OMSI 2 Add-On Aachen DLC

This is a very good map with nice detailing. The buses are well made and very detailed. But unfortunately the performance is rather bad. It seems that the map has been poorly optimized; there are a lot of hick-ups and stutters, especially in the centre area of Aachen. OMSI has crashed two times (out of 4 times of driving on this map) until now. This makes me feel that this addon hasn't been tested properly. This is the only payware addon which I am having problems with. (I have them all (some not trhough steam). This really is a pitty. I would love to give this addon a thumbs up, but I can't do that in this state. I hope that the creators will work on improving the performance of this potentially great addon, so that I can give it a thumbs up.

Despite it's age (I write in 2023), this is still one of the best maps created for OMSI, up there with the Hamburg DLCs. High quality custom objects, great route design. Close to the real routes. Even the bundled Citaro buses are some of the best versions of that bus. Performance can be tough but if you tune your settings (set object view distance to around 400) it is as smooth as butter. Highly recommended, as a real route and realistic depiction. A nice antidote to all the fictional, fantasty, twisty tirny "overland" German maps, that are just like arcade games. This map depicts real bus driving.

This map is really good, the style and details are really enjoyable. I only wish it had more lines. Since there are only 2 lines (shorter and longer variants as well) I don't think the price is right. The buses are okay and I enjoy them. Only down side is that after a specific time/date you get a RIBAS system in your bus and there is no way to disable it so if you don't like a RIBAS set your time back far enough (these are real laws that added these in all new buses). The fact that you cross country borders to the Netherlands is really nice. I like the transition very well. I would love to maybe see an extra line getting added since the map isn't as big as I'd expected.

Even on lowest settings on the game with a beast PC with FPS on over 150 the game decides to lose textures, go to 1 FPS and crashes. The DLC is likewise very badly optimized. NOT recommended!

Detailed and varied. However, it crashes very often with the buses starting jumping about. You must keep the AI traffic very low, and even so it crashes.

This map is a disaster each time I enter downtown the game lags no matter what I set the graphics, also I crash with nothing and the game says passengers want to leave the bus. Big disappointment, pisses me off for the third time

Not the most optimized map, but really enjoyable and has good buses. This map is also often used as an asset to many good freeware maps, so this is one of the first maps you should buy as a new player.

Honestly, I'm tired of players panning a third party DLC route like this due to the semi-broken nature of OMSI 2 itself. OMSI 2 was an old unstable engine when it was first made in 2011, and obviously even more so now. It's also only 32 bit. There are no routes out there, period, that run without stutters and frame drops. There are none out there than run at a consistent 60+ fps. Period. It's unfair to these third party devs making maps to hold them responsible for the poor original name engine which they have nothing to do with. This Aachen map is really quite detailed with a few nice routes. The buses are fine, though nothing special. It's worth grabbing on sale at 25% off or so. YES it will stutter. That's because it's for a game that stutters. The original stock route stutters. This stutters. Every map will stutter. It's not a "map optimization" issue, it's an OMSI 2 issue.

I was scared off for the longest time on purchasing this add-on, as many reviewers were saying the performance of the map was downright atrocious. A few patches were released, fixing some things up, and I finally splurged and decided to purchase OMSI 2: Aachen. Thankfully the map seems to have been fixed since its release. It has run much smoother on my computer than one could infer from all the reviews, and surprisingly I get better FPS for this map than either Hamburg or Berlin X10 in the city center. Yes, the map stutters and freezes occasionally, and the performance isn't quite as good as other payware maps, but it is by no means terrible. The map itself is detailed to insanity, and there are hundreds of custom-made buildings exclusively for Aachen. The map includes a nice balance of urban driving and suburban/rural countryside, and you even enter The Netherlands for about ten minutes of the route. The map includes two routes, the 33 and 73, the 33 taking nearly an hour to drive the whole journey. The 73 is basically a supplemental line to provide more service on the 33 corridor, before it splits off and does its own thing in Aachen's city center. The three buses included with the add-on are your standard Mercedes Benz Citaro 0530, 0530G (articulated), and the 0530GL CapaCity, a longer version of the articulated bus. The motor noise sounds quite good, and the three buses all accelerate and decelerate extremely fast. However, some details are missing on both the interior and exterior of the bus. On the outside, the headlights don't dim automatically when you shut off the bus' engine, a standard feature of the 0530 series in real life. I also noticed the AI version of the 0530G seems to flicker and bounce around, and the "bendy" part of the bus' texture is all wonky. This doesn't happen when you're driving the O530G, however, so it's not a real big issue. Inside, the station brake button is invisible on the 12-meter 0530's dashboard, but you can still hear it for some reason. Additionally, you cannot turn off "Air Circulation" once you push the button, even if you push it again to stop the fan. I also noticed there are no child passengers in the entire map. Even though there are buttons on the IBIS display to print youth tickets, there are no children to be found. I'm not sure if this was a programming mistake or just pure laziness, but either way it's a bit strange to not include all of OMSI's passengers. None of these issues are deal-breakers though, and overall I think these buses are enjoyable, if a bit basic. In conclusion, while Aachen may have been poorly optimized upon release, it is now a very enjoyable and scenic map for OMSI. Had it been released a tad later for the developers to improve the performance a bit, I think the add-on would have a "Positive" score on Steam. It's a shame it doesn't, because the map is lovely to drive around, and you can tell the developers put their heart and soul into recreating the Imperial City.

[h1]Summary[/h1] The Aachen DLC is a great DLC for its price. The 2 lines are very high-quality, which also reveals OMSIs problem: [spoiler] LAG! [/spoiler]. Although I don't have much problems with the [spoiler] LAG [/spoiler], other users do have such problems. Though [u]I[/u] still [u]recommend you this Add-on[/u] since the maps detail is just amazing (which causes all the lag). The bus delivered with this DLC is pretty straight forward/standard. A "normal" MB O530(G(L)) with the so called "IBOX" system in it (which is pretty simple to use, just read the manual). [h1]Positive and Negative points about this map[/h1] [b]Positive[/b] [list] [*] Very detailed. The detail in this map is just great! I've done some research, and buildings/streets/line 33 are very well modelled 1:1. (From what I've seen on the bit of Street-view in the Netherlands and some Pictures of Aachen). Also [url=http://wiki.ovinnederland.nl/wiki/Lijn_33_Vaals_Flats_-_Aachen_Fuchserde] This website[/url] (in Dutch) shows how realistic the Timetable and route is. Very nice to see in this map. [*] Line 33 is pretty long. [*] Realistic and challenging to drive with narrow streets [*] Driving in 2 countries: The Netherlands and Germany. Well, it's a very very tiny bit in The Netherlands, but for me as Dutchie it's just nice to have such bit so nice modelled. :steamhappy: [/list] [b]Negative[/b] [list] [*]Sometimes stutters/lags, although I won’t agree with the argument "poorly optimized". Dial your settings back if you have got problems with the lag or something else. This person has put much effort in developing the map which is visible in all the detail. Because OMSI cannot handle all the detail, since OMSI is poorly optimized (that's something I do agree with), it will cause all kinds of weird behaviour. That's why I do recommend you to look into the recommended specs. [*]Only 2 lines are included with the Add-on. Although the 2 buslines delivered in the DLC, I would have loved to see more. (But that’s with most things in life ;) ) [/list] [h1]Some tips[/h1] [b]Tips before buying[/b] [list] [*]Firstly, I would recommend you to thoroughly search if your pc meets the AT LEAST minimum requirements. Otherwise I would NOT commander you to buy this DLC. Although this map is really great, it is pretty heavy. (And dial some settings back if you have got problems with the map. [*]Secondly, Download the 4 gb patch. It's very useful. Even if you won't buy this map. [/list] [b]Tips after buying[/b] [list] [*]Read the manual! I can't tell you this enough, just read it! (very helpful if you have got problems). [*]Install the 4 gb patch. Yes, you have to do it again - because there have been changes to the .exe file... Meh. [*]Go through your settings if you have got lag. Yep, I said it. It's a very heavy map. [/list] [h1]Final note [/h1] I hope this review was a bit helpful. It's a shame OMSI is so poorly optimized. You can really see all the work that has been put into this map. The detail is just amazing. But, the choice is yours. Also have a look on YouTube if you're not sure, loads of videos about this Add-on are uploaded. [h2]-- FUN FACT --[/h2] 15-4-24 When I visited Aachen, it felt as if I knew every corner...and then it clicked: I have been here before, in OMSI. It's really true to life, still a great OMSI-DLC after all these years and it really feels like you know Aachen if you have this DLC. Still a big YES to this DLC (even with OMSI being OMSI ;-) )