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Desert Bus VR

Desert Bus.

Steam games are very volatile when it comes to achievements. Some, allow you to unlock 5,000 achievements in 30 seconds, whilst some are completely irrational and impossible. Desert Bus falls just below the line of impossibility.

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It's important to note that this game was intentionally designed to be unrealistic to complete. However, it is certainly possible.

Welcome to Desert Bus. If you like to complete ‘different’ and abstract games, this is certainly for you. The way we go about getting the completion is rather unique.

Desert Bus is a very simple game. The only goal is to simply drive the bus in a straight line to complete 8-hour segments - going back and forth between Tucson, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada. Nothing of consequence happens on the road in which you drive on. You just drive.

To complete Desert Bus, you need to drive the bus for 553.4 hours without closing the game. This is approximately 70 eight-hour trips, and 23 real life days.

Furthermore, there are three tasks you need to accomplish to complete the game.

  1. We will start the game, immediately run off the road, and get towed back. This will get you two achievements. This will take only a couple minutes.
  2. We will do 70 driver runs, taking 8 hours each. This will net you 11 more achievements. This step will likely take around 570-600 hours, depending on how quickly you reset the bus when it finishes its trips.
  3. We will do one passenger run. You have to ride along (In the back) for a complete trip while someone else drives the bus. (Another PC for example) This is done comparatively quickly, taking 8 hours. After doing this, you will receive the last two achievements.

Fortunately, I have created potentially the first macro/script for running this game, making this game 99.9% Idle. The only human input required is to reset the bus every 8 hours, which takes about 5 seconds. I will create a separate page for getting this set up. The only caveat is that it requires you to have two monitors to use it.

With that being said, it is also required to have a second PC to complete the multiplayer achievement. Unless, you have someone who is willing to drive you for eight hours straight.

Lastly, I would like to thank Steam user Kunovega. He is the first person to legitimately complete the game, and his tips set me off on the right foot towards completing it. A lot of the tips he mentioned are present in this guide.

As stated before, you must complete the entire game in one sitting. If you ever exit the game, shut off the computer, or pick up the retirement fund, (retire and exit to main menu) all of your progress will be erased and you must start from the very beginning again.

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Also, it’s VERY important to disable your automatic updates on your PC. Otherwise, it can restart to apply an update.

If you really need to use your PC for something, you can theoretically stop your bus in the middle of the road and alt-tab to do whatever you want. However, I would not recommend this, especially after you’ve been going for a few days, because for one, you want to get this done as expeditiously as possible, and two, some games (not necessarily this one) and Windows itself tend(s) to become unstable when left on for long periods of time. Extra actions can cause the game or the PC itself to crash, making you lose your progress. For this reason, I recommend keeping excess actions to a minimum, and just only using this PC for Desert Bus for the next ~23 days.

While the achievements measure in hours and miles, the easiest way to track your progress is through the ‘points’ that you get. You get one point for every eight-hour shift, and you require ~70 points to get all of the achievements.

Every single trip is roughly 8 hours, and 360 miles. The blue-lit display behind your steering wheel is the time of the current trip in hh:mm. Your odometer for the current trip is the six digits that slowly roll to the right of your steering wheel. While it’s not too hard to read, it’s important to note that the digits roll because it’s an old odometer, and they don’t line up all the time. (For example, for 350 miles, the third from the left digit will be between the 3 and the 4) Once this odometer reaches 360 miles, your trip will end immediately and you’ll get a point.

When you finish an 8-hour shift, you will see a results screen. The results screen will show your points, and your total time spent in hh:mm. There’s also some less important statistics.

Another interesting thing to mention is that I noticed that the 8-hour legs are actually a little under 8 hours real-time. (Very slightly, clocking in at about 7:56 despite the in-game clock saying 8:01.) It's as if the in-game clock runs very slightly faster than real time. Very insignificant difference, but I thought I'd mention it.

Lastly, the game is playable in VR. But I will say that it is borderline impossible to complete it that way. You would have to have the headset on and be actively playing it for the whole 23 days straight. For this reason, we will be playing it through non-VR.


Disclaimer: It is intended that you follow these steps when instructed to during the walkthrough. (Just before task 2) You can now if you wish, just make sure not to ever move your OBS window, or you'll have to change the coordinates of the script's scan area again.

For those that are interested:

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First, I would like to mention that it took a long time to figure out the secret to this, and the developers probably intentionally made it this difficult. You cannot trigger the movement from screen pixels because it becomes night after a couple hours and the color changes. You cannot interval the buttons in any sort of frequency because the bus pulls to the right at different rates. The only way to make this work is to have it triggered by a sound effect. It’s impossible to directly link a sound effect to a macro, so we have to do it in a roundabout way, scanning the pixels on the OBS sound analysis software to detect distinct changes in audio. When you run over the rumble strips on the side of the road, it triggers a certain frequency of a sound effect that is perfect for OBS to detect. This macro works flawlessly for nearly every single trip (Only failed twice out of 71 runs for me).

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This page is solely for preparing you for automating your game. We are essentially just making it so that the bus steers left every time it runs over the rumble strips. I will walk you through it step by step.

You will need to install two programs on your computer before we even start.

  1. OBS
  2. Pulover’s Macro Creator

(I’m only adding the macro as a downloadable link to reduce the number of downloadable files in the walkthrough)

Then, you’ll need to install the macro I made for Pulover’s Macro Creator.

https://ufile.io/rtcchxg3

The only goal is to set the macro so that it scans the yellow region on the OBS screen. Any time the bottom black square enters this region it needs to trigger left movement. I will walk you through how to do this. If you would rather do it yourself, skip to ‘The macro is now set up.’

Unfortunately, you will ideally need two monitors for this to work. One for OBS, and one for the game. If you only have one, feel free to try it. Everything will likely be very crammed together, though. You might have to launch the game in a lower resolution to create more space on the screen. The walkthrough will assume you have two monitors.

  1. Open Pulover’s Macro Creator. Place it on the screen that you do not want your desert bus on.
  2. Load my file by pressing file → open → (Desert Bus)
  3. Open OBS. Put it on the same screen as Pulover’s Macro Creator.
  4. On Pulover’s Macro Creator, right click line 3, starting with “Continue, Break,…”
  5. Press edit.
  6. In the upper left, there’s coordinates and a button with three dots. Press the button with three dots.
  7. Right click and drag to ONLY highlight the entire yellow region of the “Desktop Audio” section. Save this and close the window. This makes it so every time the black square enters this region, the bus rapidly pulls left until it’s no longer there.

What this does is makes it so every time the black square enters this region, the bus rapidly pulls left until it’s no longer there. The black square will enter the region whenever the bus runs over the rumble strips, as there’s a distinct shift in audio.

The macro is now set up.

***NOTE There is not a command to hold down the accelerator. (W) This is simply to make the script as simple as possible so that it has the least chance of messing up. For this reason, it's important to find a coin, weight, or something to place over the W key to hold it down indefinitely. Alternatively, you can program it into the script to hold the key down at your own risk.

I will say, however, that although the radio is interesting to listen to, it seems there is a small chance this will interfere with the macro. Therefore, if you would like to be safe, just press the red button on the radio when you start every single trip.

In addition to this, it is also important to keep the camera centered when you’re running the bus. It’s not really sensitive, just try to put it similar to the position it was when you spawned in. The takeaway here is that you want to have the camera positioned in such a way that it pulls the bus away quickly when running over the rumble strips. This will result in a lower likelihood of the macro failing.

The reason for this is that you want the audio to be centered between the left and right channels. You want the ambience sound on the right to be equal to the sound on the left. This will make it easy for the script to distinguish when there’s a large sound shift on the right side. (When you run over the rumble strips.)

Lastly, there is a very small chance that the macro will not work. (Happened to me 2 times) If this happens, do not worry. You will just be towed back to your previous stop. (In real time. You will be towed backwards the same amount of time you went forwards.)

With that being said, you’re all set!

Go ahead and launch the game. You will be presented with the option to reopen it after this task, so you don't have to be prepared yet.

A lot of the information required to complete the game is on the Walkthrough Overview and General Hints and Tips pages. I suggest you read those if you haven’t already.

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Anyway, we’re completing this game in three stages.

  1. We will start the game, immediately run off the road, and get towed back. This will get you two achievements. This will take only a couple minutes.
  2. We will do 70 driver runs, taking 8 hours each. This will net you 11 more achievements. This step will likely take around 570-600 hours, depending on how quickly you reset the bus when it finishes its trips.
  3. We will do one passenger run. You have to ride along (In the back) for a complete trip while someone else drives the bus. (Another PC for example) This is done comparatively quickly, taking 8 hours. After doing this, you will receive the last two achievements.

Task 1: (2 minutes)

The first task is the easiest and fastest. As soon as the game loads, you will be at a bus stop with a layout which can be confusing if you've never been to a bus stop before.

There will be a box that looks like it's a slot for a timecard. Your timecard will be directly to the right of it. Pick it up and place it in the aforementioned timecard slot. This makes you the bus driver. You can also become a passenger. (With the red box with the bus ticket) Although, we will not be doing this until the very end of the game. Do not press the red box until then to avoid losing your progress. The screen will fade and load. As soon as your bus fires up, you will get your first achievement.

Once this is done, simply hold the W key and the D key simultaneously. This will run the bus off the road. Doing this will result in you being towed back to the starting point. Assuming you immediately drove off the road, this process should be very quick. When you regain control of your bus, you will gain another achievement.

Having this achievement, you can choose to either start task 2 immediately or close the game and reopen it. For simplicity, I would close the game and reopen it, so you have a fresh start, at the bus stop screen.

We’re completing this game in three stages.

  1. We will start the game, immediately run off the road, and get towed back. This will get you two achievements. This will take only a couple minutes.
  2. We will do 70 driver runs, taking 8 hours each. This will net you 11 more achievements. This step will likely take around 570-600 hours, depending on how quickly you reset the bus when it finishes its trips.
  3. We will do one passenger run. You have to ride along (In the back) for a complete trip while someone else drives the bus. (Another PC for example) This is done comparatively quickly, taking 8 hours. After doing this, you will receive the last two achievements.

Task 2: (570-600 hours)

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Open the game once again. This time, be prepared before you open it. Ensure your Windows auto update is disabled and your PC is in a state in which it can be left on for 600 hours. Cancel any services that may interfere with the process. Remember, if you ever close the game, turn off your computer, exit to the main menu, or pick up the retirement fund, (will tell you about that soon) you will lose every single bit of your progress for this section, and must start over.

Once you're at the bus stop again, pick up the timecard and insert it into the slot exactly as before. It is recommended that you turn off the radio by pressing the red button on the radio. (To your left) Go ahead and follow the instructions listed on the "Setting up the macro" page. When you're ready, press the circular blue play button on Pulover's Macro Creator. This will make it so you can enable it at any time by pressing the blue play button on your main screen. Make sure OBS is visible on the screen and in the same exact spot it was when you set up the program. The script will scan the region of the screen you selected regardless of whether OBS is in the field of view.

Go ahead and place your time card into the slot. The screen will fade out, and you will spawn in. Before we begin, I would like to point out that there is a yellow box labeled "Retirement Fund" to the right of your steering wheel. If you EVER pick this up, you will retire and lose all of your progress. It is an equivalent to exiting the game, turning off your computer, or exiting to the main menu. All of your progress will be erased, even if you've made 400, or 500 hours.

Enable the script by pressing the blue play button. (Sideways triangle) on the macro. Once this is enabled, it can be permanently left this way. You don't have to disable it. Once you do this, you also have to make sure your camera is centered. Just make sure that you're facing the steering wheel, like the traditional way someone would be facing if they were driving the bus. It's not too sensitive, but the better you can center it, the more it will lower the likelihood of the script failing.

Once you have this ready, go ahead and place your coin, weight, or whatever mechanism you had in mind to indefinitely hold down the W key. You can also leave this on permanently, and you never have to reapply it, even between legs of your trip. Once you start holding the key down, you should notice your bus starting to advance forward across the road, at a speed of 45 miles per hour. You should also notice that after about 1 second of running over the rumble strips on the road, the bus will steer to the left to correct itself. If you do not notice this, it's likely that the script is set up improperly.

Now that you have that going, you have now satisfied all of the required elements to complete the first leg. You can either sit there and watch the whole thing play out, watch it periodically, or leave for the entire 8 hours. Regardless of your choice, you should be set for the whole trip to Las Vegas.

I would like to note, that turning off your monitor(s) will not affect the way the game plays out. If you wish to do this, you may without any consequence. The only downside is that it will be more difficult to monitor your progress through that individual leg.

Once you reach one mile, (1.33 minutes) you will receive this achievement.

Once you reach ten miles, (13.3 minutes) you will receive this achievement.

After about 4-6 hours, a bug will hit your windshield. It does occur every single leg but happens at a random time between 4 and 6 hours. Since it happens at a random time, it's unlikely that you'll see it unless you're watching it continuously. Whether you're there to see it or not, once the bug hits your windshield, it will yield this achievement.

You may have noticed, but the game does have a day/night cycle. It starts off during the day, the sun sets, and rises, all within the 8-hour leg. Your headlights also automatically come on when need be. This is an interesting addition to the game, and it is nice to see a shift in the environment to make it more like a real-life experience.

Now, all that's left is to let it run until the in-game clock reaches about 8 hours, and 360 miles. When you get close, you will see a bus stop appear on the left side of the road. You will pass by it, and when the odometer reads exactly 360 miles, your screen will fade and you will appear at the bus stop. If you're present to watch the events play out during this ending, you will be able to view this wonderful achievement popping.

On the bus stop screen, you will see that you have one point. These points are the easiest way to measure your progress. Once you reach 70, you will have completed this section. You will also notice that your total number of hours is displayed in the top right corner. As long as you aren't idling in the middle of the road, this is also a decent way to measure your progress, and an excellent way to measure your progress towards the time-based achievements. There is no way to view your total number of miles driven. The takeaway here is that once your total number of points reaches 70, you will have completed this section

You also may notice another yellow "Retirement Fund" box to your right. This behaves in the same way that the one in the bus does. Therefore, do not pick it up, or you will lose all of your progress.

Don't worry if you aren't present when any leg of the trip finishes. You will simply sit at the bus stop for however many hours it needs to until you are back to reset it. Having the script running or the W button engaged does not affect your ability to idle at the bus stop. With that being said, it's also important to note that you should try to reset the bus as promptly as possible after each leg. We want to get this done as expeditiously as possible, and you are not making progress by sitting at the bus stop.

Anyway, go ahead and put your timecard back into the slot, and you will begin to head back towards Tucson. You will notice that your bus will start advancing down the road and the script will continue to steer the bus automatically. Don't forget to turn off the radio! This entire leg of the trip is nearly identical to the previous one, the only difference being at the very end when you arrive at the Tucson bus stop. Complete the leg just like you did the last one. If you're present when the trip finishes, (360 miles) you will be able to experience the joy of this achievement popping.

You will appear back at the bus stop and will have banked your second point. You should have around 16 hours at this point.

Recap: We've now completed two legs of our trip, got two points, and completed the full circuit from Tucson back to Tucson. Now, all of the gameplay in this section is completely identical to what we just did. All that's left to do is travel between Tucson and Las Vegas a total of 68 more times. The only human input required is to reset the bus every 8 hours by placing your time card in the box, and turn off the radio. For every leg you complete from here on out, you will get a point, bringing you closer to completing this section.

Since each leg takes 8 hours, and there's 24 hours in a day, you can complete 3 legs every single day. To make this process as efficient as possible, try to plan on a schedule in which you will be around to reset it every time it finishes a trip. For example, maybe 7:00 AM (07:00), 3:00 PM (15:00), and 11:00 PM (23:00). Doing this, you will gain three points a day, making it so you'll need to play for around 23 days to complete the game.

Go ahead and put your timecard in again. Complete the leg. This is your third point. You now have 3 points, 1,080 miles and ~24 hours. I will no longer be narrating every leg, since it's the same thing every time, and you should be used to completing the legs by now.

With that being said, let's continue our long journey to 70 points! You will unlock this slew of achievements in this order by doing so.

Once you reach 7 points, you will unlock this achievement.

Once you reach 8 points, you will unlock this achievement.

Once you reach 15 points, (or 120 hours, whichever occurs first) you will receive this achievement.

Once you reach 30 points, (or 240 hours, whichever occurs first) you will receive this achievement.

Once you reach an unknown amount of time (between 53-58 points, the achievement is for an unknown number of hours, likely around 435 hours), you will receive the penultimate achievement for this section.

Once you reach 70 points, you will receive this huge achievement.

Congratulations, you've now certainly completed the bulk of the game, and have essentially secured the completion for one of Steam's most unrealistic game completions. (while still being possible) Now, the pressure is off, so you can feel free to close the game, pick up the retirement fund, or do whatever you need to do to prepare for our last section. You might want to take a screenshot of your screen showing your number of points, both for proof of completion and to have a visual memory of what you've done on Desert Bus before all of your progress vanishes.

We’re completing this game in three stages.

  1. We will start the game, immediately run off the road, and get towed back. This will get you two achievements. This will take only a couple minutes.
  2. We will do 70 driver runs, taking 8 hours each. This will net you 11 more achievements. This step will likely take around 570-600 hours, depending on how quickly you reset the bus when it finishes its trips.
  3. We will do one passenger run. You have to ride along (In the back) for a complete trip while someone else drives the bus. (Another PC for instance) This is done comparatively quickly, taking 8 hours. After doing this, you will receive the last two achievements.

Task 3: (8 hours)

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We're now on our last step. Thankfully, this step will feel like nothing compared to what you just did. All it requires us to do is to utilize the passenger function of the game, and ride along in the back of the bus for a complete 8-hour trip.

You might have noticed people riding along in the back of your bus when you were the driver. (Anyone can join anyone who's driving) and now it's your turn to do it.

Note: When playing as a passenger, you cannot get any achievements related to milage or time spent. You cannot have someone else drive to earn you any achievements from phase 1 & 2. The only achievements available in this mode are the two that we have not gotten yet.

Firstly, you will need another computer for this method. (Unless you can find someone willing to drive you for eight hours straight) On the other computer, make a new Steam account, and install the game. Set up the macro the way we did before. This PC will be the driver while your main PC will be riding along. Launch the game and become the driver with this PC. DO NOT PRESS THE GAS. If you even slightly press the gas, it will make it so you cannot get the achievement. (will have to pick up the retirement fund and restart)

On your main PC, select the handle on the red box, and then pick up the bus ticket that comes out. You will receive an achievement.

You may not be in your bus. It puts you into a random game. If you aren't in your bus, exit to the main menu and continue repeating this process until you get into your bus. (Should be stationary) Once you're in it, activate the macro on your other PC, and let the whole trip play out. The only difference is that you'll have a different view, from a seat in the back of the bus. Once you arrive in Las Vegas, you will get your final achievement!

If you made it to this point, congratulations on your well-deserved completion. You've now completed one of Steam's most unrealistic game completions. I hope you enjoyed Desert Bus!

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