PC Skyrim "scales up as you'd expect"

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 19 April, 2011

May take advantage of DX11 in the future.

All three versions of fantasy role-playing game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim look the same, creator Bethesda has insisted.

But, as game director and executive producer Todd Howard pointed out at Bethesda's showcase event last week, PC gamers will benefit from slight differences.

"It scales up in all the ways you would expect," he said. "We author our art really high res. There are little things we do with all of our games on the PC. With the PC the texture sizes are going to be as big as you want to make them, and you can pump the resolution up, obviously."

But, "The game looks the same. The benefit we get when you're playing a PC game is you're sitting this far away [moves hands in front of his face]. At home when you're on your console you're usually sitting six to eight feet away."

Howard described the gargantuan, open world RPG as "mostly a DirectX 9 game in terms of how the shaders work".

"When it comes to DirectX 11 there are things they get us for free, like performance gains. You're going to get performance gains out of it versus an older version.

"But the specifics DX11 does, like tessellation and all that kinda stuff, we aren't taking advantage of that right now. That doesn't mean we won't in the future. We aren't right now because we want to author it so it looks great."

Bethesda demoed the game live to press for the first time last week. Eurogamer's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim preview went live yesterday.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 7 months ago

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  • matrim83 #1 1 year ago

    I am fine with all of that. Just remember to release a mod toolset and the community will take care of whatever you forget.

  • Erinan #2 1 year ago

    Developed for consoles :(

  • Daeltaja #3 1 year ago

    Cry.. Would love some sexy Dx11 features.

    @Black_Shooty: Strangely my PC is far more comfortable to play on that my home consoles, the way I have my stuff arranged. Having a ridiculously comfy chair helps too.

  • apoc_reg #4 1 year ago

    I read this as "Not great news at all", just me?

  • Caimbeul #5 1 year ago

    Why would you not take advantage of The additional power of the PC which is getting on to 10 times the graphical and computational poer of consoles. Getting cheesed of with Devs dragging the PC version down so it is on par with the console versions (textures and resolution aside). Tesselation would have made the game look even more amazing.

    Not dissing the consoles BTW its just annoying. Also there are potential benefits like Crysis 2 which looks nice and runs very well albeit you cannot change the settings yet.

  • djed #6 1 year ago

    It's funny how they admit being unable to code for DX11.

  • Evil_Badger #7 1 year ago

    Most big devs are hurting the PC games sector due to (financially wisely, but frustratingly short sightedly) not willing to put in the extra time and effort to fully exploit modern PCs. DX11 features for Skyrim and Crysis 2 are perfect examples.
    Edited by Evil_Badger at 19/04/11 @ 11:20

  • Slikz #8 1 year ago

    Nope you're not alone. Its becoming a joke really and it will be hard to justify getting a new gpu for some of these 'new' games.

    Lets hope Dice kicks this latest trend in the balls with BF3.

  • uknortherner2000 #9 1 year ago

    Oblivion didn't use shader model 3. How many people noticed? I'll bet hardly any and yet the graphics were beautiful and immersive as hell.

    The same goes for DX11. If the game looks fine without it, then what's the point of trying to shoe-horn in a couple of features that really aren't going to be of benefit to most people except for the few with DX11 cards? Do people buy games to play them these days, or to simply stare at the graphics?

  • ISmoke #10 1 year ago

    I'm not going to lie. I bought Metro 2033 and Just Cause 2, just to look at the graphics.

  • bdc #11 1 year ago

    By 'may support DX11 in the future' they mean 'it won't ever support DX11'

  • Evil_Badger #12 1 year ago

    Yeah, I'm a bit of a graphics-whore too.

    Better graphics, as part of overall immersion along with audio, physics, AI and the whole caboodle, help most games engage with the player better and therefore offer a better experience.

    If it plays like sh!t then it can still be called a tech demo. :)

  • Ged42 #13 1 year ago

    Well at least it will give the modders somewhere to start

  • hiddenranbir #14 1 year ago

    ffs this isn't the kind of scaling up we need.

    We need more npcs, greater complexity in economy and world dynamics. THAT is what should be scaled up for PC. Not an extra texture file.
    Edited by hiddenranbir at 19/04/11 @ 12:26

  • Centrifugal #15 1 year ago

    The games looks beautiful, and from what I've seen of Oblivion on the PC mods can completely change it. I assume the same will be possible with Skyrim.

    I really don't care about graphics. I just got KOTOR for the Xbox today and I'm playing through it for the first time, and loving it thus far despite the graphical quality being low by current standards.

    Skyrim will play beautifully, and that's all that matters really.

  • Darren #16 1 year ago

    I wouldn't mind so much that developer's keep promising DirectX 11 at later date but few even bother to use the six year old DirectX 10, which at least supports full HDR/deferred rendering and multi-sampled anti-aliasing, unlike DirectX 9. Kind of strange really considering that almost everyone with a gaming PC these days will own a DirectX 10-capable graphics card and are more than likely running Windows Vista or 7.

    DirectX 11 is more than just tessellation though as it offers proper multi-threading which means better performance so long as the game supports it also. NVIDIA have just implemented multi-threading in their 270 series driver and Civilization 5 already benefits from it with Battlefield 3 also likely use it too. Would have been nice if Skyrim had been designed around DX11 from the off really but the engine was clearly designed with the consoles in mind.

    Even if Bethesda add support for it via a patch it'll likely be as disappointing as those other games that have had DX11 shoehorned in late into development. Has there even being a PC game yet that has been built from the ground up for DX11 like those oh-so-pretty tech demos such as Unigine Heaven and 3DMark11?

  • RoaringPanda #17 1 year ago

    That's a shame, I was excited to see how they could put tesselation to work on Tamriel

  • Rack #18 1 year ago

    Hmm, I'd expect it to run worse than the 360 version on a PC that could easily run Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout NV at the same time. About right?

  • Bagpuss #19 1 year ago

    Ahoy there ship mates.....smelly dumbed down console port approaching off the starboard bow......

  • charming_fox #20 1 year ago

    God you PC graphics snobs are tossers, I'm glad I'm not one of you any more! Comfort and control pads are where it's at, not £500 graphics cards and nerdy driver updates. You should try having a console, it's a much better experience.

    edit: maybe 'tossers' is a bit harsh but saying these games are 'dumbed down' all the time is stupid, if it weren't for the success of consoles there might not even be an Elder Scrolls 5 and if there were i doubt it would look as good as this
    Edited by charming_fox at 19/04/11 @ 17:44

  • chiangkaishek #21 1 year ago

    @charming_fox
    God you console gamers are ignorant techno-noobs, I'm glad I like PC better! Comfort and mouse/keyboared are where it's at, not spending an extra $900 for a console that will go obselete in a few years in which case u have to spend another $900 for a completely new console + games that cost 30% more than the PC versions and go platinum twice as slow. You should play games on PC, its the best experience.
    That was just a direct mimic to ur childish, unjustified trolling rants.

    1). Graphics cards dont cost 500 pounds u retard. That's if u want cutting edge tat. Most vid cards cost $100~$200. And if u actually got a PC with a good GPU u dont need to ever upgrade again.

    2). Controllers suck balls. Keyboard/mouse own controller anyday in terms of comfort, accuracy and fluidity. Microsoft did an experiment last year where they pitt PC gamers vs console gamers in an fps and the result was: the PC gamers MASSACRED the console gamers (even when console gamers have the noobish benefit of permanent aim assist because u CANT AIM FOR SHOOT WITH A CONTROLLER). Lets see u play fps games without aim-assist. Even better. Lets see u play RTS games with a controller. And I mean a genuine RTS game like Starcraft 2 not some dumbed down preschool title like Halo Wars.

    3). Its a lot more comfortable playing on PC because its a more intimate experience. If you dont like playing with a comfy leather seat with a surround sound set-up and large high res monitor, u can also play ur games in the living room by plugging ur PC to the TV. You can even plug a controller for PC. You cant plug a keyboard/mouse into a console.

    There u just got owned. This is just the tip of the iceberg u noob. TROLL.

  • chiangkaishek #22 1 year ago

    Not taking full advantage of Directx11? Not surprised. Its going to be a console port I knew it but at least there's mod support. The game is still going to kick ass and a better experience on PC regardless of being a port. Nothing a few mods cant fix ;)

    See this is an example of how consoles r keeping gaming tech from advancing. In a world where every gamer's PC has at least directx10 by now we're still stuck with directx9 with console-tastic designs. And frankly, had this game been designed for PC only, it would've looked a LOT better. Thnx for holding the gaming world back consoles.
    Edited by chiangkaishek at 19/04/11 @ 14:44

  • Seafort #23 1 year ago

    £500 for a graphics card? You must be mad i paid £100 a few months ago for a dx11 card the geforce 460.

    I havent had to upgrade my graphics card for 4 years or more cos the devs develop for the console in mind so the pc version either doesnt exist or doesnt take much power at all to run it.

    I dont see the point in MS developing a new dx version now as none of the console devs who develop for the pc as well dont use any of the advanced features of dx10 or 11.

    Not sure what the next console generation is going to use but it better be dx11 or better or we'll see the same shit again and again.

    And people say the consoles dont stagnate the advancement of graphics...i think they most definitely do.

  • Mnia786 #24 1 year ago

    I used to game on my PC but due to the fact that devs seem not to take advantage of the latest hardware and the pita it is to get some games to run, I have given up. Play some of my older games on PC but its that much easier to put a disc into a console and just get on with playing the damn thing.

    Not to mention the continuous hardware cycle thats on the increase - yes consoles need updating but if I get something that looks good and play well, I can easily forgive. Its the experience I want at the end of the day - most of us don't have 20/20 vision.

    And yes, you can plug mouses and keyboards into consoles - Half-life on PS2 springs to mind.

    Not bumping off either, at the end of the day, people often game on PC for performance and on console for ease and with friends.

  • Lord_BeeJee #25 1 year ago

    Like some say, not using the latest graphic tricks on pc isnt a game breaker, no use of dx11 isnt the biggest problem. Artificially holding back the complexity, dumbed down ai from what is possible, that is the real problem for pc regarding these console ports.
    For example Crysis vs Crysis 2, compare them both on pc and see how the quite intelligent ai enemies from crysis 1 changed to mindless drones with a couple of tactical options and limited logical pathseeking that they can cycle through.
    But then again, I understand the dev as they would be making 2 different games at the same time. An old style for consoles and an advanced, next gen version for pc.
    /edit cause i can't spell!
    Edited by Lord_BeeJee at 19/04/11 @ 15:29

  • charming_fox #26 1 year ago

    but for £100 you're hardly going see a performance boost over the 360 and PS3 though are you. And @chiangkaishek, I would say your comment was more of a rant than mine and I justify my own 'rant' by having experience of both in gaming terms, I highly doubt you've given consoles the same opportunity as you're clearly a 'PC elitist'.

    At the end of the day, PC games maxed out still don't look THAT much better than the console games, mainly because developers are really good at getting the most out of the consoles and really bad at getting the most out of PCs. TO counter some of your other babble... console games may cost a bit more but at least you can trade or sell them, XBOX live is vastly superior to anything the PC has to offer in terms of online community and functionality etc. and the shear truth of the matter is that the majority of games are made with consoles as lead platforms because that's where the money is.... Cyrsis 2 is a recent example. Concerning my 'aiming skills', I wouldn't mind if you are better than me at any games, it's not really something I wish to find out either as I like to play games with adults.
    Edited by charming_fox at 19/04/11 @ 16:29

  • charming_fox #27 1 year ago

    "And people say the consoles dont stagnate the advancement of graphics...i think they most definitely do."

    They also help tighten up the development of games and force developers to produce fantastic graphics from old hardware, how is that a bad thing? The PC market is tiny, who can blame them for not spending valuable time catering to the smallest audience?

  • Haunted_Tree #28 1 year ago

    We need a good run of PC games that you just can't play on consoles - this generation of games is still looking fine but it's time for the PC to grow wings.

    We need to be looking at the next level of technology now and it's not going to be stymied by current gen console limitations (themselves based on +5 year old processors).

  • Gastrian #29 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • SvennoJ #30 1 year ago

    I hope the hud and menu system for the pc version will be optimized for higher resolution and mouse control. I don't really want to flick through tons of extra pages with big letters suited for 720p at 8ft distance or be limited to a few quick spell/ability slots instead of an interface like WoW.
    Hopefully the debug console will be available again, had loads of fun spawning hundreds of wooden shields and skulls in thin air and watch them tumbling down a mountain side. Or fill up a room with a 3ft pile of stuff and blast a fireball at it.

  • intpleeus #31 1 year ago

    The fact is that 90 percent of Bethesda's audience is on the console, according to Todd Howard. Bethesda has to concentrate on making the console release the very best it can possibly be, and that means artists, programmers, and designers should not be spending a lot of time on PC exclusive content and alterations. Like it or not, The Elder Scrolls is now a console franchise. I suspect Bethesda will actually lavish slightly more care and attention on the PC version than is financially prudent, since most of its employees are bias towards the PC.

  • Zaiz #32 1 year ago

    Most UI problems will be fixed by modders, then a pile of people will try reworking economy. The basic dumbing down of economic elements comes from the simple fact that most people who play the games do not use advanced economies meaning it is a waste of time for the dev to put that much work in.

    oh and fancy graphical things from DX 11, couldn't care less about. Gimme 60 frames a second, a decent resolution and some AA any day. ...and will they finally fix that goddamn error related to autosave? Its been in their past -three- games.

    edit: for those of you who don't know, turn off autosave while playing one of their games(this works on the PC) and watch crashes drop dramatically. Just remember to save a ton otherwise.
    Edited by Zaiz at 19/04/11 @ 20:45

  • intpleeus #33 1 year ago

    I actually enjoy the way that developers continue to push existing hardware. The Playstation 2 was particularly good for this. The last batch of big releases looked incredible considering the hardware, and especially when compared to the earliest releases. One could be forgiven for believing the games belonged to different generations of console hardware. One of the side beneficiaries of this drive for efficiency are owners of low spec PCs.

  • TackyCheeba #34 1 year ago

    @charming_fox .."The PC market is tiny",

    Maybe you should research that statement, including steam and D2D commerce.
    Edited by TackyCheeba at 19/04/11 @ 23:01

  • charming_fox #35 1 year ago

    ok, sorry, the PC market is tiny compared to the cnosole market.

  • Psihomodo #36 1 year ago

    "All three versions of fantasy role-playing game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim look the same, creator Bethesda has insisted. "

    How is that a justification for the PC version looking dated? Who said all the versions have to be the same on 3 different systems? Nobody wanted his PC version to be less good. So just another BS session to deter from the fact they made a console Elder scrolls. Maybe they'll put "Press Start to Begin" on the first screen...

  • jon2000 #37 1 year ago

    The fact is only 10% of people that buy the game will be buying it for PC, weather its comfier or any of that is all just a matter of oppinion, but the devs won't make big changes to a game just to support that 10% of the community.. Just sayin'.

  • knowurrootsbethesda #38 7 months ago

    Todd Howard, you annoying PR prick. Just reminding you that you would be sweeping floors at McDonalds if it wasn't for the PC.

    I'd like to remind you of a game your company made called "Elder Scrolls: Arena" in 1994. Bethesda would not exist without the PC and they should be grateful for the people who made them anything more than D&D losers in their basement drawing dragons.

    This coming from a person who has bought every Elder Scrolls Game and has been a fan since I got Daggerfall at 12. Fuck you bethesda and all of you sellout companies.

    -Epic (RIP 1991-2008)
    -Infinity Ward (RIP 2003-2009)
    -Crytek (RIP 1999-2011)
    -Id (RIP 1991-2011)
    -Irrational (RIP 1997-2010)
    -Square Enix (RIP 2003-2008)
    -Rockstar (RIP 1998-2007)

    More every year.
    Edited by knowurrootsbethesda at 19/10/11 @ 06:19