Recent reviews by iomex

This one is a bit of a mixed bag - it's a game that's shown genuine improvement and evolution from the previous versions, yet they've seriously fallen short and cut corners, degrading the overall experience.

It tries to do a bit of driving simulation and a bit of business management together in one package, and doesn't really do either particularly well, but as a whole is enjoyable enough and has a decent amount of replay value. Some improvements to the driving, environment, and some refinement of the business management system would certainly help.

Pros:
• Various unique features not seen in other similar titles - route creation, passenger interaction, etc. They've made a genuine effort to stand apart from the crowd here.

• The new Angel Shores map is a lot richer, and you can tell they've made efforts to make it feel like a living, breathing world.

• Buses are nicely modelled

• Good depth in your settings allows you to finetune gameplay and filter out many things you may not like (passenger events, for example)

Cons:
• Although rich in life, the quality of the map is extremely poor. It tries to mask this with nice assets, but I'm fairly certain the majority of these are from Kitbash3D, other models from other sites, with the remainder being low-quality assets thrown in by the development team. Expect very lazy, low effort mapping which hasn't moved on from the 2000's, being detracted by some nicely modelled assets from other resources... As an amateur map level designer, I would say that the quality is below some Playstation 1-era games in places. For some reason, it also feels like the map was designed in Cities Skylines. Just look at how the roundabouts on the freeways look... Btw, the Transit Centre, despite featuring pride of place on artwork, is a hot mess.

• While it seems evident that the team put quite a bit of money into acquiring nice buildings for Angel Shores, the AI traffic looks like free models from sketchup. Most of them have incorrect mapping, some don't even have working lights. The Ford Crown Victoria looks like it's from a different game entirely. The weirdly ever-present logging trucks look like they're from Mad Max. They really do detract from the experience.

• Although nicely modelled, the sounds in the buses are clearly recycled from a bin of generic sounds. Very few buses sound unique. In addition, the same paint colour looks vastly different from bus to bus...

• Bugs, bugs, and more bugs. The game is stuffed full of little bugs that don't break gameplay but will annoy you.

Although there are many strong negatives to this version of the game, I'd still tentatively recommend it if you want something a little bit different. You'd get a better driving experience from OMSI, and a better business management experience from Transport Fever, but the two experiences together in one package is something unique and there are features in there which help you overlook its faults.

YC3 is a marked improvement from previous versions of the map, built by an author who is learning quickly and always keen to develop his skills in mapping, becoming evident in this release.

A lot of emphasis has been placed on finding unique/underused features to showcase in the map, and a good balance has been found between this, and somewhat cliché elements that some maps seem to fall prone to. I like the use of a broad range of new 3D assets, which makes the map feel its own. Many maps can feel very similar to geographically neighbouring counterparts due to reuse of the same assets.

In particular, I enjoyed the nicely laid-out tramway, and the detailed Yorkshire Terrier bus depot. There are urban centres and villages which convey an immersive atmosphere, as well as enjoyable roads to drive. In addition, the map has a good scope, allowing players to stretch their legs on a long route. There are also a few new passenger voices, to lend to a more local feel.

The bundled buses are a great addition, and no doubt will be enjoyed by many people in this, and other maps.

There are, of course, things I'd consider downsides. For me, this is primarily that certain areas of the map don't really 'feel' like the north. I would say that this mainly comes down to the choice in textures, and that the map feels very bright and colourful.

The routes tend to feel like they're meandering in places and don't really make any sense, and don't really convey what you might expect out in the real world. However, these areas are almost all from previous versions of the map, and that newer areas don't tend to have this same effect.

The map is also quite memory-intensive, and although I understand efforts were made to mitigate this - it must be noted that anyone playing this map would greatly benefit from use of the 4GB patch.

With all things considered, I would say that this is a good map, and one I will continue to enjoy as I explore it further. My comments about choice of textures, etc, are just personal preferences, and don't impact quality or enjoyment of the map. Anyone can expect to get many hours of a pleasurable driving experience from YC3.

My background is that I'm an OMSI map developer, and I received this title free in recognition of small contributions made to this project, as well as some advice given to the developer.

Bus go vrooooom. I like it.

Fills the much needed midibus gap in UK OMSI. I just want to know what Shelly thinks she's doing carrying round a manky old banana with her to work???

A definite 'must have' for any UK OMSI enthusiast.

Very well crafted, beautiful and really well optimized. Just brace yourself for an overnight download.

Strangely addictive. Needs more content as your homes become very formulaic over time, but it's a very well-constructed game you can lose a lot of time to.

Needs work, but not bad.

It looks, sounds and feels 'OK' but nothing spectacular. Certainly not a bad game. However there are several unpolished parts of the game and a few corners that need sanding off - nothing that patches won't solve.

The game play is very nice, and the UI (From the helper tips to the bus stop boxes) can be disabled. The roll of the bus can be adjusted, too. Interaction with the passengers is a positive, as well.

HOWEVER - this is a bit of a killer. The wheel support is lacking. Thrustmaster users may not have problems, but Logitech wheels need manual setup, but will still lack force feedback, and there is no option to invert pedals (you have to drive with your foot on the brake). Devs say this will be patched very soon, however.

Would I recommend it? Not yet - once it's received a few patches it should be a good game which many people will enjoy.

An awesome game, but christ it's hard!

This game is creepy as hell and I love it. If you've played LIMBO, you'll know what sort of game to expect.