Bus Simulator 18 gets a free mission pack

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Bus Simulator 18 is a very niche sort of game, but it does what it does quite well—not perfectly, but good enough to make Andy Kelly sweat about blowing past a turnoff with a full load of tightly-wound commuters. And now it's a little bigger and a little better thanks to the release of the first free mission pack on Steam.

The update adds three all-new missions to the game, "presented by Max Klein," although it doesn't say (and I don't know) who he is. There are also new "sub-tasks" related to boosting tourism in the city of Seaside Valley, including new points of interest to explore (or at least drive people to), three new decals, a full bus skin, and new fleet colors to choose from.

Also in the package are several changes aimed at improving performance, including disabling third-person camera lag (which should fix stuttering issues) and dialing back shadows cast by license plates on parked cars, which was apparently really an issue. AI for NPC cars pulling onto the highway has been improved, dark areas have been lit up, and a construction site in the city has been slightly moved so that cars won't keep smashing into it. (They were actually clipping through it, but I think the idea of cars constantly plowing into piles of dirt and bricks that are a little too close to the road is a lot funnier.)

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.