The much anticipated SSG 747-8 V2 was released a few days ago and immediately came under heavy fire from the community (at least the vocal parts of the community) for being a buggy and incomplete mess. I’m not sure that’s 100% fair but let’s dive in and see where things stand in the release version. Hopefully, in the not too distant future I’ll get to review it again after some updates, but what would you get today if you spent your $65 to purchase the aircraft?
This review will be organized and scored based on my review guidelines which can be referenced here. Please take a look at them to understand my reasons for the score.
My copy of the aircraft was purchased at the $39 upgrade price as I owned the previous version.
I have also released a side by side comparison video that while long, may be helpful to show many of the differences between the old and new versions of the aircraft.
Before we begin, let’s take a look at some helpful notes from SSG on what it is exactly that you are buying. From the release page on the x-plane.org store, we can see that we are going to get the following: (This list has been lightly edited for clarity.)
- A new menu system using a tablet.
- A new sound pack by Turbine Sound Studios
- The passenger version of the plane, with the freighter version to follow. (Freighter is not available at the time of writing.)
- An entirely new 3D model that features:
- A new fuselage with added detail.
- New external details such as a satellite antenna and tail camera
- All doors open and are modeled with higher detail.
- New cut passenger windows instead of textures
- New vertical and horizontal stabilizers with added details
- New nacelles and engines with more details and new animations
- Reworked and more detailed landing gear/gear doors with additional animation
- Improved and more detailed leading and trailing edge flaps and added flap mechanisms
- Upper deck interior with seats/galleys and stairs to the lower deck
- New wing flex and nacelle animations
- Completely reworked exterior textures with decals and placards meant to maintain as much detail as possible.
- A new fuselage with added detail.
- Reworked Flight Deck
- The entire cockpit 3D model has been largely redone and completely retextured.
- New overhead panel and buttons/switches
- New forward panel and buttons/switches
- New pedestal and buttons/switches/handles
- New miscellaneous panel and buttons/switches
- Side panels and window frames completely redone
- New cockpit seats
- Various added details
- Added Systems/Effects
- Almost all switches function properly and independently
- IRS alignment process implemented
- More realistic fuel system with different pumps and tanks along with FUEL TANK / ENG logic
- Realistic AUTOSTART and RUNNING indicators on secondary engine displays
- Improved and more realistic air conditioning system and logic
- Better track representation on ND
- Clock and chronometer on ND working like on the real aircraft
- More realistic baro pressure logic (STD, preselected, transition altitude)
- Captain and First Officer FMCs are now independent
- FMC FIX page added
- FMC Route 2 function added
- FMC Diversion function added
- Librain rain effects (currently not working on Macs)
There is a useful note on intended systems depth and systems function at the beginning of the manual shipped with the plane which I have copied and pasted below:
SSG’s design philosophy for this product is that the aircraft must be fun to fly and not require an inordinate amount of time studying systems, flows, and profiles in order to successfully accomplish a flight. The SSG 747-8 Series is designed to appeal to the widest possible audience and should not require detailed systems knowledge in order to operate the aircraft. For this product, the development team wanted to provide virtual pilots with access to all the systems that are required to accomplish normal flight. A few emergencies and malfunctions can be simulated, but this product is not intended as a procedures trainer with malfunctions resulting in cascading system degradation that a pilot has to address to continue flying safely.
SSG 748v2 FCOM 0.1.2 “SSG Philosophy”
The SSG development team’s focus has been on aircraft handling and accurate performance compared to the real aircraft. However, evaluations by real-world pilots of personal computer-based simulators are subjective. Therefore, their opinion is largely based on the equipment they use, as well as their impressions of what it “should be.” SSG’s Technical Advisors also offered their opinions, but it’s just their opinions, and no doubt other real-world 747 pilots might have different views.
This quote seems to exemplify SSG’s approach to overall system depth and logic. They overtly state that they intend to provide an accessible and easy to use simulation that approximates many functions of a 747-8 while omitting complex logic and systems behavior in order to keep the simulation simple to use. They want you to be able to use and fly the product without having to consult much if any, external material on how the plane should operate. We will talk more about systems depth when we get to that portion of the review, but I feel that it is helpful to have SSG’s intentions made clear at the beginning, whether or not I like their intentions.
Flight Deck Fidelity: 4/10
Let’s start as the guidelines dictate with an in-depth look at the flight deck. This is the most important part of the product to get right in my opinion as this is where your customer is going to spend the bulk of their time.
Sitting in the left seat with the aircraft in it’s default state The largest change seems to be coloring, a light brown being chosen over the deeper tones of v1. The texturing seems to lack detail that can be found in products with similar price tags ($65-75). There does not seem to be any effort made here to indicate the aircraft is not fresh off the factory floor and while I do appreciate that SSG did not go overboard with adding wear to the texturing the impression I get when sitting in the flight deck is that it is flat and lacks character.
The 3D detailing seems to be improved in many ways, but the texturing has not kept up. The decal on the side of the right seat, for example, is almost illegible even though I am not zoomed in overly close.
The yoke looks as though it is made of clay with little if any effort devoted to making it look used or even remotely real. There are no markings on it whatsoever, aside from the mediocre resolution aileron trim decal on top. Anytime I fly this plane I fly with both yokes hidden because they look so awful, and because there is no point in having them as one of the most important features of any aircraft simulation, the AP Disengage button, is not modeled and in fact it’s functionality is not modeled in a way that makes sense which we will discuss later.
In some areas, the visual quality is vastly improved over v1. The FMCs, for instance, are beautifully modeled and textured, however they sit inside what is overall a poorly textured and flat surface that has no character.
In this image of the third FMC located on the pedestal, we see an attempt made, successfully, to add character and life to the flight deck with finger smudges and dust while not going overboard. Please excuse the x-plane cockpit shadows. This is great work if lower resolution than I’d like as some pixelation can be seen in the button labels. I don’t understand why this level of detail and work was not carried through the rest of the flight deck. I’d argue that a 747-8 should feel new as they are still a fairly new plane, but they certainly aren’t all fresh out of a clean room and a little dust and smudging along with convincing reflections goes a long way to increase the immersion.
There is a glaring flaw in the radio panel for the right jumpseat in that it is upside down, but if it was right side up and slightly higher resolution it would carry through the sense of life as it certainly displays a small amount of wear.
The overhead panel is a good indicator of the quality of the 3D modeling work which in most cases seems to be very good. The experience suffers significantly when you realize that almost all of the buttons, which should pop in and out, are not animated staying in their starting physical state regardless if switch state. This is an area that may seem insignificant but I think that more animations of these switches would go along way towards increasing the quality of the product.
In many cases click spots are very difficult to find and are very small, making many critical switches overly difficult to operate. The click spots to open guarded switches seem to be universally located above the switch, physically separated from both the switch and the cover which is not at all intuitive. There are also no “click-through” spots for the guarded switches as are present on Flight Factor products. The addition of a click-through spot for guarded switches would remove a lot of frustration from trying to operate those switches.
Applying power to the aircraft will at this point power up most of the systems. There is no true “cold and dark” option to load the aircraft into. Generally speaking the aircraft loads in a turn-around state with the IRS systems not aligned. I would argue that this does help appeal to a wider audience since it is much easier to get started, but for a more serious user who is interested in procedures and systems it is a missed opportunity.
In this view, the flight deck looks rather nice, and I have no arguments with how the displays look although a little more reflection might be nice. It’s too bad that the eyesore of the poorly modeled yokes really spoils the overall look and feel.
The texturing of many of the modular parts of the flight deck is actually well done and looks like a high fidelity product. The flat panel framework that they are fitted into, as well as the yokes and the lack of animation really spoil the overall look and feel of the product.
There is certainly more that can be said, but I’ll never get to the rest of the review if we stay on this topic. The overall look and feel leaves much to be desired and much work needs to be done on texturing and animations to bring the flight deck alive and add immersion. This would go along way towards fixing the overall cheap feel of the flight deck. Please fix the yokes first.
This new model is advertised as having a completely remodeled and retextured flight deck and I don’t doubt that SSG did, in fact, perform this work. There are added details and the overall quality is much improved, but it has not been improved to the point that the flight deck belongs in a $65 product.
Exterior Model Fidelity: 7/10
The exterior model is also advertised as being completely reworked and vastly improved over v1. I would make the argument that is has been redone and that it is much better. There are, as advertised, added details and animations and the exterior model somehow manages to feel much more real than the flight deck model, which unfortunately is not without its flaws.
In the above view of engine 2, we can see an improved and tweaked physical model although the decal textures are a lower resolution than I’d like. I am relieved to see that many artifacts that we present in v1 are absent from the new model. The engines of v1 were a hotspot for marching ants.
Moving to the rear of the engine we see, I think, a more faithful reproduction of the GE engines of a 747-8 although for some reason the heat shield that would be present on the underside of the pylon is absent. The engines seem more realistic than v1 but in some ways have lost detail and the PBR properties have been adjusted to look more realistic. Overall I much prefer the engines of v2 although I wish there was a higher level of detail in the texturing.
This is image displays remodeled landing gear that hugely improved from v1, as well as added pack outflow doors that are animated with pack operation. The doors are open in this case while the packs are commanded on but have no bleed air or ground air (ground air isn’t modeled in any way) which makes me question whether or not there is any logic behind the animations or if the doors would in fact always be open regardless of whether or not the pack is running provide it is commanded on. I suspect that there is a lack of background logic, but SSG’s stated goal is a simplified approximation of a 747-8 so I suppose I can’t complain too much. The pack inflow doors are modeled but not animated.
The nose gear has also seen a massive improvement over v1.
The wings themselves are not new models that I can tell although they have been retextured and a lot of work has been put into more realistically modeled flap and spoiler mechanisms.
Regrettably, the APU exhaust is a place where the overall model has been improved but the texturing has lost detail. In v1 lights were textured and the APU exhaust itself had much more detail. In v2 this area no longer looks like a real tail section as the APU exhaust is a shiny pipe of an indefinite material that is far too shiny, and the lights are untextured blobs of material.
The tail has seen overall improvement. The texture of the leading edge is much improved although perhaps not as reflective as it should be, and the added detail of the taxi camera is a nice touch.
In this image, it may be difficult to see but there are some new marching ant artifacts that appear to be a part of the flight deck model. This area has seen an improvement in detail.
As advertised, cut windows are present in the new model. Unfortunately, as there is no lower cabin modeled it is not possible to see through to the other side. Some sort of texturing trickery appears to be used to hide the absence of the lower cabin. The lower cabin windows will also appear to be lit with a different color of light at night relative to the upper deck windows and this is jarring and obnoxious, whether or not it is factual as SSG has argued.
In the above images, you can see the flaps at 10, 25, and 30 degrees. The modeling of the flap mechanisms on both leading and trailing edges have been greatly improved.
With the flaps deployed it is possible to see a poor attempt at texturing detail into the wing. The wing texturing is still an improvement over v1.
The mechanisms for the spoilers are also greatly improved over v1 but as with many of the improvements in v2, they leave something to be desired.
Wing flex is advertised as tweaked and adjusted. It is present and it is much less pronounced. I can’t argue which version is more realistic but there certainly is wing flex present.
We are going to move on to the next section as this review has already gone on far too long, but I’ll point out the gear animations are also improved, and overall the external model is a large step in the right direction from v1.
The exterior model on average deserves a higher score but there is an odd seam in the model towards the end of the hump, there are some new artifacts over v1, and the APU exhaust area needs to be retextured to be brought in line with the rest of the model, which could all be improved.
Cabin Visual Fidelity: 1/3
Only the upper cabin is modeled, which I don’t care too much about, although there is a glaring flaw in an open seam of the doors in the upper cabin which needs fixing. Another problem is that the main doors do not seem to actually have a hinge connecting them to the plane, but I don’t care too much about cabin doors as long as they open.
Sound Fidelity: 4/7
The overall sound pack, when taken all together, is not particularly impressive. The engine sounds, on their own, are good, maybe even great, but plenty of other mediocre sounds take away from their value. Several buttons/switches in the flight deck do not have a sound and many many others have the same sound from v1. Plenty of other addons use the same buttons sounds all over the place but it isn’t an issue because they start with a fairly good sound. The main button sound, in this case, sounds like a rubbery keyboard switch. Pack sounds start immediately at full intensity when air is supplied to the packs with no fading in. They just snap to 100% volume. Callouts are the same mediocre audio from v1 which is a holdover from its use of UFMC as the base package for the FMC. UFMC was once a great product and has a long partnership with SSG being used as a white-label, customizable drop-in FMC when the default X-Plane systems were exceedingly poor.. IT seems that a little extra effort on many of the sounds that you are guaranteed to hear every flight would have been very welcome. It’s somewhat jarring to hear the old v1 low fidelity callouts while sitting in the improved model. Hopefully, BSS will offer a sound expansion that will fix these issues but it would be nice if the standard sounds were better and didn’t require much fixing.
Flight Model Feel: 10/10
I’ve got no issues with the flight model. It feels somewhat sluggish but in a way that makes sense given the aircraft’s size. The flight model and performance and even taxi performance does seem to respond well to different aircraft weights.
Systems Depth: 10/30
This is where we really get into the nitty-gritty of what’s better, what’s buggy, and what’s bad.
The system’s depth is far from study level, far even from just being a faithful recreation of what is needed in my opinion. That said, my opinion isn’t super important as long as they are selling what they advertised. What they advertised and what they state in the FCOM, as noted at the top of this review, is that they intend to offer a simulation of the stuff that is important to fly the plane in normal situations, and that they want to offer a plane that is sufficiently simplified that it appeals to the widest possible audience. I think that if the bugs are fixed that relate to the FMC, that they will have succeeded in their aim.
Let’s start this discussion on systems with what has been improved, and what is good. The IRS alignment page and process have been added and it seems to be done well. SSG says that they spent a lot of time trying to get fonts right, and while I may not be sold that they are right they are definitely a whole lot better than v1. The fuel, hydraulic, and air systems have all gotten some work and they seem to function reasonably well if a bit simplified. Vastly better than v1 here again. The system synoptic pages that can be viewed on the lower EICAS have all seen a fair amount of improvement and give more information and more realistic indications than v1 did. The engine start process still seems like it may be simplified, but the associated displays have more realistic indicators and that does add a lot.
Let’s talk about what isn’t good. The FMC, while improved over v1 with some added functionality that is noted in the release notes, does not live up to expectations. Sure SSG wants simplified systems but the FMC is a place where added complexity and functionality do not actually make it more complicated for the average user I would argue. The FMC attempts to look nice and new, and it has been separated so that there are individual FMCs for Captain and First Officer, but it only partially behaves like a normal Boeing FMC (which tend to share functionality and operating philosophies). The FMC has several bugs, some of which you can work around and others you cannot and they are incredibly frustrating. Going to page 10 of the route you have loaded, pressing the delete key, and then magically getting transported back to page 1 seems like a minor nuisance until it happens six times, at which point you’ll become extremely frustrated.
At this point in time, prior to any patches and bug fixes being issued, it is possible to complete a flight, but the FMC and the autopilot are almost definitely going to misbehave and get you into situations that you are not expecting. When you try to resolve these issues you’ll find that you can’t activate flight level change mode, or that the vertical path was completely miscalculated, or that for some reason the way that it is trying to tune the ILS radio cause you to have no indication the ILS is alive until rather late in your approach. I don’t have a huge amount of experience with 747 simulations, but I do have a fair amount of experience with Boeing simulations, and Boeing aircraft obviously share a similar operating philosophy that this simulation does not adhere to. Hitting flight level change should always, no matter what (provided flight directors are active) activate level change mode. This is not the case.
The FMC and the autopilot, given that they do not follow Boeing operating philosophy fully (which would not burden the average user with too much complexity, it’s a fairly simple philosophy), is the cause of much frustration and I fear that no amount of bug fixing is going to fix this because it certainly seems to be a very intentional choice on the part of SSG.
The verdict on systems from me is that yes, they are improved, and they are generally improved as advertised. They do not however faithfully replicate the important parts of how Boeings tend to operate and that adds an unnecessary learning curve to every customer who has logged any time in the Zibo mod 737 which has a much more faithful reproduction of a Boeing autopilot and FMC. Outside of the autopilot and the FMC however, there is a satisfying if simplified replication of most of what’s important to an average simulator pilot even if it is somewhat lacking for more serious users.
Bug fixing will go a long way towards making the plane less frustrating, but some serious reworking needs to be done before this will be a faithful replica (even simplified) of a 747-8.
Value: 15/30
The value score is meant to be an indication of whether or not a product is priced appropriately given the level of included features (not promised patches) and the asking price. Please refer to the review guidelines linked near the top of the post for more information on how I score this.
Given that the market includes many other incomplete but more feature-rich products at a similar price point the SSG attains a middle of the road value score, which seems to be representative of the scores in many other categories. It isn’t great, it isn’t terrible. Priced at $65 the SSG747-8v2 is in direct competition of the Flight Factor 767, FF757, IXEG737, and others. Almost all of these products are, to varying degrees, far more faithful replicas and far more satisfying to use on many levels. That said, the 747 is special, and in some ways is in a class of its own as there is currently no viable competitor to the SSG’s systems, simple though they are, or its looks as the default 747 has an exterior model from the dark ages.
Total Score: 4.9/10
To understand how this score is calculated, refer to the review guidelines here.
I would not recommend buying this product at $65 today, but the $39 upgrade price for owners of v1 is much easier to swallow and I do feel that it’s worth that price. Once some patches have been issued it ought to be much easier to justify the full retail price but at this point, it has too many bugs graphical issues to justify that price. Obviously many v1 users feel that this upgrade is a patch that should have been free but I have no problem with a developer deciding to charge for an upgraded model after years of supporting and updating the initial version.
Many people feel that this upgrade has been a major let down but I do not entirely agree with that sentiment. SSG has released a product that does everything they advertise, even in the presence of the current bugs. I have a lot of faith, based on my experience with updates to v1, that this aircraft will receive similar care and attention and will ultimately become a much better product. If you want to support SSG and understand that the product needs more work then go ahead and buy it. I certainly did (at the upgrade price anyway) and I don’t regret it. I have been both frustrated and thrilled with this product and anticipate many more hours of fun in the simulator with it.
That said, there are some better options out there in terms of systems and fidelity for the same or similar price.
Unfortunately, none of them are 747s.