The Bus

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Honest review after 30 hours of playing and over 250 hours in the modding editor. Below are pros and cons.
After the multiplayer update, I'm giving this game a positive review.
As I've mentioned, I'm mostly a modder for this game. I'm making a map, and I've got literally nothing negative to say about the editor, unlike OMSI 2's mod editor. It's so so so much easier making splines and intersections, and in general everything is very easy if you follow their tutorials.

Pros:
- HUGE Modding potential
- Easy to learn modding editor
- Beautiful graphics
- Many languages
- Good optimization
- Multiplayer
- Good AI

Cons:
- No AI buses

- Very basic bus mechanics
Compared to OMSI, which is a 10+ year old game for reference, has much better bus handling and suspension, like how you can feel the bus struggling to climb hills and screaming engines, nothing is here. You just hear the engine and it barely matters if you're going uphill or downhill. No difference if AC is on or off, and buttons generally don't impact anything.

- Very basic bus sounds
Same as above, bus sounds need improvement.

- Only modern buses available
Where are the old Citaros and Solarises?

- No bus malfunctions
Like door malfunctions, engine errors, suspension etc

- No wear and tear
The bus is always like brand new.

- No career
We need this. Right now if you have a collision, hit other cars or pedestrians nothing happens. Something like Bus Company Simulator for OMSI 2, getting speed fines, and having to repair buses etc.

In general, the game needs much more buses, better handling/mechanics, physics, sounds, and also a career mode, but the game is looking promising.

i played the bus in vr with the uevr mod and caught covid from a sick passenger 10/10 would do it again

it a fun game to play

gn

this game so lag for me

Keeping a game in Early Access is a great way to have an excuse for low performance.

The Game Is Good But It's Still In Early Access So [The Bus] For Now It's Not Worth £30 & OMSI 2 Is 1000 Times Better. But Until The Game Will Be Fully Released I Will For Now Recommend OMSI 2 Or Newer Better Features.

---{ Graphics }---
☑ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☑ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☑ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☑ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☑ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☑ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

So disappointed... Bought this game when it first dropped in 2021 and it's still classed as early access!

It is a nice looking game but is still woefully optimised for PC. I can get between 40-70 FPS but the game still doesn't use my RTX 4070ti Super, instead it uses my integrated Graphics from my Ryzen 9 CPU
I have changed all the settings in my Nvidia control panel but still the GPU utilization sits at 0%

I'm done, TML-Studios and Aerosoft are taking us all for mugs now so this game is going in the bin along with Tourist Bus and Fernbus...

Terrible

We need a full version of this game. Not early acces!! No bugs, No crashes. I love the game but we need a full version now!!

its sooooooooooooooooooooo nice!

I remember when i bought this game and Fernbus with big hopes. Fernbus is still unoptimized, buggy and far from finished after almost 10 years. Soon it's gonna be 4 years since The Bus has released, pretty sure it's going to share the same faith with Fernbus.

The game really has potential, but I have some ideas that could be included in its full release.
Such as a few maps perhaps Warsaw or Oslo? Some more MAN, Mercedes, and Solaris buses. Real snow physics aka slipperiness wheelspin and all that. Another thing is when a bus comes to its destination it could wait 10 minutes before setting off again just like Poland has it and I'm sure Germany does too. Otherwise, the game is amazing and I highly recommend it.

realistic so nice

The bus is very nice game nice graphics

Too slow with your updates. Not what the intensions where from the start....

Amazing, just amazing, I just dont like how the bus costs £29

ะ

The Bus by TML Studios is a fantastic and evolving simulator that brings the streets of Berlin to life. As someone who values realism in public transport sims, I can say this simulator has great potential. The visuals are stunning, the bus models are detailed, and the overall atmosphere feels authentic. Driving through iconic locations like Alexanderplatz and Brandenburg Gate really adds to the immersion.

Of course, there are still areas for improvement, like occasional bugs and AI behavior, but the developers are actively working on updates, which shows their commitment to making this a top-tier simulator. The addition of online and modding support has taken the experience to another level, and I’m excited to see where it goes next.

If you're into bus sims and want a realistic Berlin experience, I definitely recommend giving The Bus a try. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s heading in the right direction and worth supporting!

FULL OF BUGS AND STILL EARLY ACCESS AFTER 3 YEARS + BAD OPTIMISTION + BORING. FINISH THE GAME.

OKAY, ich verstehe was EARLY ACCESS Bedeutet, aber nach 4Jahren die Performance immer noch nicht richtig hinzubekommen ist schon peinlich. Eigentlich ein sehr Gutes Spaßiges spiel aber leistungstechnisch läuft es nichtmal auf Low flüssig, gefühlt läuft es auf höherern einstellungen sogar besser.

taking ages to develop
quite a few little bugs that add up and get annoying
overcomplicated UI

game will not work with controllers properly. dev as quit work on this game?

Cool game

I was really excited to play this game, I figured that my system (7600 / 7800XT) would be sufficient to play this game at either an enjoyable framerate or graphics settings. Safe to say, I have been wrong. And the fact its in EA for 4 years now is bollocks.

Is this a joke?..
You are greeted by a menu where 90% of the options are "not yet available" (game's been out for 4 years btw), the visuals look like a blurry mess with most of anti-aliasing options (the only one that looks decent dropped my FPS on RTX 4080S to 50), the dashboard constantly looks smeared and unreadable due to abysmal post-processing implementation, the world is twitching and bugging out non-stop. You get 3 different busses and 2 routes, and the devs are asking £30 for this. Respectfully, are you guys insane?..
P. S. The driving physics are nice though! Had this game been 10 times less expensive, it'd definitely be worth it!

Very good and high graphic game, it lagged a bit but i turned down the graphics and it was working fine. The settings to the G29 wheel can be a bit tricky to do.

The idea isnt that bad, the game has potencial but its not already done. I've have already strugled with settings. Altought the models are pretty well made. When we will talk about optimalization it is bad, i have with 4060 RTx and with Full HD graphics I had max 40 fps. It isnt worth to buy anyway.

I can't believe it. Four years later, still early access, and still encountering game-breaking bugs at the first 10 minutes which force me to Alt-F4 and try again. Horrible.

Finish a game before moving onto an another.
Fernbus and now this? Both seem like an unfinished idea. After so many years, both of them are still not fully featured games.

The gamepad controls are uncomplicated. Mouse and keyboard inputs are also recognized at the same time so that I was able to configure my DualSense controller in Steam Input so that I can use the gyro to move the mouse to look around or sell tickets more easily. When you start a route, you are already at the right time at the stop you choose and so I was able to get started straight away without any previous experience.

Now the bad part regarding the performance:
My RTX 4070 is at 60-65% utilization while I am consistently bottlenecked by my AMD Ryzen 7 3700x CPU and the frames drop down to 25-30 FPS. For me it's only really playable if I use the tool Lossless Scaling to be able to use frame generation. This is not offered in the game itself. So you should make sure you have a better CPU if you don't want to use third party tools for frame generation or play a slideshow.

Avoid this game at all costs. I bought it to give in one more chance of being a good game and it clearly doesnt work or load. all stats fine with the loading screen then goes black and nothing else. no loading at all. wasre oif money and definitely avoid lick the plague.

Really promising game, and something that was fun to try out. Ultimately though, the amount of content and number of bugs make it hard to recommend for the price. If you are aware of the amount of content there is, and your PC is capable of running unoptimized UE5 games, I would suggest giving it a go.

I will follow along with development, and the promising workshop support, to pick up later down the line.

90% of the time this game does not work, deleted!!

Positives:

The game excels with its realistic design and attention to detail. The city environment (Berlin) has been crafted with great care, providing an authentic feel.

The mechanics, from navigating city traffic to adhering to the schedule, create an immersive gameplay experience. While the development progress is slow, clear improvements can be seen with each update.

Multiplayer in the Alpha Phase:

The newly introduced multiplayer mode, currently in its alpha phase, is an exciting addition to the game but still shows significant weaknesses. The mode suffers from numerous bugs that can affect the gameplay experience (depending on the server and internet connection). The requirement to either host private servers via your own ports or rent paid servers from third-party providers presents another obstacle. Many players would have preferred a more accessible and stable solution.

Challenges and Bugs:

The bugs in the multiplayer mode are frustrating as they impact stability and overall enjoyment. Even outside of multiplayer, there are occasional minor issues that can disrupt the flow of the game. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that the developers are consistently working to address these problems.

Conclusion:

The Bus is a game with great potential, already impressive with its atmosphere and attention to detail. The multiplayer mode has promising features, but in its current alpha phase, it is far from a polished and accessible experience. Those who dive into the game should be aware that there are still some rough edges, especially when using the multiplayer option.

For fans of bus simulations who are patient and willing to follow the game’s development, The Bus is definitely worth a recommendation. It will be exciting to see how the game continues to improve in the future.

this game needs a lot of optimization

BLUESCREEN simulator 2024

good very

14gb update and no release notes. Game is still laggy and still nothing really since it came out. Naughty

The force feedback is stiil like Fernbus Simulator and other TML games.

THIS GAME IS A WASTE of money once you by it it don't even work properly and for how much it cost it not worth the price plus it not even released properly if i was you save your money as once you go on the game it says its bugged and may not work but they want you to pay the price for a unfinished game that's not even finish so i rate this game a 0 as it been out since 2021 and still nothing been done so don't waste your money on this you will regret it

Its a very nice Bus Simulator Game and its graphics is highly realistic. Recommended

I'm playing this game since the early access released, and cant stop playing it. Best physics a bus game can offer u, great map build, great sounds and amazing bus modeling. Too much time in a early access tho, 3 years and the game is not improving enough, looking forward to see this game improving and making it big, huge potential.

laggy game, even didn't get chance to play with such lag.

Very nice game,very optimise

Never buy this non release game again. Very lag and low fps game in graphic Like RTX 3050

At the time of writing this review the game is still in Early Access,

To begin, the graphics in this game is amazing (Yes, there might be a few visual bugs, but considering it's still in early access I can oversee those).

The gameplay might be lacking a bit today due to the absence of a career mode (something which the developers have said will come in Phase 3) but it still gives you a good time since you can both drive routes and make your own if you would like!

The driving physics are in general very good, the only downside here I would say is that the bus feels a bit "wobbly" sometimes. But in general very solid physics.

The game has very good modding capabilities using their mod editor. It allows stuff like, custom destination signage, custom vehicles (I think? I haven't tried this part yet.), custom map making and even the ability to pretty easily edit core game mechanics!

I have read some reviews about game performance so let my adress my experience about it,
I don't have a very high end PC but the game still runs decent, I have turned off the super resolution thing and runs normal anti aliasing at 100% scale due to the graphics being a bit more stable using this. Other graphical setting I have at around medium - high. I play at 1080p. My FPS is usually around 50-70.

i ABSOLUTELY LOVED this game! the details are AMAZING!!! and the quality was bad but i still recommend this game!

too laggy