Software:Fernbus Simulator

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Short description: 2016 vehicle simulation video game
Fernbus Simulator
Fernbus cover.jpg
Cover art of the game featuring a MAN Lion's Coach
Developer(s)TML-Studios
Publisher(s)Aerosoft
Engine
  • Unreal Engine 5
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
25 August 2016
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
February 28, 2023
Genre(s)Vehicle simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Fernbus Simulator is a bus simulator game developed by TML-Studios and published by Aerosoft for Microsoft Windows. The game is powered by Unreal Engine 5 and was released on 25 August 2016 worldwide.

Gameplay

The game simulates the Flixbus.

Fernbus Simulator is set in Germany , offering a route network of approximately 20,000 kilometres and 40 German cities that is built in a scale of 1:10.[1] More city routes were released as DLCs, expanding the map to the following countries: Austria, Switzerland , France , Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic and Denmark . The game features quite the same gameplay of the similar-genre video game Euro Truck Simulator 2, which includes construction sites, traffic congestion, police patrols and traffic collision, with dynamic weather and day-night cycle are available in the game.[2] The game also provides various licensed buses from MAN, VDL, Scania, and Neoplan that Flixbus uses for their fleet, allowing players to drive on highly detailed German motorways.[3]

Development and release

Fernbus Simulator is developed by a German-based game studio TML-Studios, the developers of the City Bus Simulator series and the World of Subways franchise.[3] It is powered by Unreal Engine 5 of Epic Games.[4] The game was released on 25 August 2016 for Microsoft Windows.[5]

Downloadable content

Map expansions

TML has released several map expansion DLC packs that include new countries.

Name Included content Release date Price (without discount)
Usedom The seaside resort of Ahlbeck and the town of Usedom 14 November 2017[6] Free
Austria / Switzerland Countries of   Switzerland and  Austria 5 April 2018[7] 19.95
Rennsteig Adds Rennsteig to Central  Germany 25 April 2019[8] Free
France Country of  France 18 October 2019[9] 24.95
Rhine Gorge Rhine Gorge area 21 October 2019[10] Free
Luxembourg Country of  Luxembourg 12 December 2019[11] Free
Netherlands Country of  Netherlands 15 December 2020[12] 9.95
Bavarian Castle Famous 19th-century bavarian castle 18 December 2020[13] Free
Belgium Country of  Belgium 20 May 2021[14] 9.95
Czechia Country of  Czechia 7 April 2022[15] 9.95
Denmark Country of  Denmark 26 June 2023[16] 14.95
Poland Country of  Poland TBA[17]

Vehicle add-ons

Name Included content Release date Price on Steam (without discount)
Neoplan Skyliner Neoplan Skyliner bus 23 March 2017[18] 14.95
Comfort Class HD 5 variants of the Setra ComfortClass HD (unlicensed) 29 November 2017[19] 12.95
VDL Futura FHD2 6 variants of the VDL Futura FHD2 25 April 2019[20] 14.99
MAN Lion's Intercity 3 variants of the MAN Lion's Intercity October 2019[21] 9.95
BB40 Toyota Coaster mini-bus (unlicensed) 2 December 2019[22] Free
MAN Lion's Coach 3rd Gen 4 variants of the MAN Lion's Coach 3rd Gen 28 August 2020[23] 12.95
Scania Touring 3 variants of the Scania Touring 5 December 2020[24] 12.95
W906 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter mini-bus (unlicensed) 29 May 2020[25] 7.95
VDL Futura FDD2 2 variants of VDL Futura FDD2 double-decker bus 9 February 2021[26] 14.95
Altano TX 3 variants of Van Hool Altano TX (unlicensed) 20 December 2023[27] 14.95
Altano TDX Van Hool Altano TDX20 & TDX 21 (unlicensed)
Astromega Van Hool Astromega TDX25 & TDX 27 (unlicensed)

Football Team Bus DLC

This game expansion/mode has been released on August 30, 2018. In this mode, which is unlockable by purchasing Fußball Mannschaftsbus DLC, players have choose one of 18 football clubs based on the German football league and drive its players to their guest matches. All of the stadiums were recreated to the smallest details, and there is also a repaint for MAN Lion's Coach bus. Player's job is to manage the allocated budget wisely until the end of the season so that the team bus can be maintained, cleaned, and the team can be supplied with sufficient snacks and beverages.[28]

Modding

Currently, players are able to make liveries for vehicles and publish them on Steam Workshop.[29] In 2017, TML had released closed beta testing version of the modding editor for Fernbus Simulator, which was supposed to allow players to make new vehicles, maps and expand existing ones,[30] but this project was postponed indefinitely for, according to their team member, "major technical issues".[30]

Reception

The game is well-sold on the digital distribution platform Steam, but often comes in criticism and gets a mixed rating.[31] The game is often used to compare with Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, and gets praised on the design of the game in terms of atmosphere, motorways, residential areas and detailed bus cockpit.[32] However, bugs, missing textures, insufficient to reality and a lack of long-term motivation makes the game widely criticised.[33]

References

  1. "Fernbus-Simulator" (in de). Welt. 28 August 2016. https://www.welt.de/motor/news/article157881984/Fernbus-Simulator.html. Retrieved 14 May 2020. 
  2. "Fernbus Simulator von Aerosoft macht euch zum Buslenker" (in de). 29 August 2016. https://www.heute.at/s/fernbus-simulator-von-aerosoft-macht-euch-zum-buslenker-17051101. Retrieved 14 May 2020. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Fernbus Simulator" (in de). Aerosoft. https://www.aerosoft.com/de/buslkw/fernbus-simulator/1147/fernbus-simulator. Retrieved 14 May 2020. 
  4. "Worldwide Fernbus Coach Simulator launch on August 25th". Steam. 25 August 2016. https://steamcommunity.com/games/427100/announcements/detail/976540585698719965. Retrieved 14 May 2020. 
  5. Stone, Tim (5 August 2016). "The Flare Path: Topical Titbits". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/08/05/the-flare-path-topical-titbits-3/. Retrieved 14 May 2020. 
  6. "Fernbus Simulator - Usedom on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/686280/Fernbus_Simulator__Usedom/. 
  7. "Save 20% on Fernbus Simulator - Austria/Switzerland on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/612261/Fernbus_Simulator__AustriaSwitzerland/. 
  8. "Fernbus Simulator - Rennsteig on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/937720/Fernbus_Simulator__Rennsteig/. 
  9. "Fernbus Simulator - France on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/654120/Fernbus_Simulator__France/. 
  10. "Fernbus Simulator - Rhine Gorge on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1121090/Fernbus_Simulator__Rhine_Gorge/. 
  11. "Fernbus Simulator - Luxembourg on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1140662/Fernbus_Simulator__Luxembourg/. 
  12. "Fernbus Simulator - Netherlands on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1140661/Fernbus_Simulator__Netherlands/. 
  13. "Fernbus Simulator - Bavarian Castle on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1471310/Fernbus_Simulator__Bavarian_Castle/. 
  14. "Fernbus Simulator - Belgium on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1140660/Fernbus_Simulator__Belgium/. 
  15. "Fernbus Simulator - Czechia on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1446991/Fernbus_Simulator__Czechia/. 
  16. "Save 20% on Fernbus Simulator - Denmark on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1446990/Fernbus_Simulator__Denmark/. 
  17. Klimaschutz, BMWK-Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und. "Fernbus Simulator - DLC Polen" (in de). https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Wirtschaft/Games/Games-Projekte/fernbus-simulator-dlc-polen.html. 
  18. "Save 20% on Fernbus Simulator - Neoplan Skyliner on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/569700/Fernbus_Simulator__Neoplan_Skyliner/. 
  19. "Save 20% on Fernbus Simulator - Comfort Class HD on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/724420/Fernbus_Simulator__Comfort_Class_HD/. 
  20. "Save 20% on Fernbus Simulator - VDL Futura FHD2 on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/724440/Fernbus_Simulator__VDL_Futura_FHD2/. 
  21. "Fernbus Simulator - MAN Lion's Intercity on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1026740/Fernbus_Simulator__MAN_Lions_Intercity/. 
  22. "Fernbus Simulator - BB40 on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1121030/Fernbus_Simulator__BB40/. 
  23. "Fernbus Simulator - MAN Lion's Coach 3rd Gen on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154770/Fernbus_Simulator__MAN_Lions_Coach_3rd_Gen/. 
  24. "Fernbus Simulator - Scania Touring on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1158120/Fernbus_Simulator__Scania_Touring/. 
  25. "Save 20% on Fernbus Simulator - W906 on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1250730/Fernbus_Simulator__W906/. 
  26. "Fernbus Simulator - VDL Futura FDD2 on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1370010/Fernbus_Simulator__VDL_Futura_FDD2/. 
  27. "Fernbus Simulator - Altano TX on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/2294411/Fernbus_Simulator__Altano_TX/. 
  28. "Save 20% on Fernbus Simulator - Football Team Bus on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/729490/Fernbus_Simulator__Football_Team_Bus/. 
  29. "Steam Community :: Fernbus Simulator" (in en). https://steamcommunity.com/app/427100/workshop/. 
  30. 30.0 30.1 "Modding in Closed Beta!" (in en). 2017-06-08. https://www.tml-studios.de/forum/index.php?thread/1299-modding-in-closed-beta/. 
  31. Bachmann, Rhonda (26 August 2016). "Fernbus Simulator: Aerosofts Fernreise-Simulator mit starkem Steam-Einstieg trotz Kritik" (in German). https://www.pcgameshardware.de/aerosoft-GmbH-DE-Firma-18089/News/Fernreise-Simulator-Steam-1205945/. Retrieved 14 May 2020. 
  32. Schnelle, Mick (1 September 2016). "Fernbus Simulator test" (in German). https://www.gamersglobal.de/test/fernbus-simulator. Retrieved 14 May 2020. 
  33. Marco (26 August 2016). "DER FERNBUS SIMULATOR IM TEST" (in German). https://gptimes.de/der-fernbus-simulator-im-test/. Retrieved 14 May 2020. 

External links