Skyrim update 1.4 detailed in full

By Fred Dutton Published 19 January, 2012

PS3 lag fix incoming, PC Creation Kit also due.

Bethesda has detailed what players can expect from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim update 1.4, due out on all platforms soon.

The headline feature is of course a fix for the lag issues that have affected many PlayStation 3 gamers.

However, there's a long list of other trouble spots which the patch aims to address.

The full changelog, as seen on the Bethesda Blog, follows below.

A firm release date for the patch has not yet been set. "We're hoping to finalise this next week, and submit it to the console manufacturers for certification, as well as release on PC," read the post.

In addition, Bethesda confirmed that the promised Creation Kit and Steam Workshop PC content is nearly ready and should launch before the end of the month.

New features

  • Skyrim launcher support for Steam Workshop (PC)

Bug fixes

  • General optimizations for memory and performance
  • Fixed occasional issue with armor and clothing not displaying properly when placed on mannequin's in player's house. (PS3)
  • Improved compiler optimization settings (PC)
  • Long term play optimizations for memory and performance (PS3)
  • Memory optimizations related to scripting
  • Fixed crashes related to pathing and AI
  • Fixed crash in Haemar's Shame if player had already completed "A Daedra's Best Friend"
  • Fixed rare crash with loading saved games
  • Fixed issue with accented characters not displaying properly at the end of a line
  • Master Criminal achievement/trophy unlocks properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian
  • Fixed issue where dragon priest masks would not render correctly
  • Fixed issue where quests would incorrectly progress after reloading a save
  • Fixed issues with placing and removing books from bookshelves in the player's home
  • Fixed issue where weapon racks and plaques would not work correctly in player's house if player immediately visits their house before purchasing any furnishing.
  • Fixed issue where the player house in Windhelm would not clean up properly
  • Fixed crash related to giant attacks and absorb spells
  • Fixed issue with ash piles not cleaning up properly
  • Fixed occasional issue where overwriting an existing save would fail
  • Fixed memory crash with container menu
  • Fixed infinite loop with bookshelves
  • Fixed issue where traps in Shalidor's Maze would not work properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian versions
  • Fixed issue where transforming back to human from werewolf would occasionally not fail
  • Bows and daggers will display properly when placed on weapon racks

Quest fixes

  • The Unusual Gem inside the Thalmor Embassy is now accessible after finishing "Diplomatic Immunity"
  • In "Breaching Security", the quest token is no longer required to receive a fortune reading from Olava the Feeble
  • Fixed issue where Galmar would not complete Joining the Stormcloaks properly if "Season Unending" was an active quest
  • Fixed issue where starting "Season Unending" after finishing "Joining the Stormcloaks" would prevent "The Jagged Crown" from starting properly.
  • Fixed issue progressing through "Message to Whiterun" while "Season Unending" was still open would block progression for both quests.
  • In "Arniel's Endeavor", fixed issue where a quest journal would trigger multiple times
  • In "Forbidden Legend", the amulet fragment can no longer disappear after player leaves a dungeon without taking it
  • Fixed rare issue in "Forbidden Legend" where killing Mikrul Gauldurson while sneaking would make his corpose unaccessible
  • In "The White Phial", the phial can no longer disappear if player leaves dungeon without taking it
  • "The White Phial" will now start properly if player already has a briar heart in their inventory
  • Player can no longer get stuck in Misty Grove after completing "A Night to Remember"
  • Fixed issue where leaving Riften during "A Chance Arrangement" would prevent quest from progressing
  • In "Darkness Returns", a door in Twilight Sepulcher will properly open if the player leaves the dungeon for an extended period of time before completing the quest
  • In "Under New Management", if the player leaves the Oculory for an extended period of time after placing the focusing crystal and returns, the quest will proceed correctly
  • "Onmund's Request" will now start properly if player has already found Enthir's staff before receiving this quest
  • Fixed instance where Tonilia would stop buying stolen items and also would not give Guild Leader Armor
  • "Repairing the Phial" will start properly if player already has unmelting snow or mammoth tusk in their inventory
  • Finding Pantea's Flute before speaking with Pantea no longer prevents her quest from updating
  • In "The Coming of the Dawn", fixed rare instance where a quest object would spawn incorrectly on the Katariah during Hail Sithis
  • Fixed rare issue in "The Mind of Madness" where player is unable to equip the Wabbajack
  • Fixed issue in "Pieces of the Past" where Mehrunes Dagon's Razor will not trigger properly if player leaves the cell for extended period of time before activating it
  • "Blood's Honor" will start properly if you visited and completed Driftshade and an extended period of time passes before starting the quest.
  • Fixed rare issue where "Dampened Spirits" would not start properly
  • Fixed issue where player would be unable to become Thane of Riften if they purchased a home first
  • Fixed issue where killing guards in Cidhna Mine woud block progression for "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine"
  • Fixed numerous issues with "Blood on the Ice" not triggering properly
  • In "Blood on the Ice", Calixto can now be killed if player owns a house in Windhelm
  • In "The Cure for Madness", killing Cicero then resurrecting him no longer impedes quest progress
  • Fixed rare issue in "To Kill an Empire" where an NPC would fail to die properly
  • Clearing Knifepoint Ridge before starting "Boethiah's Champion" no longer prevents quest from starting.
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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (80) Latest comment 4 months ago

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  • ResidentKnievel #1 4 months ago

    Wooo, a lot of those bugs are familiar to me, it's going to make Skyrim fun, again.

  • Darren #2 4 months ago

    * Improved compiler optimization settings (PC)

    About time. All those threads about how embarrassing Bethesda's coding was must have done some good then as did the Large Address Aware ones before it but it's good to know that we won't need to use the experimental (though very stable in my case) TESVAL.dll or SkyBoost tweaks anymore.

    It does make me question Bethesda's quality control though when user complaints are noted and user-mods integrated into the game to offer substantial improvements to the framerate and overall performance. Don't misunderstand me, that is definitely good, but why weren't they implemented from the start? Don't the developers test their own games???
    Edited by Darren at 19/01/12 @ 20:06

  • Zaiz #3 4 months ago

    Fixed issue where killing guards in Cidhna Mine woud block progression for "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine"

    ...I'm happy I never got that one, holy shit.

    @Darren:

    Short answer: they tried. It runs much better than Oblivion did with more fancy effects. Unfortunately, they still had tons of problems, which is inherent to games this big. Coders are busy making sure every ounce of the gameworld works before optimizing it, and there's a lot of game in Skyrim. Other open world games like this have just as many glitches if they have near as much complexity. RDR(one of my favorite games of this gen) comes to mind.
    Edited by Zaiz at 19/01/12 @ 20:07

  • papizdano #4 4 months ago

    cant wait for the DLC

  • Cadence #5 4 months ago

    Be interesting to hear from PS3 users how well this fixes the horrendous lag problems.

  • White_Westie #6 4 months ago

    Good that they are supporting the game. Im not surprised so many bugsdue to the sheer size of thd game, which is incredible

    Perhaps if it was kept a month longer, the beta testers would have found some of these.

    Never mind though, im lucky not to have found any of these...

  • CholeriKen #7 4 months ago

    With Autosave turned off, the game runs smoothly for me. Alse, never had any quest bugs for now. But with autsave on, game became unplayable after an hour or so.
    Still, I am happy to be able to keep putting more hours into my game when my save file exeeds 8 MB.

  • Samirnasirov #8 4 months ago

    Finally, quest fixes!

  • wattsn26 #9 4 months ago

    How about Bethesda leads on PS3 for its next game so this isn't an issue?

    They touted throughout Skyrim's development cycle how few discs the 360 version had, they demoed the game exclusively on the 360, and then they announced DLC arriving early on the 360. Its clear they favor the 360 and I'm sure that is the main reason why there are so many problems with the PS3 version.

    I own the 360 version and have had no problems whatsoever. I would be extremely happy if Fallout 4 or whatever else they decide to release works just as well for PS3, I love playing on PC, 360 and PS3, and I would gladly buy their next game for PS3 but I would also like to play it without any gamebreaking glitches.

    Consider leading on the PS3 please...

  • jellyBelly #10 4 months ago

    @Zaiz This is not true. Refactoring code should be a continuous process. If you optimize your code after its all written then the design debt you might have accrued is so huge that your code is fragile and any optimization might break it. You need to constantly be updating your code as you write it and looking to remove code duplication, performance optimization with different data structures/patterns etc. The classic analogy is credit card debt. You dont wait to pay your debt of in a huge chunk down the line but continue to chip away at it monthly. Thats what the theory says anyway, boses might disagree..

  • eviroboy #11 4 months ago

    They missed out the bit that says it requires a fresh save (usually the case with these things)....I'm holding out starting this game until all the bugs are ironed out, although saying that it does seem very hit and miss that people even experience ANY bugs.

  • cloudskipa #12 4 months ago

    @White_Westie We are the beta testers. On a game this scale I suppose that is something that we just have to deal with. I'm fine with it so long as they address the important issues like lag and continue to support the game by fixing bugs and tweaking it to make it even better.

  • CaptainQuint #13 4 months ago

    No fix for completed dungeons not showing as "cleared"?

  • dadrester #14 4 months ago

    gah. no fix for the winterhold college questline being broken :(

    Still some of the other bugs have effected me (not least the PS3 lag one)

  • Subdominator #15 4 months ago

    @CaptainQuint That only happens when there is still a quest connected to that dungeon.

  • Lord_Gremlin #16 4 months ago

    Well, to be honest if they will ever fix it on PS3 completely, I will buy it. PC is out of question for me, I get tired of it at work and never spend more than roughly 5 hours in any PC game.
    But given all the news it will take a month or two of constant feedback about PS3 version being fixed completely all over the internet before I'll consider buying it.
    Well, if this ever happens the thing will be also cheap, which is a plus.

  • xYOSSARIANx #17 4 months ago

    Nothing there about companions auto equipping their default bows if you give them anything better than iron arrows. I do wonder if that's deliberate for balance though.

    Or their start inventory duping itself every time you re-hire them, leading to them not being able carry anything after a while.

    Shame, these were the only 2 annoying bugs I'd really come across in 200 hours so far.

    I have to say I'm loving Skyrim, it's a shame to see Bethesda get bashed, when you compare the sheer amount of content they give us, the worlds they create for us. To see some comments on the official forum you'd think this was the worst game EVAR!! I do feel for those whose quests had glitched though, that would be annoying.

    I'd rather a buggy 200 hour + Beth rpg than any 6 hour corridor game.
    Edited by xYOSSARIANx at 19/01/12 @ 21:10

  • Slamhound #18 4 months ago

    @Subdominator There's at least one occurrence (In My Time Of Need) where you can't clear a dungeon if you choose the non-murdering option.

    Of course, murder is fun.

  • Golgo #19 4 months ago

    Great! Been holding back for this patch. Now just need to find the cheapest deal for PS3! Any ideas, bargain hunters?

  • Daddy-Doom-Bar #20 4 months ago

    Another three weeks is too long, I'm afraid. Time to sell up and move on, me thinks.

  • lexxx #21 4 months ago

    really intrigued to see if the lag issues will actually be sorted - some commentators suggested the engine on PS3 was faulty, and couldn't be patched, so i will continue to wait and see.

  • 32768Colours #22 4 months ago

    Still haven't bothered playing this since well before Christmas. I've only ever had the HDD texture issue which was of course fixed by running from the disc. Aside from that, its been plain sailing.

    That said, given the amount of time I intend to invest in this game I'm happy to wait it out until the game is patched up to a more acceptable standard.

    I certainly hope Bethesda have taken note of all the criticism levelled at them (although the 10/10 scores and massive sales figures probably obscure it somewhat). Bethesda's open world games are easily amongst my favourite games of all time, so it'd be nice if they were a little more polished at launch.

    Like most people I'm willing to cut them some slack given the size of their games; I certainly don't expect there to be no bugs at all. But fundamentals like game save stability and memory optimisation really should be sorted before launch, not over 2 months after release.

  • Elven_Star #23 4 months ago

    I just noticed something weird. According to my save file, I have played for 5h 57m but my Game Time Tracker which I have tried with several other games and works fine, says I have played for 4h 36m. Either the game's timer is not working properly or something like the alt-tab function is bugged. It's no major issue, of course. It's just weird.

  • Dubya #24 4 months ago

    Now THAT's a patch!
    I was kind of hoping they would fix companions blocking doorways, but oh well...

  • Dubya #25 4 months ago

    @Daddy-Doom-Bar Yeah you do that! Good riddens.

  • moggsy #26 4 months ago

    That's way too many bugs for a retail release. Remember that people who do not have their consoles hooked up to the internet will be stuck with all of these bugs. An unacceptable situation.

  • Neil__ #27 4 months ago

    @Dubya
    It's 'riddance' dumbass.

  • Findus #28 4 months ago

    Are you watching Codemasters this is what you call post release support.

  • jimr9999us #29 4 months ago

    There are diminishing returns when it comes to bug fixing a game. An open world game like Skyrim...2 more years of polish, 3? to find the bugs the community has found since release...

    I don't mind participating in polishing a Skyrim. Conversely, I'm waiting until the GotY edition of Fallout:LV.

    It's Bethesda, not Blizz. We know what we're getting when we pay admission. I was completely blown away by Skyrim and will happily wade through as many updates as it takes to give me a virtual dragon slaying playground like no one has ever done before.

  • DrStrangelove #30 4 months ago

    And that's only the first page of the bugfix list (skyrim14_fixes.doc, 322.4MB).

    Would be nice if it added disabling vsync on PC without having to edit cfg files. I think so much common sense should be mandatory.

  • 43n1m4 #31 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 10:03:54 20-01-2012

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #32 4 months ago

    At last, quest fixes!

    "Fixed issue where player would be unable to become Thane of Riften if they purchased a home first"

    Woohoo.

  • Charlie_Miso #33 4 months ago

    No Greybreads quest fix that stopped me from being able to complete the main quest?

    Well, glad I dint hold onto my copy then.

  • Trigg3rHippie #34 4 months ago

    I'm playing on PC and I am 150hrs in and not encountered a single game ruining bug. I can consider myself VERY lucky. Apart from the times when I messed up the game with the console:)

  • ilmaestro #35 4 months ago

    Time to go back to playing some Skyrim, methinks.

  • digitalash #36 4 months ago

    Sounds great. I can't wait till I can buy the finished version for a tenner.

  • drSchiwago #37 4 months ago

    To be honest, the first batch of quest fixes (correct me if I'm wrong) 9 weeks after release is REALLY unimpressive. Compared to the user maintained collection of bugs, this fixes only a small fraction of all quest-related issues, but it's a start.

    It's save to assume that a new game is necessary to benefit from these quest fixes, depending on the current game state.

    I invested a huge amount of time in this game, but it gave me a lot of unpleasant experiences during that period.

    According to many reviewers and players alike, this game is the best what computer gaming has to offer; if that's true, I probably have to reconsider my favorite hobby.

    My current frustration revolves around how the guards deal with high profile assassinations-> pay 1000 Gold and walk away. It's like holiday discounts for assassins

  • LR100 #38 4 months ago

    "Fixed numerous issues with "Blood on the Ice" not triggering properly" HUZZAH!

  • JHo #39 4 months ago

    @myms1ps3

    I know you've been very vocal about the 's issues with Skyrim and rightly so. But to state that you just today decided to trade in ALL of your Bethesda games seems rather suspect, no offense intended. This "Rimlag" issue has been a major issue for the better part of two months and on the day we hear that the issue may actually be soon resolved you decided to trade it in?

    I'm sure that the developers and and all your peers are well aware of your indignation if they have followed your comments. But this seems to me to be "conveniently timed consumer terrorism."

    I know that sounds ridiculous but I've had a couple of Canadian beers and I think everyone understands what I'm getting at.

    If in fact the new update fixes the PS3's lag issues I hope you can resist the urge, on principle, to buy the game again. You did purchase it originally because you wanted to play it, correct?

    To each their own.
    Edited by JHo at 20/01/12 @ 05:21

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #40 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • BlackAdam #41 4 months ago

    That's one buggy game Bethesda.

  • menschenfracht #42 4 months ago

    @JHo
    >> This "Rimlag" issue has been a major issue for the better part of two months

    Two months? Fallout 3 GOTY is nearly unplayable if you are trying to do all the DLCs in a single walkthrough. My last day with the game resulted in nearly 15 heavy freezes

  • Bulbatron #43 4 months ago

    I was hoping the problem where 'A Cornered Rat' wouldn't activate (thus blocking progress through the main quest) would be fixed. Oh well, maybe next time...

    And yes, I know I used the word 'problem' but that's the word we used to use instead of 'issue'.

  • penhalion #44 4 months ago

    It's that list of quest fixes that get's me. This game just feels totally un quality controlled. Such crap (I'm talking about quality of code) shouldn't ever have left the door of a company that claims to call itself AAA.

  • ZizouFC #45 4 months ago

    I needed a fix for the Forsworn Conspiracy!

  • Vixremento #46 4 months ago

    Amen to all of the quest fixes - not sure if they've covered all of the ones I had problems with but quite a few of them are included in that list. I may soon be ready to try play it again now after nearly two months of not having touched it.

  • Murton #47 4 months ago

    Will EG be doing a test to see if Bethesda are being truthful about a fix this time?

    I'm anticipating that by the end of the next week there'll be a shitstorm on Skyrim's official forums when it is discovered that the PS3 version is still dropping frames and crashing the console with alarming frequency.

  • justsomeone #48 4 months ago

    well, it's not too little, but it *is* much too late. i managed to buy the game a week after release, play all the way through much of the content including a great many sidequests, complete it, put it away for a while, then get it together to sell it on ebay.

    i'm a slouch, and yet i managed all that well before the devs patched one of the bigger game-breaking bugs.

    i have to say, i find it a little insulting that it's taken them this long. only a little tho - i enjoyed what i played.

    however, i'll never again buy another bethesda release early - definitely not.

  • Darren #49 4 months ago

    @LR100 - I missed that quest and used the command console to legitimately buy the house in Windhelm for 12,000 Septims. I wish I'd waited now but I was getting fed up of my Journal being full of completed quests that hadn't cleared so decided to try to fix them myself.

    That list of quest bug fixes though does highligh the inadequate testing done by Bethesda. I still think the game should have been delayed six months for further polish and bug fixing. If they'd done that then the serious issues that existed in all three versions of the game would likely have been addressed along with a good number (but obviously not all) of the quest glitches. Skyrim is a brilliant game but it was clearly pushed out to meet its 11/11/11 release date with known issues. That's my opinion anyway.

  • paulf #50 4 months ago

    And they wonder why some people wait for the Game Of The Year edition

  • Smoped #51 4 months ago

    From what I've heard, I must have been incredibly lucky, but Skyrim is the first Bethesda game where I haven't encountered a single quest bug. I still haven't bothered finishing New Vegas, none of the updates helped with the messed up quests that had fucked up the game to such an extent I would have to start over from the beginning. One of these days...

  • Zerobob #52 4 months ago

    Luckily I've still got ten or so quests left to do! I could have easily completed it by now, like most people already have.

    Bit late Bethesda, considering you're only finalising and handing the patch over to manufacturers next week, and then it'll be another two weeks wait to get the certification from manufacturers.

  • RicardoG #53 4 months ago

    I recently sold my skyrim copy, I was sick of the crash's that the game caused, I will buy it again when it releases as game of the year with all the updates and DLC.

  • Colin8703 #54 4 months ago

    I have too much to play and finish before I start Skyrim on 360 so when I do, I should be able to play and not worry. I think I'm scared of how much it will suck me in as work colleagues are obsessed and about four of them have clocked over 100 hours.

    On the PS3 side, I had God of War 3 and it kept crashing in the same spot and others had similar issues. I swapped out the stock HD (PS3 Slim 120GB) for a bigger one which I was going to do anyway and have not had the issue since.

    I'm only mentioning it as I thought that maybe that could be a contribution to the lag issue as not all players have had the issue. I could be wrong but putting in a new HD really helped.
    Edited by Colin8703 at 20/01/12 @ 10:30

  • jonfon #55 4 months ago

    Fixes = good. Very frustrating when a quest goes loopy on you. Weirdly I've had a few quest bugs which magicked themselves better after a while. One was stuck at a "give item to person" stage last week, no matter what I did or how many times I reloaded. Last night I wandered past him and he suddenly triggered and the quest continued on.

    Can't wait for the Creation kit though, it's fun rummaging in the games guts.

  • darm #56 4 months ago

    I got my platinum trophy on PS3 this Wednesday, it was 90 hours into the game, 12 MB save file and no serious lag issues. Well, cities and Rift areas with all the trees had notceably lower performance in the later part of the walktrough, and it crashed on me during loading screens 3 or even 5 times, but nothing game-breaking. Worth noting though that I started the game already patched to 1.3

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #57 4 months ago

    Regardless of how big it is, the quest bugs really are inexcusable. The database design is either lacking and/or they didn't bother to write any decent data analysis tools that would flag up quests that would break given certain criteria (like a dead NPC).

    ...I wonder if the Creation Kit will give access to it?

  • optimusprym8 #58 4 months ago

    The only bug I have is I can't speak to Dorian on his boat, just tells me I shouldn't be in there. Not witnessed a single other fault or glitch with 200hrs of gameplay (360)

  • Lionheart #59 4 months ago

    It's out 'soon'. Well that's cleared that up.

  • Machetazo #60 4 months ago

    A lot of those sound familiar. I'm glad they've got it so that Pantea will actually accept her Flute, even though, I'm guessing it still won't vacate the inventory. These patches can affect existing saves, or are the changes only to be activated for new games started after it's installed?

    One other alteration I'd specifically like to see, is for the Khajiit that follows you around Riften to be made less goofy and annoying, actually try to not stand out like a sore thumb, and employ a cunning and stealth that could be imagined would be called upon and expected.
    Edited by Machetazo at 20/01/12 @ 11:37

  • PlugMonkey #61 4 months ago

    "Blood's Honor" will start properly if you visited and completed Driftshade and an extended period of time passes before starting the quest.
    Hallelujah! I hope. Seeing as the actual issue was "Purity of Revenge" not starting properly if you visited and completed Driftshade...

    I'm sure it'll be fine. *crosses fingers*

    And for anyone who ever doubted the number of quest bugs in the game, there's a page and a half of 'em for you!

    Excellent. I might actually be able to get back to playing it again.

    When does this hit?

  • rogermellie #62 4 months ago

    Hadn't found any major issues until last night when I couldn't get a major character to surrender. That's not fixed in this release, but luckily I managed to find a workaround by reloading and fast travelling.

  • Darren #63 4 months ago

    @SpaceMidget75 - "Regardless of how big it is, the quest bugs really are inexcusable."

    I agree with you.

    While some bugs are inevitable (since no game is 100% bug-free anyway), Skyrim seems to get very confused if you visit a location and/or obtain an item that is for a quest that you have yet to start. That is something of a problem for a game that positively encourages you to explore straight after its opening tutorial section.

    I don't remember that glitch occurring in Oblivion at all but then, if I recall, that game was delayed six months for further polishing and bug fixing. They should have done the same with Skyrim and delayed it to Easter 2012. The extra wait would have been frustrating but the game would have had fewer issues for everyone playing it, resulting in a more enjoyable experience all-round. Particularly, for those poor old PS3 owners!
    Edited by Darren at 20/01/12 @ 11:49

  • Lionheart #64 4 months ago

    @PlugMonkey Wasn't the actual issue if you hadn't finished the 'Winterold Helm' quest, then Blood's Honor wouldn't start. Or was that something else?

  • PlugMonkey #65 4 months ago

    @Lionheart

    I'm not sure. There may have been both, and the patch notes aren't really clear on what's fixed. My issue is that, because I've cleared Driftshade, "Blood's Honor" won't end, and "Purity of Revenge" won't start.

    "Blood's Honor" started just fine!

    I'm hoping because they've mentioned my dungeon, they've fixed my bug.

    Or possibly they fixed it on a code level, and ALL quest dungeons get flagged back to "uncleared" when the quest comes up. That would be a sensible fail safe, considering how common an issue it is.

    @ Space_Midget and Darren

    I completely agree with both of you. You're never going to find everything, but checking interfering with quest locations before triggering a quest seems like an astonishingly basic test script to write. It's an obvious variation on the classic "trying to get to a point in the game where I need an item to progress, and I left it behind, and now I can't get back" routine that has been the cornerstone of so much QA work since the dawn of time.

    It's quite embarrassing for Sony and MS that their submissions teams didn't find those sorts of things.

    They're not anything weird and unforseeable. It's a pretty obvious way to break a game.
    Edited by PlugMonkey at 20/01/12 @ 12:12

  • agparrot #66 4 months ago

    @PlugMonkey
    @ Space_Midget and Darren

    I completely agree with both of you. You're never going to find everything, but checking that interfering with quest locations before triggering a quest seems like an astonishingly basic test script to write. It's an obvious variation on the classic "trying to get to a point in the game where I need an item to progress, and I left it behind, and now I can't get back" routine that has been the cornerstone of so much QA work since the dawn of time.
    I think that what was particularly annoying about this element, for me, was how it had already cropped up in previous Bethesda games, especially in New Vegas. There might be some argument to be had about whether the Creation thingy is 'new' compared to Gamebryo, but there were clear, gaping holes in the way that quests are structured in previous games, that resurfaced in Skyrim.

    The most disturbing thing is that I can't see this changing for whatever their next game is. They seem to have developed a mostly functional way of handling the giant number of quests, and are sticking with it, regardless of the fact that checking what things are or can be done in what order is broken in some cases.

  • 32768Colours #67 4 months ago

    @Smoped

    Your post got me thinking. I think your experience is perhaps explains why the reviews were so glowing. If, by some fluke, all reviewers genuinely had a glitch free experience then the 10/10 awards are rather less suspect. Hell, I reckon most gamers would give it 10/10 too. I know I would.

    The problem comes when based on such glowing accolades, the game goes on to sell millions of copies. The sheer number of variables available in such an open-ended game also guarantees that someone - out of millions - will find a permutation that causes conflict.

    I'd say that certain things such as collision issues, memory and database optimisation, save file management: these elements should be robust enough see a player through to 100% completion.

    As for something obscure like - I dunno - opening a random book causing a quest line to lock; those things are perhaps more forgivable given the vastness of options available to the player. That shouldn't preclude them from being fixed however. One of the most annoying things about owning the console versions is the lack of a console to skip past glitches. However even PC owners shouldn't have to do this in the long run, nor should they have to code their own patches (like the Unofficial Morrowind Patch).

    I know they're not obliged to fix every last detail, but given the loyalty of the community and fans, it'd be nice if they made more effort (more quickly) to give us the perfect game the critics imply they are.

    If Bethesda are not willing to plug all the gaps in their games, they should scale back the scope and provide a tighter experience. I'd happily concede a two dozen fetch quests to enjoy a more stable game.

  • MisterJimothy #68 4 months ago

    Nothing for the glitch in "House of Horrors" quest? I went in the house and was met with a sepia tone and earthquake scale booms and a crazily vibrating joypad.

    When I thought I had gotten around the glitch and the booming stopped, it locked me in the house :(

    I hadn't saved in a while (my own fault I know, I know) so have to re-do over an hour of play.

    Am not impressed at the mo - I only popped in there to have a nose...lol

  • fragglerocks #69 4 months ago

    - Fixed numerous issues with "Blood on the Ice" not triggering properly
    Yey this one is broken for me
    - Fixed issue where dragon priest masks would not render correctly
    Good this is just creepy

  • Lionheart #70 4 months ago

    @PlugMonkey Ahh, looks like me and you are stuck on either side of the same quest. Fingers crossed it fixes it for both of us. Good luck mate!

  • Gimpy_Wonderland #71 4 months ago

    A lot of these are excellent fixes for problems I've encountered, but...why fix Pantea's Flute and NOT Rjorn's Drum!?

  • FladgeMangle #72 4 months ago

    @MisterJimothy

    I don't think that's a bug. You have to descend to the lowest level of the basement and find a rusted mace (and get given a quest) in order to escape the house.

    Admittedly, it's pretty hard to find among all the clutter.

  • Wot_the_Melon #73 4 months ago

    @Zaiz Please, not the 'it's such a big game' argument. So many things have been fixed or improved my users, some of whom didn't have any experience with programming or modding. If bethesda had put ~5 programmers for a couple of weeks on basic things such as QA or performance improvements, there would have been a lot less to complain about. PS3 lag/PC lack of optimization/some very simple mistakes in the game are all practically unmissable if you do just a tad of QA.

  • Hieronymus #74 4 months ago

    Nothing fixed that is ruining my game, bummer. Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer to finish the game in full

  • jogyourmind #75 4 months ago

    Coooooool bro man dude. At this rate, it should be almost playable by the time ES6 is out.

  • PlugMonkey #76 4 months ago

    Also, by "Skyrim update 1.4", do we mean "Skyrim Update 2.02", which is what my PS3 is calling it?

  • peppergomez #77 4 months ago

    Bethesda needs to administer a patch to itself, one that prevents it from releasing broken games
    Edited by peppergomez at 20/01/12 @ 21:56

  • PlugMonkey #78 4 months ago

    So, my bug is actually the "Mourning Forever" bug, caused by me visiting the dungeon before it sends me there.

    It's not fixed, but I've bitten the bullet and executed the work around by spending 15 minutes waiting for 32 days.

    I really cannot believe how inept this is. No competent designer should have designed it this way, no competent QA department could miss it, and if it was found, no competent producer would sign it off.

    For this bug to get into the game, at least two departments at Bethesda have been utterly incompetent.

    If you don't want me to go in the dungeon until the quest has started, you lock it, and you give me the item to unlock it when the quest begins. This convention must be 30 years old by now, and is used on the very next quest in the quest line. It's kindergarten stuff.

  • KingFunkIII #79 4 months ago

    Fixed issue where transforming back to human from werewolf would occasionally not fail
    So now it fails every time, right? Or am I missing something...?

  • toa_boa #80 4 months ago

    Long term play optimizations for memory and performance (PS3)
    Interesting!