Fernbus Simulator

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

Fernbus Simulator
Cover art of the game featuring a MAN Lion's Coach
Developer(s)	TML-Studios
Publisher(s)	Aerosoft
Engine	Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Xbox Series X/S PlayStation 5
Release	Windows 25 August 2016 PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S February 28, 2023
Genre(s)	Vehicle simulation
Mode(s)	Single-player

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]

Downloadable content

Map expansions

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

Name	Included content	Release date
Usedom	The seaside resort of Ahlbeck and the town of Usedom	14 November 2017
Austria / Switzerland	Countries of   Switzerland and  Austria	5 April 2018
Rennsteig	Adds Rennsteig to Central  Germany	25 April 2019
France	Country of  France	18 October 2019
Rhine Gorge	Rhine Gorge area	21 October 2019
Luxembourg	Country of  Luxembourg	12 December 2019
Netherlands	Country of  Netherlands	15 December 2020
Bavarian Castle	Famous 19th-century bavarian castle	18 December 2020
Belgium	Country of  Belgium	20 May 2021
Czechia	Country of  Czechia	7 April 2022
Denmark	Country of  Denmark	26 June 2023
Poland	Country of  Poland	21 March 2024

Vehicle add-ons

Name	Included content	Release date
Neoplan Skyliner	Neoplan Skyliner bus	23 March 2017
Comfort Class HD	5 variants of the Setra ComfortClass HD (unlicensed)	29 November 2017
VDL Futura FHD2	6 variants of the VDL Futura FHD2	25 April 2019
MAN Lion's Intercity	3 variants of the MAN Lion's Intercity	October 2019
BB40	Toyota Coaster mini-bus (unlicensed)	2 December 2019
MAN Lion's Coach 3rd Gen	4 variants of the MAN Lion's Coach 3rd Gen	28 August 2020
Scania Touring	3 variants of the Scania Touring	5 December 2020
W906	Mercedes-Benz Sprinter mini-bus (unlicensed)	29 May 2020
VDL Futura FDD2	2 variants of VDL Futura FDD2 double-decker bus	9 February 2021
Altano TX	3 variants of Van Hool Altano TX (unlicensed)	20 December 2023
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.

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 4 of Epic Games.^[4] The game was released on 25 August 2016 for Microsoft Windows.^[5]

Reception

The game is well-sold on the digital distribution platform Steam, but often comes in criticism and gets a mixed rating.^[6] 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.^[7] However, bugs, missing textures, insufficient to reality and a lack of long-term motivation makes the game widely criticised.^[8]