Does it look as good as Euro Truck Simulator 2?

[VH8]

As everyone knows, simulator games have one thing in common - horrible ugly graphics and laugable animations... except for ETS2. Now, I would really love to play a bus sim, but from what I've seen from the previous OMSI, it's unfortunately yet another "typical" (that is - ugly) sim.

Based on the video on Steam, it seems that the passenger animations are still a joke and it's hard to really judge the graphics off of the video or the few shots so to anyone who has this - can you honestly say that OMSI 2 has graphics at least on ETS2 level?

[cals27]

this game would probably be classed as ugly but for what it is wich is an indie title of sorts it looks pretty good and the buses r highly detailed and the game is fun without the graphics being great

[DJ Dostoevsky]

The bus interiors in OMSI (specifically the driver's cab/dashboard) are stunningly detailed with high-res textures and dozens of usable buttons, switches and levers. Overall bus models look good too.

The landscape and population are lacking, Though I've found rainy evening scenarios to be quite atmospheric.

But no, OMSI does not have the visual flair of ETS2. BTW, you should look into Train Simulator 2014 if you're interested in vehicle sims with impressive graphics. That game's quite the looker too.

[VH8]

Being an indie title is no longer an excuse as ETS2 was done by like... 10-15 people ;) but anyway, thanks for your honest opinion.

Too bad, a city bus simulator is something I've been looking for a long time, but as I've said, sims tend to concentrate on getting the simulated vehicle right, but forget that in order to achieve immersion, it would help to actually have the world of the game look good too.

Reg. Train Simulator 2014 - I've got it and it's indeed close to being considered good-looking... as long as you don't look at any of the passangers floating around, the disappearing cars, glitches and so on, but hey - TS2014 is only $3,000 with all DLC so I can't expect quality, right? ;)

But seriously - as OMSI 2 is now on Steam, I do hope for a sale that would justify the price and who knows maybe the "mood" of it will be good enough to look pass low res outside textures :)

[DJ Dostoevsky]

Yeah, ETS2 certainly did set the bar high.

IDK, I find myself being more forgiving of underdeveloped visuals in these games as the good ones feel like passion projects put together by small teams who know they're not going to get the audience, payout, or glory of AAA devs like Infinity Ward or Bethesda.

It almost comes across like Folk Art. A bit amateurish and rough around the edges, but earnest and inviting nonetheless.

I remember the first time I looked over Farming Simulator 2013 media when considering a purchase. At first blush the game looks dated as heck. I bought it anyway and fell in love. The more hours I put into the game, the better it looked to me. I started noticing things I missed at first like the fine, authentic detailing on every machine and piece of equipment. Or how the day/night cycle cast a really immersive light during certain parts of the day.

FS13 will never be confused with a AAA game engine, but it's humble origins have really grown on me. Much like any other sim out there that I've enjoyed who's primary selling point isn't sexy visuals.

[cals27]

Originally posted by VarHyid:

Being an indie title is no longer an excuse as ETS2 was done by like... 10-15 people ;) but anyway, thanks for your honest opinion.

Too bad, a city bus simulator is something I've been looking for a long time, but as I've said, sims tend to concentrate on getting the simulated vehicle right, but forget that in order to achieve immersion, it would help to actually have the world of the game look good too.

Reg. Train Simulator 2014 - I've got it and it's indeed close to being considered good-looking... as long as you don't look at any of the passangers floating around, the disappearing cars, glitches and so on, but hey - TS2014 is only $3,000 with all DLC so I can't expect quality, right? ;)

But seriously - as OMSI 2 is now on Steam, I do hope for a sale that would justify the price and who knows maybe the "mood" of it will be good enough to look pass low res outside textures :)

omsi started out as just to students with a passion for buses in the era of the game or so i have been told

[VH8]

Well, don't get me wrong, I do appreciate and admire the passion each developer puts into their creation, but then... if they've managed (as you say) to make the bus models look great with hight res textures and great attention to detail, then what's stopping them from drawing the road or building texture in a higher resolution with the same amount of attention to detail?

I mean - they could get the bus right so they surely could get the road right too? Would it mean postponing the release date? Sure, but if the result would be so much superior, the reward would be too.

I'm not expecting Crysis 3 with buses, in fact... if you really zoom into some textures in ETS2, you'll see they're not perfect, but again - if they can make the vecicles right... why not the rest :)

[PickLock]

Originally posted by VarHyid:

the bus models look great with hight res textures and great attention to detail, then what's stopping them from drawing the road or building texture in a higher resolution with the same amount of attention to detail?

since this is appears to be untouched photosourced textures, i imagine the fact they don't is because it was the highest res cgtextures offered.

[PeteUplink]

Personally, I don't think this looks anywhere near as good as ETS2. I'd also go as far as to say that I don't think it's quite as fun either.

[Michael M.]

OMSI(2) is a realistic bus-simulator and concerning "sim-features" far above what ETS2 + Railworks are together .

ETS2 is very good,yes, very nice graphics, great wheel support and career mode which motivates (also mods) but. I'd like to be able to open a window in my truck or make use of the heating in the truck, I'd like too see police cars which stop me for a freight-control or speeding...etc. ;)
It's a great sim/game but the freeway feeder roads are totally wrong and the map has no seasons..... even their (SCS) 18WoS did have that I think, well, ETS2 is great anyway and the customer support is awesome too. I'll keep on supporting them.

Railworks has no customer support. Bugs/ wrong design (trains/routes- signals) don't get fixed by the devs and reported bugs by users in the steam-forum simply get deleted! by "RSC"
3rd party dev. route addons, which have been released on steam (as well) do/did not get the original updates which have been released by the original devs a long time ago on the known publisher-websides.
Railworks is capital great for 3rd party-pro addons like f.e. virtual railroads content.
I am nearly totally done with that company but I like to drive and sim trains :)
The railworks engine does support ~3 GB Ram and 1 core CPU .... well ... totally outdated and bad framerates "may be" the resault on a totally high end PC gamer system if the ingame settings are chosen "wrong"....Railworks is an expensive hobby too...

OMSI2 may not look as great as Railworks or ETS2 but not bad either when driven from cockpit view.
Concerning the sim-experience it is a very well designed (hardcore) simulator, and simply the most realistic bus sim in the genre.
It has simply everything....
There are a lot of OMSI mods too....and the customer support for OMSI1 so far has always been great. All official released OMSI1 Addons can be used in OMSI2 as well...

Cheers!

[VH8]

Michael, good news - you will see police cars in ETS2 soon, Pavel clearly mentioned this when discussing what the A.I. update will contain :) I agree with no window opening function, though. Technically, as much as I love ETS2 I agree that it's not as much of a sim as it could be and I'm certain that driving a real truck is much more difficult than in this game + something I would want to see - cargo damage due to hard braking or getting into corners too fast. No way a real cargo would survive what I sometimes put it through in the game ;)

The reason why I'm into good graphics in simulators (though in other games I would surely put gameplay above graphics, hands-down) is because... well, if I read "simulator" I understand it as "game that is similar to reality" and then I launch it and see: one part that's similar to reality (the model of the simulated vehicle) in a world that's nothing like reality and that looks so bad I can't even enjoy it.

When I "discovered gaming" around the C64 times, I already though to myself as a kid that one day a computer will be powerful enough to simulate the world allowing you to experience stuff you would probably never get the chance to such as flying a plane or, for that matter - driving a bus. And as time passed and the machines got powerful enough to at least get close to creating a world that would feel real (or real enough), I was disappointed to see how the games that should mostly benefit from this power - the simulators - are actually the ones that often least utilize the potential of the power we have at hand.

Now, I get it - to pull it off, you need resources, to get resources you need to look at huge potential revenue and that's what simulators won't get as it's a niche market, but then... is this really true? Are the bad graphics in simulators the effect of the market being small or the cause why it's small? I know people who started playing ETS2 (including myself!) that had no interest in trucking before so why did they (and I) get it? Because despite it being a "simulator", it's also a game with a world that's a joy to be in.

So, long story short - I refuse to be OK with the term "hardcore simulator" and just accept that this is a genre in which we can expect the game to look bad. I genuinely believe that similarity to ETS2, the first (or next) devs that will put the effort into making a really high quality simulator (visually, to immerse the player into the world) will make a lot of money off of it and hopefully make this genre more mainstream and then others, maybe even big studios, will follow in their footsteps seeing the success.

That said, if OMSI 2 gets on a sale, I may get it just to check it out and support the devs with my little financial contribution, but for crying out loud, this multi-deade long streak of sims being a different word for "crappy looking" has to end.

[indigo]

"simulator games have one thing in common - horrible ugly graphics" you obviously haven't played many flight sims...

[DocLazy]

While the graphics are kind of ugly they are good enough that you won't notice it while playing the game. A lot of that is because of the excellent sound engine and it actually feels like you are driving a bus.

[ABluePegasus]

You guys need to watch NerdCubed's video on the original OMSI. While the graphics may not be over the top, the sounds are amazing and there is A LOT of attention to detail and simulation. Shame that all people care about is graphics these days...

[Nuclear1980]

Originally posted by Kangaroo2525:

You guys need to watch NerdCubed's video on the original OMSI. While the graphics may not be over the top, the sounds are amazing and there is A LOT of attention to detail and simulation. Shame that all people care about is graphics these days...

I agree. I purchased a Sailing/Regatta Simulator back in the late 1990s that ran on Windows 98. It's probably one of the first downloadable simulators. You don't see your sailboat, only your boat's control panel, wind direction, steering wheel,speed, and time. It's one of the toughest, most complex simulators I've played. They didn't create any boat graphics, just your control panel. Fantastic simulator.

[VH8]

Originally posted by Triumphant1050:

"simulator games have one thing in common - horrible ugly graphics" you obviously haven't played many flight sims...

OK, good point, I take back the "simulator games" part and replace it with "many simulator games" (not all).

The funny thig is, the more I talk about OMSI, the more tempted I am to just buy it to see for myself ;)