In the midst of Spandau's bushof - at this hour, a vast dormitory of dozing doubledeckers - I rouse my ancient SD200 SD77 with a tender push of electrics key and starter button. What's it to be today? An angular D92 with plush seats, automatic stop announcements, and wheelchair-friendly doors, or one of the family of superannuated SD200s - all curves, cacophony, and carbon emissions? The type of bus I use, however, is up to me. It's authentic and totally non-negotiable. Pinned to the noticeboard above my desk is a timetable. Tonight I'll be taking the wheel of one of them. From Montag to Sonntag between 01:10 and 05:00 two 13Ns shuttle back and forth between the centre of Spandau (Rathaus) and the edge of Staaken (Stadtgrenze). Like bats, false teeth and timid transvestites, the 13N only comes out at night. If you've ever wondered what a gamer wedded to wings and war can find to love in a Berlin bus driving sim, then, hopefully, this diary will provide a few answers. I've come to the conclusion that an article penned two summers ago, explains my OMSI obsession far better than anything I've written since or am ever likely to write. The following - an account of one real-time '13N' night-shift - first appeared in the pages of PC Gamer magazine. After much chin-scratching, Digestive dunking, and keyboard bashing that plan was modified abandoned. In preparation I thought I'd retire to my den and write something about the appeal of MR Software's original omnibus opus. Informed sources claim we'll be playing OMSI 2 by Christmas. OMSI 2 is close - so close you can almost hear the trill of its IBIS and smell the liquorice of its exhaust. ![]() They wait, as they've waited this past two years, for the sequel to one of The Five Great Simulations. They sigh, they pace, they ignore precipitation, but most of all they wait. They mill beside the stops at Rathaus, Spandau scrutinising distant double-deckers, and scowling at timepieces.
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