The OMSI Review THREAD

Well, after experiencing OMSI for over a week, here is my review.

Gameplay: 8.5/10
What sets OMSI apart from other 'so-called' bus simulators is the fact that every single little detail on each individual bus is faithfully and diligently reproduced in astonishingly high detail. The control set is very slick and involves a rather steep learning curve initially to 'gain your bearings'. Having driven buses in real life, I can honestly say that the physics seem spot-on and 'feels' real. The simulation of different weather conditions further adds to the appeal, as does the simulation of ticket sales (excellently implemented). One major flaw is the AI. In some scenarios, AI vehicles will cut in front of you with very short notice or even run into your vehicle while you're at a standstill. Additionally, AI pedestrians will randomly cross the road in front of your vehicle while you're at cruising speed. There are also minor issues with AI vehicles at busy intersections where one (or more) of these vehicles may hold up the entire intersection for no apparent reason. These issues can prevent the more 'spirited' drivers out there (like myself) from achieving perfect score cards at the end of the day and should be rectified via future updates. Other than the above issues, the lack of online play and the lack of ability to get out of your bus (i.e. to change buses half-way through a shift) are areas where I would like to see improvement.

Graphics: 8/10
Generally, the graphics in this simulation are very good. There are times where the game will 'skip', even on a good system like mine. Textures seem to lack contrast and depth that one would expect and the AI vehicles/pedestrians get repetitive after a while (more variations needed). Where this simulation really excels is with the interior details of the buses. The dash layouts and saloons are reproduced to exacting levels of detail. The simulation of different weather conditions is also well implemented.

Sound: 9.5/10
Again, this is where this simulation comes into its own. The sounds of each type of bus are digitalised recordings of actual buses in real life and add to the authenticity of the experience. From the roar of the MAN D25 engine, the whines of the Voith gearbox and MAN hub reduction driving axle and the rattles of your bus while traversing bumpy roads, this sound quality will definitely make you think that you're 'really there'.

Stability: 7/10
Running a GeForce 9800GTX+, issues where the screen turns blank or 'freezes' can randomly occur. Once these issues start appearing, you are left with no choice but to restart the application in order to make the game playable again. I have also noticed that in some instances, AI vehicles will disappear into the road for no reason. I have also had a couple of instances where the game fails to load after leaving the main menu. The rather steep system requirements, the lack of multi-core CPU support and dated architecture make this game run slower than it really should.

Interface: 6/10
OMSI's interface can be a little clunky at times. For the first-time user, optimising the game for different levels of hardware can be a chore. Additionally, many of the dialogue boxes are poorly translated into English (from German) and are either riddled with errors or make little sense. During gameplay, there are no text displays that pop up when you point to an icon in the manu (press ALT to activate). At the end of a route service, a box containing your on-time running results pops up and makes you lose control of the vehicle momentarily which can be distracting (or worse). Overall, the inteface does what it needs to do but does little to improve the gaming experience.

Overall: 8/10
Marcel and Rüdgier can be proud of their efforts with OMSI. They have achieve what many have wanted for such a long time - that is, a bus simulator that actually SIMULATES what it would be like to drive a bus in route service in real life. This is something that nobody else has achieved, even though there are bus simulators already on the market before OMSI. While the game isn't the most polished in the world, it does what it set out to do and does it very well. I'm sure that we will see improvements and fine-tunes to the game shortly in response to demands from the community. Well done to all those involved with the production of this game and I look forward to future updates and releases.

PROS:
+ Excellent attention to detail
+ Excellent, well thought-out control set
+ Excellent simulation of bus physics and ticket sales
+ Excellent sound reproduction
+ Extensibility
+ Well-priced

CONS:
- Clunky interface
- Steep system requirements
- No online play mode
- Less than intelligent AI
- Rather bland looking environmental textures
- Stability issues with GeForce GPUs