SSA Manual

SimShaker for Aviators (SSA) turns flight-sim telemetry into tactile feedback. It reads live data from your simulator, runs it through a per-aircraft set of effects (engine rumble, turbulence, gear, weapons, damage, and more), and drives that feedback out to a Gametrix JetSeat or the payware SimShaker Sound Module.

This manual documents the new WPF UI (currently a preview, running alongside the classic interface). If you’re still on the classic UI, the PDF manual bundled with your installation covers it — see the note at the bottom of this page.

Supported simulators and devices

• Simulators: DCS World, X-Plane 11/12, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020/2024, Microsoft Flight Simulator X, Prepar3D
• Devices: Gametrix JetSeat, SimShaker JetPad, SimShaker Pad, Realteus ForceFeel, Next Level Racing HF8 (limited, via ForceFeel), and 1–6 bass-shakers through the payware SimShaker Sound Module

For the full, always-current list see the project home page.

Installation

1. Download the installer for the release track you want (stable, beta, or alpha) from the home page. SSA 3 alpha uses a new settings format that is not compatible with SSA 2 — if you’re moving from SSA 2, plan on reconfiguring your profiles.
2. Run the installer and start SimShaker for Aviators.
3. SSA automatically maintains the DCS export script and offers to install the MSFS WASM bridge and X-Plane plugin the first time it needs them — see First run below.
4. If you use a JetSeat or another pad, install and connect it before starting SSA so the handler can detect it — device setup is covered in Output Devices.

Once installed, SSA checks for updates on startup by default (this can be turned off in Settings) and always checks against the track you installed — stable stays on stable, beta stays on beta.

First run

What happens the first time SSA talks to each simulator:

• DCS World — SSA writes its entry into DCS’s Export.lua automatically on startup; no manual step is needed. If DCS never connects, see Connections → DCS and the troubleshooting section.
• X-Plane — SSA does not install its plugin automatically. Enable “Support enabled” on the Connections page and point it at your X-Plane.exe; SSA copies the plugin into your X-Plane installation for you.
• MSFS — the core connection uses SimConnect and needs no setup. Some third-party aircraft expose extra data only through custom LVARs, which requires installing the SSA WASM Bridge into your Community folder. That’s an opt-in toggle on the Connections page.

60-second UI tour

The new UI is a single window with four areas:

Area	What it shows
Title bar	Custom window chrome — minimize, maximize, close, and the current version.
Status header	Sim connection chips on the left (DCS, X-Plane, MSFS), device dots on the right (JetSeat, Sound Module).
Sidebar	Four pages: Aircraft Effects, Connections, Output Devices, Settings.
Toast overlay	Brief confirmation messages (e.g. after copying a profile) that fade automatically.

The sim chips in the header light up green the moment SSA is receiving data from that simulator; otherwise they sit idle/gray. The device dots follow a three-state scheme used throughout the app — green means the output is enabled and its handler process is actually running, red means it’s enabled but the handler couldn’t be found, and gray means the output isn’t enabled at all. The same scheme is explained in detail under Output Devices → Device indicators.

Everything in the new UI operates on the same settings database and effect engine as the classic UI, so you can switch between them freely — changes made in one show up in the other.

Using the classic UI

This manual covers the new WPF preview only. If you’re using the classic (default) interface, the legacy PDF manual bundled with your installation documents it.