Guide Made by: Kräcktus
Game Version: 0.16.55665 EA
TML-Studios Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/tYgKN5cJf6

This Guide also Exists in German
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2902134196

1. This guide is for version 0.16.55665, things might or might not change in the future, though the base concept shouldn’t change much.
   
   
2. This is a fan-made guide, just to help people start getting into repainting the bus. I do not guarantee that the downloads on this document will be legit, though I use them myself (I reuse the links that were given by TML in a Fernbus guide since they are almost the same); if you are not sure if something is safe, please ask on the Discord server.
   
   
3. If you need any further help than this guide gives you, please join the Discord server.
   
   
4. Even though the Repainting isn’t Editor Bound, I will demonstrate it using Paint .NET
   
   
5. Also, this Guide is Heavily Inspired by the Official Guide from TMl for the Fernbus Sim

• https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1687469689

1. You will need Paint .NET, Gimp, Photoshop, or a similar image editing software that can open Photoshop files.
   
   • You can get Paint .NET Here [www.getpaint.net].
     
   • If you are using Paint .NET, you will also need the plugin required to open Photoshop files.
     
   • Get The Plugin Here [www.psdplugin.com]
     
   • To Install the Plugin, Go To
     C:Program Files/paint.net/FileTypes
     and paste in the .dll File that is Contained in the ZIP Download
2. You will also need a text editor, like Notepad++, though all text editors will work since this is just for visual preference.
   
3. You will also need any The Bus, Bus Template to Start
   
   • You can find the templates here[www.tml-studios.de].
     
   • Please mind that you have to look for a Bus that is Actually Available in The Bus
     
   • For demonstration, I will download the E-Citybus template.
4. Lastly You will need File Extensions Turned On/Visible
   
   • For this, please open the File Explorer, and on the top drop-down menu, go to the View tab.
     
   • Then, on the right, please check the box where it says "File name extensions"

To get started, create a folder at any location on your PC; the name doesn’t matter.

Then, drag the contents of the zip file you downloaded into the folder.

The hierarchy should look a bit like this:

(The folder names will be different depending on which template you downloaded, but the structure should be the same.)

• <Your Folder>
  
  • Folder: Custom Repaints MB eCitybus
    
    • Folder: Content
      
    • File: Mod.cfg
      
    • File: Mod.png
      
    • File: Mercedes-Benz_eCitaro_12m_2D_Repaint.psd
      
    • File: Mercedes-Benz_eCitaro_12m_3D_Repaint.psd
      
    • File: Mercedes-Benz_eCitaro_18m_3D_Repaint.psd
      
    • File: Mercedes-Benz_eCitaro_18m_4D_Repaint.psd
  
  If you have completed this step, you may proceed:
  
  Warning: For all steps here, please mind the capitalization if you are being asked to create a file or folder.
  
  Also, the file and folder names might change depending on which template you downloaded.
  
  • Go To the Path: "C:\Users\<YourUserName>\Documents\"
    
  • If it is not already there, please create a folder named "The Bus"
    
    • In there, create a folder named "Mods"
      
      • In the Mods Folder, you can create a folder, and the name is going to be what you want your Mods Name to be; in my example, it would be "Repaint_Template"
        
        • In that folder, please paste the entire contents of the folder named "Custom Repaints MB eCitybus" from the folder you pasted the contents of the ZIP file into earlier.
  
  After you have completed these steps, your folder hierarchy should look similar to this:
  
  C:\Users\<YourUserName>\Documents\
  
  • Folder: The Bus
    
    • Folder: Mods
      
      • Folder: Repaint_Template
        
        • Folder: Content
          
        • File: Mod.cfg
          
        • File: Mod.png

In the folder you pasted the zip file into earlier, there are one or more files ending in .psd

Open one of these files (depending on which bus you want to repaint) with the image editor that you have chosen.

If you are using Paint .NET, your screen should look similar to this:


Every template might look different, because of different dimensions, etc.

On the bottom right, in the small tool window, you will see several layers; there, you can scroll and turn on/off the Help Layers, these are to show you what part of the bus you are repainting.

For Example Purposes, I will Write "Repaint_Template" on Different Parts of the Bus. Also, since the file is split into different layers, if you would like to for example paint on the roof of the bus, you would have to click on the "White Accents" layer, though please look at a Paint .NET YouTube Guide, if you don’t know how to use it.



This is What My File Looks Like Now, with Text on Several Parts on the Bus.

If you want To Test this First, do It Like me, and just draw some Basic Lines, or Write Something on it, and Then Continue Following This Guide.

To Save the Texture, please do the Following Steps:

• Click on "File" in the top left
  
• Then click on "Save As"
  
• In the window that should then pop up, you will have to navigate to your mod path, which you created in "C:\Users\<YourUserName>\Documents\The Bus\Mods\"
  
• Then, please go into the "Content" Folder, followed by the folder of which bus you want to repaint; in my case, it is the "Mercedes-Benz_eCitaro_12m3D"
  
• After that, Change the File Type to .png, and rename it to the Exterior File Name of your Bus, In my case, this would be "T_eCitaro_Exterior_D.png". If you are not sure which name to use, look at the image previews and look for one that looks similar to the image you edited.

If you still can't find it, feel free to ask for help on the TML Discord server.

Your window should then look similar to this:


Once you press "Save", it will ask you if you want to replace a file. Please click "yes".
After that, an Image Save Window will come up; just continue by pressing "OK".
Following that, a window will come up saying that the image will need to be flattened; please click "Flatten".

After that, your image should be saved correctly.

In the directory of the image you just saved, there should be a file named "Default.repaintinfo"

Open that with the Text Editor of your Choice

It should be similar to this:


Now everywhere where there is < and > closing in a sentence, please replace them with what you want your for example Description, or repaint Name to be, I will Replace mine with “Repaint_Template” again.

After that, the file should look something like this, and you may proceed with saving it:


At the Bottom, there are also Values like "HandrailsColor", those are Represented by a RGB Value, so to change the colors of (as it says in the Name) the Handrails, you would have to put a RGB Value into there.

To Edit your Mod.cfg File, please go into the Root Directory of your Mod, the Path should look like this:

• “C:\Users\<YourUserName>\Documents\The Bus\Mods\<Your Mod Name>”
  In there, you will find a File Named “Mod.cfg”
  
  Please do not Rename any Files or Folders in this Directory unless you are told to do so.
  
  Please Open the File, it should look similar to this:
  
  
  Now, again, where it says “<REPAINT MOD NAME>”, please Replace that with the Name of your Mod Folder, in my Example, this would be “Repaint_Template.
  
  You can Also Edit your Mod Description at the Top.
  
  It Should look similar to this after you’re done, if it does, please proceed by Saving the File:
  

This file is a regular image, so you can just open it in any image editing software and edit it to your liking.

You can also change the resolution, though don’t make it too large, otherwise Steam won't accept it.

For example, I will draw a big red circle on it.

After you have done all the above steps, please start the game, and if you want to make sure that it loads properly first, go into the Mods Tab.

This is what my Mod Tab Looks Like:


And as you can see, the red circle shows up, as do my set names and descriptions.

Now please go into the bus selection and select the bus you wanted to repaint; for me, it was the E-Citybus 12M 3D, then, on the top right, click on the Spraycan Icon.

Then at the bottom where you used to select your bus, please Select your Repaint Name, it should load the Repaint after that:

If you are doing a repaint and want multiple ones for one specific bus, please follow these steps:

 

• In your Mods Content Folder, create another Folder of the Bus you want to Repaint, or just Duplicate the Folder of that Bus
  
  
• Rename that folder to anything you'd like, and also copy that name because you will need it.
  It should look something like this now:
  
  
  
  As you can see, I have duplicated my original folder and renamed it the same, but with "_Duplicate" after it.
  
  
• After you have done that, please go into your new folder and open the Default.repaintinfo File
  
• In there, it should look exactly like your other bus. Feel free to edit the RepaintName, or other Values
  
• In the same folder, you can now also edit your bus repaint.
  
  
  
• Once you are done with repainting your folder, go into the root folder of your mod and open the Mod.cfg file.
  
  This is what it currently looks like for me:
  
  
  
• Now you will have to make another line in the "MountPaths" section, which basically says the same as the line above, of the bus you want another repaint for, though for that line, add another word or something after the MountPoint string, i will put a "_Duplicate" after it.
  
  
• And now, in the Directory String, replace everything after "Content/" with the name of the folder you duplicated earlier.
  
  This is what my file looks like now:
  
  
  
• Also, please make sure that the file is a valid JSON; if you are not sure if yours is, there are online JSON validators (just type in "json validator" in Google or any search engine).
  
  
• Once you are done with this, your mod should be ready, and both repaints should show up in-game.

If you are doing repaints for multiple buses of one company, for example, you want to do a repaint for every eCitybus, you might notice that several textures are there for each bus, and you want them to be the same for each of them. After following these steps, you will have all of those files just once.

This step is a bit harder to understand, so read it carefully before asking on the discord.

Basically, you are saving space by removing duplicate textures, please follow these steps to do so:

• Navigate to any folder of a bus in your mod and select all of the files that you want to be the same for all the buses.
  
  
• This is what the files look like for the eCitaro 12m2D.
  
  
  
  
  I will select all files, besides the "default.repaintinfo" file, and the "T_eCitaro_Exterior_D.png" file, since those are not the same for every bus model.
  
  
  
• Once you have selected all the files you want to apply to all buses, navigate one folder up and create a new folder. I will name it "DefaultTextures", and in that folder, I will create another folder named "eCitaro", though you can name those whatever you want, and do it in a different structure.
  
  The path to that folder should look similar to this now:
  
  C:\Users\<YourUserName>\Documents\The Bus\Mods\<YourModName>\Content\DefaultTextures\eCitaro
  
  
• After that, cut all of your selected files and paste them into your newly created folder. You can now delete those files for the other bus models too.
  
  
• In the folders of the buses, there should now only be the files left that you didn't select; again, for me, this is the exterior file and the default.repaintinfo File
  
  
• You will now need to go into every default.repaintinfo File, of the busses you want to share the textures.
  
  It should look similar to this:
  
  Now for every file that you have moved, you will need to change the "TextureFilename" value;
  
  I will take the "T_eCitaro_StopRequest_D.png" value as an example.
  
  
• Since the folder with the new textures is not in the same folder as that bus model, I will have to move up one folder. I do this by adding "../" in front of the string.
  
  
• And then since my files are in the subfolders "DefaultTextures/eCitaro/", I will need to add that after the "../" too.
  
  And once I have done this for all the textures, it should look similar to this:
  
  Once you have done this, do the same thing to all default.repaintinfo files of the bus models you want to share the textures.
  
  When finished, it should work instantly, and you should be able to see the same texture being used in the game for all of your changed buses.

After you have completed all of the above steps and are done repainting your Bus/es, you may want to upload your mod to the Steam Workshop.

Please follow these steps to do so:
Navigate to the Mods Tab in The Bus, and click Right-Click on your mod; it should look like this now:

Please proceed to click on "Upload". A window will pop up, and it should look similar to this:

Your inputs in these fields will determine what your mod looks like on the Steam Workshop; please fill them out accordingly.

You will also have to fill out every field to be able to upload it.

This is what my window looks like after I have filled in all the fields:


Once you are done, please click "Upload".

Please mind that your Files cant be too big. (This is mostly the case with your Mod.png, it can't be over something like 1 MB.)

After you have clicked upload, a window will pop up saying if it succeeded, if it did, it will ask you if you want to visit the page of your mod in the workshop.

If it says an error message, it may be self-explanatory, but sometimes it just says "Fail", Please join the Discord and ask for Help if you can't fix it yourself.

If you go onto the Steam Workshop Page now, it should look similar to this:


And as you can see, all of my inputted information has been put in correctly.

On the right, where it says "Owner Controls", you can Edit all of the Infos on your Guide, and also Upload Images/Screenshots of your Guide. 
You will also be able to delete it there.

Once you have Uploaded your Mod to the Steam Workshop, but decided to Delete it again, you wont be able to Upload it again in The Bus, since it still thinks it still exists.

To remove this, please follow these steps:

Navigate to your Mod Path; it should look similar to this:
"C:\Users\<YourUserName>\Documents\The Bus\Mods\<YourModName>"

The contents of it should look like this:



The file named "uploadinfo" contains the ID of your deleted Workshop mod.
Since it doesn't exist anymore, you can simply delete this file.

If you then go into the game again, it should look like this again:


If it does, it means that you have done all steps correctly, and your mod is ready to be uploaded Again.

If you have any further questions or need further guidance, feel free to join the TML Discord server, and ask questions there.

Also, the Official guide from TML also contains a way to add multiple repaints to one Mod, though the guide is to Fernbus, the Concept should be the Same for The Bus
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1687469689