OMSI The Omnibussimulator PC

The main idea

OMSI is a realistic omnibus simulator for home use. You are the driver and your job is to drive the bus and the passengers safely and on time through the surrounding traffic.

Great effort has been made to recreate the vehicles as realistic as possible. So concerning handling and operation, the buses resemble their real-life counterparts to a very high degree. Especially functions like the gearbox control which simulates every detail of the original, the physical simulation of the air system, the fully working IBIS (Integrated Board Information System) and the extensive soundset (about 100 single sounds per vehicle) create a high level of realism. Furthermore, the realistic and detailed scenery with dense traffic and animated objects contributes to the “omnibus experience” for everyone.

Route and vehicles

OMSI takes the player back to West-Berlin in the 1980s. The omnibus line 92 (today called M37) runs more than 11 kilometres through the Berlin district Spandau. The virtual bus driver will be provided with detailed models of the contemporary MAN doubledeckers SD200 and SD202 from different years of manufacture.

Living virtual world Generally spoken, OMSI simulates much more than only your own bus: There will be realistic and intelligent road traffic with changing density which is not only influenced by several traffic rules but also dynamically reacts according to the current traffic situation and of course your driving behaviour as well. You will meet other buses en-route, which are, just like your own bus, embedded in a realistic timetable and circulation system. All buses are equal and respond to the same principles. So you can take over any bus you want and hand it back again to the computer, too. Weather and time of year are freely adjustable. Furthermore, the virtual world follows a day and night cycle which also depends on the current season. OMSI even simulates the phases of the moon!

Expandability

OMSI has been designed as an open system for all kinds of add-ons. Several tools and extensively documented interfaces are available for this purpose.

Route editor

The graphic, easy-to-use, map-based route editor allows you to create and design your own scenery and routes of any dimension. You will have access to an extensive object database, but you can also create your own custom objects. Furthermore, you can assign traffic rules to any street section or lane and define tracks for bus traffic. These tracks can be merged into routes, routes into bus lines, and finally into circulations for every bus on the map including a realistic timetable. The traffic lights can be customised as well.

Create your own vehicles

Of course you can import your own vehicles into OMSI without any problem. We recommend using the 3D-modeler Blender for this purpose. At first, the imported vehicles can be fitted with the driving characteristics of an already existing bus. As necessary, you can use the OMSI scripting language to exactly reproduce the characeristics of the real vehicle. The buses can be animated in any complexity and can be fitted with various graphic and lighting effects.

Script engine

With the OMSI script engine, you can program any vehicle functions with hardly any limitation. Thus, developers won’t be constricted by dictation, but, on the contrary, can let their creativity run wild. The scripting language offers access to all vehicle variables (e.g. wheel RPM or traction moment) and allows for any kind of control systems. Additional functions and variables can be created at will. The script engine is directly linked to the sound engine and the graphic display – so an unlimited number of sounds and animations is possible, for both vehicles and scenery objects.

The OMSI principle

Our commitment is based on certain guidelines we’d like to refer to as the “OMSI principle”

- OMSI has been configured for full flexibility and does not set arbitrary limits

- OMSI allows to experience the vehicle with all senses. The driving pysics as well as the graphic and sound effects add up to an extremely realistic driving experience. All effects are logic and comprehensible, no effect contradicts another one.

- OMSI distinguishes between setpoint and actual value. Technical response times as well as rising and ebbing actions are basic components of a convincing and authentic vehicle dynamic.

- OMSI focuses on a rendition that closely follows human perception. Camera and microphone are one thing. But OMSI simulates eye and ear!

- OMSI encourages to comprehend and to question technics.

Last updated on 24 April 2012