wondering what it did...

Regards,
Scott

 

seems to be that i will hold my wallet until at least SP1

I’ll pass for now

Thank you for your feedback.

I would respectfully disagree with some of the comments, but this is the world of video games.  

There a million users, you're never going to make everyone happy no matter what you do, say, or write.

I've been making FS addons for 15 years, that's just the way it goes.

 

No software product is ever going to be 100 percent perfect on initial release, especially when we're trying to integrate with 100s of different 3rd party sceneries and aircraft, many of whom conform to non standard practices.

 

To make UGCX better, we just ask that you report it so we can log it in our bug tracking system so we can look at it.

If your follow me car is auditioning for a role in the Dukes of Hazzard, let know us know about it.  Which airport did it happen at?  Can you reproduce it?

If you want a new feature, let us know about it.

If you want something changed, let us know about it.

 

When you buy an add-on, you're paying for support as part of the cost.  Please exercise that right 🙂

Cheers,

 

Well said Bryan.

I think the problem is most people think this is actually a replacement of GSX when that's not the case. During development that aspect has been clarified multiple times. But at the same time I understand that after sooo long you would expect more, anyway, we will continue improving it.

In alexandrunt, comment I can see things we need to fix, we will take note on them to test.

Cheers,

Exactly.

We're not trying to replace GSX.

Well, not yet at least... 😉

 

Seriously, if anyone has a tech issue, let us know.

You're paying for the support.  Use it 🙂

 

Hi

 I Brought it today and all in all it does everything i want and need ... i dont need to see fuel trucks or baggage carts i just wanted a good push back program thats better then the default one you get with FSX or P3D ... i did have an issue with it even starting up but i used the XML from this site and it worked (just worried about adding stuff to the XML as i dont want to muck it up..my original xml had a few more entrys which are missing from the new one plus its added a RAAS/PMDG entry which i dont use atm) and one time it pushed me back into the blast fence at EGKK but i guess that can be fixed by doing an edit to the push back....Its a great program i like it a lot thanks Bryan and the FS2CREW staff.

Rich

Bryan, 

Listen, i have been very happy with your products in the past. If i left a reply, that is because i care. And i did not rage or rant just to be as @sshole. I know just as well as you do what early adoption means.

37 minutes ago, Manuel82 said:

During development that aspect has been clarified multiple times.

Manuel - what happens with the people that do not follow actively your development channel? Are we not to have the same level info as all the others?

I am quite a busy guy during the day and am not really a Forum addict so i do not spend my time on forums following development threads, sorry. I am someone that expects a detailed description of the product he is about to buy, in the store he is buying it from. Would you buy a box of anything that does not have a description of the contents inside? Just saying.

 

Anyway, i feel that this is not really the kind of greeting Bryan and the team were expecting and i am sorry i had to be the bearer of bad press.

2 hours ago, alexandrunt said:

Manuel - what happens with the people that do not follow actively your development channel? Are we not to have the same level info as all the others?

Understood, you are right.

2 hours ago, alexandrunt said:

Anyway, i feel that this is not really the kind of greeting Bryan and the team were expecting and i am sorry i had to be the bearer of bad press.

I think, in my case, to just take notes on all the issues and fix them. I understand that after sooo long you would expect more. I'm taking this as a way to fix the issues and improve more the program.

Cheers,

16 hours ago, Manuel82 said:

I think, in my case, to just take notes on all the issues and fix them. I understand that after sooo long you would expect more. I'm taking this as a way to fix the issues and improve more the program.

Really appreciate it Manuel!

Now that i started using it as it was intended i am warming up to it. So, as i stated from the beginning (and this is for Bryan specifically as he seemed to have been most affected by my statements) - there was an expectations gap in my case. For what this add-on is meant to do - it outclasses GSX by lightyears. I am looking forward for more features to be added into it and for the bugs i mentioned above to be fixed too.

PS: i got another bug yesterday: I towed a PMDG 747-8F from parking to R81 Cargo ramp (FlyTampa EHAM) and when i got the the gate, all the tires were deflated and during the tow the plane kept applying the brakes ever so often as if not to overtake the tug.

Edited September 20, 20196 yr by alexandrunt

When it comes to push back i will like too see smother push back and same with tow. When the car start pushing the plane back is to fast and too rough 😕

5 hours ago, alexandrunt said:

Really appreciate it Manuel!

No problem

5 hours ago, alexandrunt said:

Now that i started using it as it was intended i am warming up to it. So, as i stated from the beginning (and this is for Bryan specifically as he seemed to have been most affected by my statements) - there was an expectations gap in my case. For what this add-on is meant to do - it outclasses GSX by lightyears. I am looking forward for more features to be added into it and for the bugs i mentioned above to be fixed too.

In our product, we focused in trying to add more details to the pushback process itself, and others ground services too. I must admit, GSX has nice animations!. But we found somethings we would like to add to the pushback itself, that and some more ideas, from Bryan, the beta users, made a kinda mix of stuff that we added to the tool. GSX has many nice operations boarding, and deboarding, I must admit that too. We hope that from our user's ideas, and from ours to make UGCX a nice tool. Sounds, like a politician talking, but the reality is that in order to improve our tool we need to listen you (users) the suggestions and things that must be fixed, in turn our product will become better.

5 hours ago, alexandrunt said:

PS: i got another bug yesterday: I towed a PMDG 747-8F from parking to R81 Cargo ramp (FlyTampa EHAM) and when i got the the gate, all the tires were deflated and during the tow the plane kept applying the brakes ever so often as if not to overtake the tug.

Yes, we identified an issue with PMDG during BETA, the problem is the constant braking rises the brakes temperature. The problem is that the airplane itself refuses from being towed/pushback from an external add-on. I think GSX in the past had that same issue, as far as I remmember.

Cheers,