Texture problems hit Xbox 360 Skyrim

By Richard Leadbetter Published 13 November, 2011

Don't install it to your hard drive.

Digital Foundry's Skyrim Face-Off is currently in production, and we've spent some time getting to the bottom of the texture streaming problem that's currently being reported and discussed in the wake of a fairly damning YouTube video published at the end of last week.

The issue only seems to manifest if you have the Xbox 360 version of Skyrim installed to the hard drive - a process that is entirely optional. In this case, the highest resolution versions of the textures appear to stall and not load, meaning that you're definitely not seeing the game at its best. If you remove the install, and run the game directly from the DVD, the best quality artwork returns to the game.

Here's a quick comparison of the issue as we see it. In the first picture, we see the game running from the hard disc. In the second, we delete the install data and run it directly from the DVD - viola, full resolution textures. Next up, we try installing it again to ensure that it's not a one-off problem, but as you can see the lower quality textures are back.

In the final shot, we show off the exact same scene running on the PlayStation 3 version of the game - which operates with a 4376MB mandatory hard disc install (the 360 version is 3.8GB in total when copied over to the HDD). In this situation, the game appears to be running quite correctly, with the highest quality artwork streamed in.

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Here's the texture bug in full effect with the game installed, then see it resolved with the game uninstalled. Re-installing causes the issue to return, and we see no problems at all with the PS3 version. Click on the thumbnails for full 720p shots.

Typically, an alternative install solution for Xbox 360 owners is to copy the game over onto a USB flash drive. Bethesda talks about the game extensively using the HDD's cache, so we thought that there was an outside possibility that this could be a bandwidth issue - an HDD install accessing the HDD cache, actually leading to a lowering of response time. This is something we've previously seen with Halo 3, which actually loads faster installed to a USB device.

Unfortunately, in our testing the USB install was ignored completely with the game relying on the disc and hard drive instead. Only when we removed the HDD totally was the USB install utilised - and that crashed within 15 minutes of play time. Perhaps that's something that should be investigated when the game is inevitably patched, in addition to sorting out the headline bug.

Bethesda staff initially denied that there was an issue, with VP or Marketing and PR Peter Hines tweeting to a customer, "I don't know what texture glitches you are talking about. Game runs same off disc vs. HDD. We don't see any differences."

However, the official forum was later updated with this post:

"Skyrim uses a lot of dynamic streaming systems, including textures. We've seen a few reports of certain textures temporarily scaling down on the Xbox 360, and not scaling back up. We have verified that this issue does not occur when playing off the disk and when the game is fully cached (not installed).

"Skyrim makes heavy use of the Xbox 360 caching system, and caches over the normal course of play while in menus or interiors. This cache can be wiped when other games are played or when the user manually removes it. We're working on a solution in the next title update for those who have installed the game."

We hope to have completed our analysis of Skyrim shortly and aim to publish our article on Tuesday. In the meanwhile, here's a Skyrim PC/Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 comparison gallery to pore over.

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (162) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • paul_haine #1 6 months ago

    "If you remove the install, and run the game directly from the DVD, the best quality artwork returns to the game."

    I'll sacrifice a bit of visual fidelity for not having the sound of a hovercraft in my front room, I think.

  • metallicorphan #2 6 months ago

    I had already installed it when i first heard about this,so i looked at the graphics(mainly my characters hands and foliage),and then i deleted the game from my HDD,and started it up again

    couldn't tell any difference to be honest,and the loading times were longer and my 360 was loud,so i just ended up installing the game again

    great game

  • Cjail #3 6 months ago

    "Digital Foundry's Skyrim Face-Off is currently in production..."

    Why so often the Xbox is the only console that features an optional installation?
    So many times the PS3 versions of multi-platform games suffers of "lower performances" in comparison to the XBOX counterpart for the lack of this option, so I ask DF: what is the reason for this "biased" approach?
    Why it can't be done on PS3, and why the memory capabilities of the Blu-ray are never fully exploited?

    EDIT
    I got a lot of "thumbs down" for this post buy mine was just a simple question: really I had no intention to offend Xbox, Bethesda or anyone. :(
    I apologize if my post was interpreted this way but there is not hate or fanboyism here...just curiosity.
    Edited by Cjail at 13/11/11 @ 15:03

  • Gun-Nut #4 6 months ago

    I always install games straight to HDD so I don't have to put up with the noise and load times tend to be faster even after hearing about this I refused to uninstall the game and after seeing the images I still do! I don't feel its a majorly huge difference that I'm going to notice and its getting fixed in a update.

  • Adamical #5 6 months ago

    It's not that big a deal to me, to be honest. Like everyone else, I prefer a quiet console.

    I still think it looks marvelous, anyway.

  • asphaltcowboy #6 6 months ago

    It's a really big difference quality-wise. Fortunately I have a nice quiet 360 S, so it's not an issue to keep it uninstalled until they patch. Fantastic game! Sooo good!

  • asho #7 6 months ago

    you dont see the difference until you look close and by god BIG difference. Im running from the dvd now and its one of those quieter discs thankfully.

  • vizzini #8 6 months ago

    @metallicorphan

    Given that the guy in the video suggested his hard disk was very full, I think it could be a combination of things, filesystem choice by Microsoft, as they tend to fragment, and defrag offline, rather than defrag on the fly(Unix, Linux, ps3, Mac) compounded by different hard disk performance (affect by drive age), and disk drive specification. Does a new used drive accessory bought new from MS have this problem?

    Another thing that isn't being considered, is whether it is fair test. Are all other assets to the same quality when comparing DVD, versus hard disk (in the background)? If not, then the conclusion is some what debatable.

    Personally, I think this nit picking aspect of DF analysis; like talking about controller response in the MW3 v BF3 faceoff is very counter productive to freeing game developers to make the right choices themselves. Just like the way he said QAA was bad, speaking on behalf of all gamers without consent.

    The difference in the youtube video is trivial at best, and might be a fair trade-off at other times in development. I assume this isn't the camera view people play most of the game in? Or when in that view, do they have time to look at the hand? or are they involved in combat drawn in the background?
    Edited by vizzini at 13/11/11 @ 12:43

  • MrE26 #9 6 months ago

    Yeah, I've ran it from disc & I'm having no sounds from the drive at all. It's pretty much silent for me, & that's on an old style arcade 360.

  • Markusdragon #10 6 months ago

    I honestly could not care less; I'm having far too much fun to start worrying about visual fidelity.

  • DBLue #11 6 months ago

    @Cjail The optional installation of Xbox games is a system feature and the console basically dumps a like-for-like image of the disc to the hard drive. It can be done to every game because it's a simple process that doesn't require specific install routines.

    The PS3, on the other hand, lets the software decide what files should be installed, if at all, and it's up to developers to choose what aproach to follow. There are some games which let you choose whether to install or run off-disc, but not many.

    By the way, the lack of an install option on the PS3 version of multiplat games is the least of the reasons for its inferior performance - most of them actually DEMAND an installation anyway, so it's a complete non-issue.
    Edited by DBLue at 13/11/11 @ 22:14

  • lucky_jim #12 6 months ago

    I'm glad I got the PS3 version now, something I don't normally do with multi-platform releases (I generally prefer the 360 controller, but that's more of issue for something like Batman AC than for a more gently-paced game like Skyrim). Looking forward to the face-off, but is it possible to have these things published on the day the game's released? Obviously I don't really know how DF work, so what I'm suggesting might be utter insanity, but I think it's a shame I had to rely on sources which I have less faith in to advise my decision, rather than just coming here for the DF low-down (yes, I'm far too impatient to wait!)

  • NHDavid #13 6 months ago

    "If you remove the install, and run the game directly from the DVD, the best quality artwork returns to the game."

    I'll sacrifice a bit of visual fidelity for not having the sound of a hovercraft in my front room, I think.

    My hovercraft is full of eels

  • [maven] #14 6 months ago

    @Cjail
    Because for the 360, the hard-disk installation is an OS-level feature (i.e. the individual game doesn't have to worry about it, it's simply a copy of the disk-image on the hard-drive).

    I do think a non-negligible reason for this feature to become available was all the noise complaints about the DVD drive...

  • technicianTed #15 6 months ago

    I did read on the official skyrim forums some posts from people complaining the ps3 version starts to do the same thing later in the game as well.

    I haven't got either version so i can't test it, but it sounds like both console versions need patching.
    Edited by technicianTed at 13/11/11 @ 13:14

  • Dizzy #16 6 months ago

    Ok good to know... guess a patch free Elder Scrolls game is not possible :)

  • onyxbox #17 6 months ago

    Seems strange that this article and observation wasn't just part of the face off.. why isn't this discused as part of the comparison?

    I can understand this is useful info for 360 owners but the opening 'don't install it' line would suffice as a bit of info until the face off.

    If I was suspicios I would think that by discussing the issue here it can be omitted from the face-Off discussion or dismissed as a strange bug that won't effect most users if they don't install the game.

    I don't know... seems strange, I get the feeling the PS3 version would not receive this attention. Heck I couldn't even find any mention, review, media or screenshot of this game on PS3 before launch!
    Edited by onyxbox at 13/11/11 @ 13:25

  • photoboy #18 6 months ago

    Is writing "viola" instead of voila some sort of Internet meme or something? It's just I see it so often I just wonder if it's deliberate.

  • JHo #19 6 months ago

    This really upsets me. There is quite a difference in the quality of the graphics depending on whether you install or not. A large portion of detail is lost in the textures when installed to the hard-drive. It is especially noticeable when outdoors. But I can't enjoy the game as much when it sounds like my Xbox is attempting to lift-off. I've had two previous consoles where they died due to the DVD drive failing so I ALWAYS install my games ever since the option became available. Will my Xbox survive until the patch? Will the patch fix one thing but bugger up something else? How is it a game gets released after all the playtesting and within 24 hours of release the whole gaming community notices such a problem?
    And Bethesda initially claims there isn't a texture problem?

    What a shame really.Those of you who say "who cares, I'm having too much fun to notice" are welcome to that rosy opinion. But it doesn't change the fact that once again a major developer has released a "AAA" title that is broken at a fundamental level. Those of us who have invested in high definition televisions so we can enjoy the best level of visual quality shouldn't have to wait for developers to get their proverbial shit together. I naively booked a week off work to enjoy Skyrim believing that with the inevitable day-one patch I could play the game worry free. Now I can either play the game with graphics that are inferior to Oblivion, or listen to the 360 spin itself into oblivion.

    Nice.

  • des #20 6 months ago

    Bethesda released broken game?No way...

    They will probably break it even more with their patches.
    Edited by des at 13/11/11 @ 13:38

  • Laserbrain #21 6 months ago

    Could be worse, you could have it on PC, and have it crash every couple of hours ho-hum.
    Edited by Laserbrain at 13/11/11 @ 13:43

  • braydee89 #22 6 months ago

    I've actually been experiencing game crashes since my install too. I had 3 yesterday afternoon, but no crashes whilst playing with it uninstalled on the first day.

  • JHo #23 6 months ago

    Oh yeah, one more thing that pisses me off. Read this paragraph from Bethesda again closely.

    "Skyrim uses a lot of dynamic streaming systems, including textures. We've seen a few reports of certain textures temporarily scaling down on the Xbox 360, and not scaling back up. We have verified that this issue does not occur when playing off the disk and when the game is fully cached (not installed).

    Sooo, the textures temporarily scale down? Then don't scale back up. But it's only temporary? Like, temporary until you reboot the game Bethesda?

    What a bunch of corporate wanking horseshit.

  • Dizzy #24 6 months ago

    Could be worse, you could have it on PC, and have it crash every couple of hours ho-hum.
    True... my PC copy is not very stable. I think I will get it on 360 for now.
    Edited by Dizzy at 13/11/11 @ 13:48

  • Kaonazhie #25 6 months ago

    This is another reason why I never buy Bethesda games at launch. I think it's wise to always wait at least for the first patch.

    Or in New Vegas' case, the 82,7346th.

  • djronz. #26 6 months ago

    Dont see much difference myself, 99% of the things these df articles are picking on are trival aspects to say the least.

  • DSman59 #27 6 months ago

    It's "voila" not "viola".

  • kirankara #28 6 months ago

    @DBLue

    What you say is true, but these mandatory installs are usually only partial , and there's little doubt, there's a few games that would benefit on part from a full installs, like what is available on 360.
    I'm intrigued as to why Sony refuses to allow full installation like is available to 360 users. Rage would have benefited from a full install for example, rather than partial instal it got

  • cloudskipa #29 6 months ago

    At last it is confirmed. Thank you! The more people know the better, I'm still playing it off disk but I really want to play from HDD. Please Bethesda, hurry up with a fix for this.

  • Cjail #30 6 months ago

    kirankara: "I'm intrigued as to why Sony refuses to allow full installation like is available to 360 users."

    That is my wish too!
    In my previous post I just wanted to know more about this; I really didn't want to offend anyone: simply I don't understand why full installation can't be done on PS3.
    Also DF clearly pointed out that that no full install is something that "penalize" PS3; I quote from DF face-off of RAGE:

    "...so on PS3 where both saving and loading takes longer than the preferred full 360 install...
    Texture streaming is the other main bugbear people will have with Rage: it's noticeable on all platforms (even PC), but a full 360 install up against a partial PS3 install is no contest - the 360 wins hands-down and provides the better experience"
    Edited by Cjail at 13/11/11 @ 15:30

  • Xardan #31 6 months ago

    Way to fuck up Bethesda, i mean seriously how does this kind of thing get past them?

    Oh well it is still a great game and it is running very smooth on my 360.

  • _LarZen_ #32 6 months ago

    Playing it from the HDD and im not having any texture problems...

  • vizzini #33 6 months ago

    Cjail: "In my previous post I really just wanted to know more about this; I really didn't want to offend anyone: simply I don't understand why full installation can't be done on PS3.
    Also DF clearly pointed out that that no full install is something that "penalize" PS3; I quote from DF face-off of RAGE:"

    It all comes down to Playstation 3 keeping to specification for Q/A.

    The original models only have 20GB storage, and so if you subtract all the other O/S features that need hard disk storage, like Home, vidZone, iPlayer, Folding at home, picture viewer, Music unlimited, PlayTV, etc, and the save file storage, 8GB is roughly as big a storage they can allow games to allocate, without making the game fail Q/A on older models.

    Personally I think Sony should offer to recall all old 20GB models to provide a free 60GB replacement drive, so they can use 60GB as the new target specification, or just start failing games in Q/A stage that don't properly cater for the 1MB data chunk size for southbridge bandwidth to provide a highspeed unify RAM layout, which is the cause of Rage's occasional pop up issue on non-SSD Playstation 3 systems.

    As a side comment, the popup is very hard to perceive in Rage the closer you sit to the screen. Played it on a projector the other day that engulfed my field of vision, and couldn't spot the issue at all in normal play.

  • Oldest_Ancient #34 6 months ago

    @Cjail
    I think it can be done but devs don't choose to implement it. I'm pretty sure Valkyria Chronicles had the option to do so but I can't think of any others.

  • Badassbab #35 6 months ago

    @kirankara

    Imagine doing a full install on some PS3 games. Talking about 30-40 gig here. If Rage @ 8 Gig takes 30 mins...

    I don't think Sony wants developers forcing huge installs on gamers all the time but yeah full installs should be an option like on 360. I can't imagine it being difficult to implement on their next system update but then again I didn't know cross game chat on PS3 was impossible until Sony revealed why only this year.

  • FanBoysSuck #36 6 months ago

    Has anyone else noticed that there's a lot more aliasing on the 360 shots compared to the PS3's?

    Edit:yay negged for pointing something out. Sorry if it offends your corporation of choice. I was just suprised as the 360 usually uses 4x MSAA. Maybe there's more technical problems with the 360 version than is being let on. I look forward to the full DF article :)

    I'm on PC for this anyway lol
    Edited by FanBoysSuck at 14/11/11 @ 10:42

  • Goodfella #37 6 months ago

    @Laserbrain

    Well that's just spreading bollocks, played 25 hours so far on PC version and not a single crash.

    It seems the 360 version is the one to steer away from here.
    Edited by Goodfella at 13/11/11 @ 15:36

  • vizzini #38 6 months ago

    @Badassbab

    Rage took 18mins on my poor performing stock drive(PS3 slim 250gb), full install will be GT5 time, which would be a desirable option I wish Sony would provide.

  • Jamiesan #39 6 months ago

    @kirankara
    It's not that Sony won't allow it, but developers are wary of making really large installs on the PS3 because it tends to annoy a lot of people. After all, it takes a pretty long time to do, and a lot of PS3 games have mandatory installs so people's drives are filling up.
    I think a good middle ground would be to have a choice of install sizes, like you see on old PC games

  • Bander #40 6 months ago

    Typical. A game actually bothers to use the 360's cache for the purpose it was intended for (quicker loading from the HDD and DVD-drive simultaneously, without requiring an install), and it goes wrong because people are installing the game anyway. The HDD goes mental trying to keep up so the game ends up dropping the high-res textures.

    That 7GB cache really should have been on all 360s by default. The cheaper Core/Arcade 360 was a nice idea, but in hindsight MS would have been better off skipping it and waiting until 7GB was inexpensive in flash memory or SSD-form before bothering with the budget price unit. They wouldn't have had long to wait.

    Come to think of it, an SSD-based cache would be pretty awesome. If it's separate from the main HDD, it could benefit XBLA games as well. But the cache needs games to use it, and I can't imagine many developers continuing to bother if it's a pain to get it running fast and bug-free with the installation option and Games on Demand on current hardware.

  • Cjail #41 6 months ago

    Jamiesan: "I think a good middle ground would be to have a choice of install sizes, like you see on old PC games"

    That would be the perfect solution.

    RAGE, still, is an emblematic case:
    -On Xbox they knew that some early models didn't have enough HD space but they put the installation anyway.
    -On PS3 the 20gb installation could have been a problem for early models too but they only allowed a partial one.
    Edited by Cjail at 13/11/11 @ 15:55

  • Bravestinsane #42 6 months ago

    @Cjail

    Its to do with read speeds.

    Xbox DvDs read at 8x

    Sony Blu Ray read at 2x

    So the install on PS3 is to speed up the load times, if read speeds are slower load times will be longer.

    Some games dont install on the PS3 thats because the textures are loaded on to the disk more than once.

    So texture 1 for example could be on 4 different parts of the disk just so its quicker to read it.

    Maybe Skyrim chose the install route

  • Cobalt_Jackal #43 6 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:51:23 12-12-2011

  • Cjail #44 6 months ago

    @Bravestinsane
    Yes but, on the other hand, Blu-ray allows you to store almost 7 times the data of a xbox DVD so there are benefits using them!
    Edited by Cjail at 13/11/11 @ 16:12

  • woundedbear #45 6 months ago

    I think it's worth to point out that the texture bug is not resolved by uninstalling the game, as this news article suggests. In the case of my hands/weapons, the detailed textures return for as long as it takes you to go into any menu and out again. After that, they return having very blurry textures, all the more so if you carry on going in and out of menus. I am by no means the only one who is experiencing extensive texture problems even after the uninstall.

  • spongebob #46 6 months ago

    Viola? I think you meant to say Voila.

  • RevanNL #47 6 months ago

    Got this yesterday, still haven't played it. I did try today, but if I wanted to hear an F22 taking off in my room I might as wel play BF3 or MW3. Really hope that this will be fixed soon, rather then having to wait a month or so like last year with New Vegas

  • electrolite #48 6 months ago

    Now, I don't have a 360, nor am I playing Skyrim currently so I may be missing something, but this isn't a big deal really is it?

  • Moominpig #49 6 months ago

    I remember reading the following bit in John Bedford's review on this site:

    "But, close up, Skyrim's textures may shock those expecting a generational leap from Oblivion"

    So having read that in the review and on starting the game myself, I was still surprised at how bad some of the textures actually were - especially certain areas of certain dungeons.

    I wonder if John was reviewing a 360 installation?
    Edited by Moominpig at 13/11/11 @ 22:05

  • sweatyBallacks #50 6 months ago

    This is defintely one to get on PS3 if you own both consoles imo, as I've heard a load of technical issues with the 360 version, not least this major bug.

  • Zerobob #51 6 months ago

    Thanks for clarifying all of this EG, really appreciated.

    I was a bit apprehensive about actually uninstalling the game in case it threw a wobbly, given that's it seems to be very sensitive about it's cache. Have uninstalled now so I'll look out for improvements - a lot of road signs I noticed were very blurry previously.

  • Stepharneo #52 6 months ago

    "textures temporarily scaling down on the Xbox 360, and not scaling back up"

    Not really temporary then is it.

  • menage #53 6 months ago

    I'm really not going to play anything of a disc anymore on the 360. The racket is unbearable.

  • smelly #54 6 months ago

    SERIOUSLY??!!?

    The difference is so underwhelmingly tiny, that if you were actually noticing it while playing ... Well it doesnt say a lot about how fun the game is!

    I cant afford to buy it at the moment (nor do i have time to play it), so i dont own it. But if something as small as this is getting peoples knickers in a twist... Then that worries me.

  • Toothball #55 6 months ago

    Doesn't this contradict the other post on EG saying that it's best to install it on 360? Might be wise to update it a bit.

    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-11-skyrim-xbox-360-cleared-cache-may-increase-save-game-load-times

  • GitSomE_UK #56 6 months ago

    @Cjail

    MS sell the Xbox as a HD less option therefore everything pretty has to cater for the base model X360 this = Optional Install for games so as to support with no HD purchased. PS3's all ship with an HD as standard.

    Sheemples eh?!

  • technicianTed #57 6 months ago

    http://www.lensoftruth.com/does-the-ps3-version-of-skyrim-also-have-texture-streaming-issues/

    Some ps3 owners having the same issues as the official skyrim forums seems to suggest.
    What a mess, even the pc version might be affected.

  • woundedbear #58 6 months ago

    @smelly

    It's not small or tiny in the sense that in a lot of cases I am experiencing no textures at all. So yes, the lack of any kind of real texture detail on any of my weapons or the hands holding them is having an effect on my appreciation of the game. I love the world and am having a brilliant time exploring, but this bug is a problem.

  • mossychops001 #59 6 months ago

    Post deleted at 11:49:27 04-05-2012

  • Fozzie_bear #60 6 months ago

    I know they're small pics, but I'm struggling to see any difference between the 4 screenshots other than the PS3 one being a bit lighter.

  • Dave52 #61 6 months ago

    Can I ask, did EG install to the HD for the review..?

  • nickthegun #62 6 months ago

    Did anyone actually expect a Bethesda game to ship without at least one, massive glaring fault?

    The day they ship a bug free game is the day the old Bethesda dies.

  • Penguinzoot #63 6 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:51:23 12-12-2011

  • Penguinzoot #64 6 months ago

    Xbox DvDs read at 8x

    Xbox DVD read speed for games is 12x, not 8x.

  • Bravestinsane #65 6 months ago

    @Cjail

    Im not being negative about it lol, im just trying to answer your question, number of disks does't bother me, size of the game doesn't bother me... quality of the game does.

  • alexbulluk #66 6 months ago

    Why is it whenever DF does comparisons with PS3 shots, the colours are always really washed out? It was the same with the MW3 shots, and others, too.

    Seems a little unfair, as it doesn't really look like that.

  • xanth #67 6 months ago

    @Bravestinsane:

    You're right in the X360 DVD drive being faster, but to clarify since you're comparing apples and oranges:

    2x Blu-Ray speed: maximum of 72Mbit/s
    8x DVD speed: maximum of 88 Mbit/s

    Also to my knowledge XBOX 360 has a 12x DVD drive = maximum of ~132Mbit/s

  • 4gate #68 6 months ago

    Played 10 hours of Skyrim installed to the 360 HDD, really not noticed any problems atall with this, and made a point of not watching the comparison vids either, so when it is patched it will just look that bit better.

    Bearing in mind the seasoned Bethesda gamer will have expected corrupt saves, broken missions, flying creatures (whether they should be able to fly or not) and a host of other wierd and wonderful bugs, the odd dodgy texture is nothing :)

  • FTM #69 6 months ago

    @4gate

    I am also of the opinion that it deosnt detract from the game..so its installed and I am 18 hours and couldnt care less if the textures ARE lower quality..its still engrossing

  • Cobalt_Jackal #70 6 months ago

    @onyxbox I agree. I mean like you said would Leadbetter have of done the same if it was the PS3 version?. Oddly i don't think he would have. If it was the PS3 version Leadbetter wouldn't of given a shit. But oh noo his/EG's beloved 360 has few issues and all of sudden its worthy of an entire separate article (what about the PS3 version of multi-plats with often inferior textures/problems where's there own separate front page articles?). And why not tell us this during the the DF face-off, why has leadbetter gone too all this trouble?.

    I'll tell you why...

    Its because Leadbetter has shown himself to be a hardcore 360 fanboy (esp with this article, the fact that he deems some texture problems on 360 worthy of a entire piece highlights this). Leadbetter (no matter how much he claims), he is not neautral, he's a Xbot. His Xbox 360 bias is beyond a joke... his sycophantic love for M$ is sickening. Its all too clear to see, its obvious... Your not fooling anybody Leadbetter. Richard Leadbetter you are pathetic.

    Oh and i fully expect him to go into damage control/defence mode this Tues in the DF face-off. Im in no doubt leadbetter will downplay his beloved 360's faults with reguards to Skyrim (just like he's done in previous face-offs). he'll probaly downplay/outright ignore the PS3's graphical advantages with reguards to Skyrim too (again just like he's done in the past whenever the PS3 is the superior multi-plat version).


    P.S. (And yeah there hasn't (sadly) been much, if any PS3 coverage of Skyrim. You see Bethesda are in bed with M$ (M$ bribe them (as well as other Devs) with lots O money). M$ do this because they have no exclusives, so they resort to using there vast amounts of money to bribe 3rd parties and agree to market said 3rd party games as exclusives. As a result no PS3 coverage/footage of 3rd party games is not allowed to be shown because M$ make the Devs/Publisher's agree for that to be the case as part of their deal).

    Its a under-hand tactic and I don't like it. Its one of the many reasons I despise M$, and lament their entrance and continued presence in the video games industry.

    And with regurds to Skyrim im gonna be waiting till next year for the GOTY edition. I knew before it came out, i knew it was enevitable that Skyrim (being a bethesda game) would be buggy/glitchey beyond belief (and from what i've heard its not just the 360 version either. both PS3 and PC are having problems). So im glad i held back (plus being 17 & a Six Form student i have no money :)). So again im holding out for the GOTY edition in 2012, not long to wait now. XD
    Edited by Cobalt_Jackal at 13/11/11 @ 20:21

  • george1976 #71 6 months ago

    Flame alert!! Why don't you guys just purchase a PS3 instead?

  • uninspiredcup #72 6 months ago

    UI problems hit pc. Don't buy a Bethesda game.

  • phAge #73 6 months ago

    @Cobalt_Jackal

    :D

    Just play Skyrim on your PS3 and enjoy it - it's a great game!

    (And I bet it looks almost as good as the 360 version too).

  • HL706 #74 6 months ago

    Perhaps when you're hassling Bethesda you could ask them to sort the Werewolf 3rd person camera glitch. :)

  • Farzlepot #75 6 months ago

    @Cobalt_Jackal

    If the PS3 version was the lead development platform and suffered from a bug that made it look ugly, it would be reported on. It wasn't, and it doesn't.

    If the PS3 version of a game suffered from a bug that could be corrected by users until a patch came out, I'm pretty sure that would be reported on too.

    This is worthy of news because it's a fairly wide-spread bug that can be corrected by users if they choose not to install the game to HDD. Personally I'd prefer to suffer the bug in exchange for extending the lifespan of my console's disc drive. And my ears. But now I know what's causing the bug, and how I can stop it. That's good journalism.

    I'm quite surprised by your outburst. Surely a PS3 fanboy should be laughing and taking the piss out of 360 owners, rather than being annoyed that this is being reported at all?

    Or more likely, you should use some zit cream, drop your balls, and grow up.

  • andrewsqual #76 6 months ago

    @Kaonazhie They are up to 1.07 on Vegas. Black Ops and Fifa 11 are on 1.15 or something so why pick on the geniuses at Bethesda. Imagine the hours that the Testers have to put in on this game to find every glitch in every mission/sidequest or glitches on the map. Playing it a week now I have had no issues whatsoever yet. I turned into a werewolf at one point but I found out why when it happened lol

  • ps-360 #77 6 months ago

    That's what happens when but a shitbox!!

  • ps-360 #78 6 months ago

    That's what happens when you but a shitbox!!

  • ps-360 #79 6 months ago

    *buy a shitbox

  • ps-360 #80 6 months ago

    Thats What happens when you buy a shitbox

  • DarthMartious #81 6 months ago

    @ps-360

    Four attempts at the same gag and you still haven't delivered the punchline correctly? Time to pack in the hopes for a career in stand-up comedy, sonny.

  • Farzlepot #82 6 months ago

    See? He's taking advantage of the opportunity!

  • Hamhock #83 6 months ago

    Installed onto hdd from day1. Looks lovely.
    Maybe I'm not that much of a gfx snob.

  • ps-360 #84 6 months ago

    It was my keyboard, true though, when you buy a shitbox sorry xbox this is what happens, not to mention games coming on TWO disks!!maybe you should splash out a little and buy a ps3 and save urself from having these problems? makes sense right?

  • jack24 #85 6 months ago

    Do you really have nothing better to do?

  • jack24 #86 6 months ago

    And why do you have 360 in your name when you're such a blatant troll?

  • ps-360 #87 6 months ago

    @jack24 Not a troll mate, just state facts and u know what I'm saying is right!

  • Lucodeath #88 6 months ago

    @ps shitbox 360
    Splash out an but a keyboard an some english lessons:lol:

  • ps-360 #89 6 months ago

    @Lucodeath You better re-read what you just said mate!!!!

  • Lucodeath #90 6 months ago

    Done on purpose

  • ps-360 #91 6 months ago

    @Lucodeath bet it was

  • Lucodeath #92 6 months ago

    Splash out on a new gpu and get it on pc for the best version. (hope it is cos thats what I ordered}.

  • Lucodeath #93 6 months ago

    Hence the smiley face, anyway the pub is calling.

  • cloudskipa #94 6 months ago

    @Cobalt_Jackal I agree, it's not fair. Poor Sony, it's just a conspiracy to keep the PS3 down and we all know it. M$$$$$$$$$$ has obviously been throwing their money around bribing people again (including EG for this front page article) while the noble and charitable acts of Sony appear to go completely unnoticed by everyone. M$$$ have no place in the game industry, they are nothing but a business and are only interested in $$$$ unlike Sony.

    Due to the cretinous fanboy behavior of LEADBETTER the PS3 screens from the triple screenshot comparison linked to on this page have more than likely been doctored in photoshop by his own hands.

    This is what you sound like. Thanks for the laugh.

  • svenjl #95 6 months ago

    I guess there is a difference in the stills. Maybe it's more pronounced with the game running. Frankly I think all the 360 shots have better colour, lighting and shadows than the PS3 pic. Fallout 3 was the same. PS3 often looks washed out to me in certain games. Not that I really care when I'm playing on either console. As for the 360, Skyrim is so awesome that I never notice the fan noise!

  • Jmog #96 6 months ago

    I know they're small pics, but I'm struggling to see any difference between the 4 screenshots other than the PS3 one being a bit lighter.
    That's the magic of thumbnails. If you click them, you get bigger versions. Bigger versions where the differences are night and day.

  • carlosdfn #97 6 months ago

    I love how these games with huge worlds with lots of stuff to do automatically get perfect scores even though they are riddled with bugs and glitches.
    The reviewers are so overwhelmed with everything their shiny new toy throws at them that they completely overlook all the flaws.
    Of course Bethesda deserves major kudos for creating this great game but the lack of polish is always a huge problem that is completely overlooked.
    It's like with GTA4, it got a ton of perfect scores which is ridiculous. Reviewers are completely biased by the hype and don't even manage to get a good grasp of the game when they write the reviews because of how big it is and just throw a 10 at it because it's big and lasts a million hours.

  • phAge #98 6 months ago

    @ps-360
    I'm fairly confident that Skyrim will prove to look and run better on 360 - just like, what, 90% of all multi-plat releases?

    I'm also quite certain that you'll be able to convince yourself that it's all Leadbetter's fault, and that your cousin-dad really does love you, even if he fondles your secret bits when he tucks you in at night.

  • cloudskipa #99 6 months ago

    I think a lot of people also make a big deal about playing 360 games from disk. The 360 was designed to do that from day 1, I know it's hard to remember this was the only way to play the games before the NXE update and I know the older models can be a bit noisy but its not all that bad.

  • BonzoBanana #100 6 months ago

    It was designed to run games off disc but it was always a bad idea when the optical drive runs at 12x. I've gone through about 6 faulty 360s and the first two didn't even have RROD it was optical drive failures. Soon as you could install to hdd I was installing to hdd and gaming seemed better because of it.

    I wonder how long this game will hold full price. I remember when Fallout 3 came out I bought the 360 version at launch but couldn't resist the PS3 version at less than £20 a few months later. I got so annoyed with Fallout Vegas that whatever happens I'm holding out for the first patch before buying. I was totally annoyed about the corrupted saves and having to restart the game.

  • FortysixterUK #101 6 months ago

    I've not noticed anything particularly bad graphics wise.
    It's installed to my HD and it's staying there.

  • anonim1979 #102 6 months ago

    This texture bugs are also present on PS3:
    http://www.lensoftruth.com/does-the-ps3-version-of-skyrim-also-have-texture-streaming-issues/

  • theirongiant #103 6 months ago

    @JHo: If it bothers you that much stop buying AAA games on release day, problem solved.

    You're welcome.

  • GamesConnoisseur #104 6 months ago

    Fanboyism jumps on any flaws, bugs and when turns out their platform's version may be flawed also.

    Egg and face together innit?

    Useful report, as give us choice of trying out uninstall option or decided we are enjoying too much of the game and happier with quicker loadings anyway, still better to be informed than not.

    I passed on the news to my mate, replied that was enjoying too much and won't bother for a minor visual enhancements which he believed was not needed or that important a consideration.

    We all know that PC version will comes out best, almost always.. and yet did this fact, of having vastly improved visual, frame rates etc alone STOP all people dead in their track from buying either PS3 or X360 version?

    Hardly, if already been doing so, and ergo along the same rationale, would the fact that X360 or PS3 being slightly better than each other ain't going to matter that much to the console owners who already have a clear preference?

    Enjoy the damn game on whatever platform in peace and give us a rest!!

  • Negotiator1 #105 6 months ago

    I've got the PC version and that's not without it's problems, played for about 6 hours so far, and it's crashed to desktop 3 times already. Also on another occasion the faces of a few NPC's were missing, and the latest bug, some of the trees turned a pinkish colour.

  • Oskool #106 6 months ago

    Yet another reason why all Xbox games should be allowed to run off USB Flash Drives. First Battlefield 3 denies installation to Flash Drives. Now Skyrim is doing the same...

    Customers never used to have any issues running games off USB Flash Drives with any of the older titles. Now, newer games are having issues installing to USB Flash Drives.

    By all means, game developers, please continue forcing your customer to use slow mechanical hard drives with high seek speeds and continue double caching data to separate sectors on the hard disk.

    We love watching blurry textures stream-in, slower than a snail's pace, due to head thrashing on mechanical hard disks...

    Support USB Flash Drives. They are faster and better for streaming! Sheesh.

  • werewolf_poo #107 6 months ago

    Does this really constitute news? They will patch it as soon as they can and that will be that. Imagine if we had a news article everytime someone found a glitch or pop up in a game. It really wont ruin my enjoyment of the game.

  • anonim1979 #108 6 months ago

    http://i43.tinypic.com/2625wzb.gif
    http://i40.tinypic.com/2lbmc1c.gif

    Animated gifs from EG gallery X360 vs PC3 vs PC:

    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-13-skyrim-triple-format-comparison-gallery-comparison-gallery

  • SomaticSense #109 6 months ago

    I'm sorry, Bethesda's reasoning over it being the deleting of the cache by playing other games is utter twaddle. How many people since getting this game over the last fews days have been playing other games?

    I hope that genuinely isn't what they think is the cause, as when the patch arrives it'll surely end up doing fuck all. They'll end up patching nothing.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #110 6 months ago

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

  • JHo #111 6 months ago

    @GamesConnoisseur

    You're an idiot. Just kidding. To all of you who "can't see a difference" or "love the game too much to care", you're all idiots. And also the key factor in why this bullshit goes on in the first place. Defending Bethesda for releasing a broken game graphically? Nice. Let's play and "enjoy" while we wait for them to potentially fix the issue? I thought playtesting was done to ensure that the "Gold Master Copy" was as good as could be expected on your hardware.

    This isn't an issue of the Xbox 360 not being powerful enough to run Skyrim. It's the issue that the fucking machine can do a beautiful job of running the game but Bethesda has once again "shit the bed" and screwed us all out of a truly awesome experience.

    I can handle sub-par graphics when I know that I would need to spend 1000 dollars or more upgrading my PC to witness new Hi-Def Fidelity, but draw the line at a game that looks fucking incredible on ageing hardware AS LONG AS YOU PLAY IT CORRECTLY!!! And right now I'm not even sure what the right way is to play Skyrim on my 360. Inexcusable.

    As an aside, if you own a decently calibrated HDTV and can't see the difference between the proper high resolution Skyrim graphics and the Lo-Rez ones you shouldn't be driving a car. And when you finally realise you need corrective lenses I hope with all my heart that it won't jeopardize your marriage.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #112 6 months ago

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

  • Pwnsweet #113 6 months ago

    JHo +1, Bethesda -1
    Edited by Pwnsweet at 14/11/11 @ 05:57

  • atrimus #114 6 months ago

    @anonim1979

    i usually refrain from commenting where it concerns Face-Offs. one of the reasons is because, honestly, the technical aspects of performance and visuals are a bit esoteric for me. however, here i must comment by saying that i absolutely refuse to believe those are PS3 shots, at least shots that haven't been doctored in some way. regardless of the comparison videos that have surfaced on Youtube and Kotaku, i have the PS3 version, about 8 hours into it in fact, and it simply does not look like that.

  • Murton #115 6 months ago

    Hang on, Bethesda actually backtracked and admitted to there being an issue with one of their games and intend to fix it?

    Of course, the real story is why this problem magically doesn't appear in either the review version, or was it just that EG were too busy fawning over Bethesda's latest offering to mention anything which could detract from the experience?


    For the PS3 full install debate. It's not that Sony won't allow a full install option, it's more that they didn't see the need due to the capacity and speed afforded by the BD drive. So they left it to developers to decide on installs and as developers can only implement either a partial of complete install under the TRCs the vast majority opt for a partial insall with data redundancy on the BD disc as it's more efficient and less hassle for the consumer than a full install. That being said, there are a few games that I think could have benefited from the option. LA Noire and RAGE for example are constantly seeking the disc to stream the content and the seek-noise is terrible, even on the slim.

  • Rev_Cleo_James #116 6 months ago

    Been playing it for over 10 hours, its installed to the HDD and can't say I've noticed any texture problems

  • Der_tolle_Emil #117 6 months ago

    Surprise... bugs in a new Bethesda game. It's sad, really. Their games are fantastic but somehow they never end up fully working when they are released.

  • Beano #118 6 months ago

    Incredible that Bethesda continue to release games with apparent bugs! I can understand a few "scripting" bugs related to side quests or NPCs - after all it a huge and complex game and. But something major like this which can be triggered quite easily? Are they not testing their games at all?
    That said, it's a really great game - I just wished that consumers didn't have to worry about stuff like this.... ON A CONSOLE!

  • Skyclad #119 6 months ago

    In Bethesda's defence, it might be possible this problem occurs not to all 360s (in basically each forum, it doesn't happen to everybody). So maybe if they have only new test kits (or one series or whatever), it might not have happened during their QA.

    Btw: So far, I have played 20 hours, and I haven't seen any other bug or glitch yet. Yes, this one issues sucks (I've also had my fair share of dying hard drives) but it could be worse (yes, I look at you, New Vegas).

  • utterdrivel #120 6 months ago

    Couple of pics I took.

    The textures aren't that great anyway (and they're not going to be with only half a DVD taken up by the game) but installed, they're appalling.

    Uninstalled


    Installed
    Edited by utterdrivel at 14/11/11 @ 09:27

  • TruSmiles #121 6 months ago

    C'mon guys, this is hardly a game breaking bug.

    I installed Skyrim first thing so I haven't had chance to check for myself. I didn't even notice this was an issue until I prized my hands away from the game and came online. The rest of the game runs so smooth and I've not encountered any other bugs; I can live with this one.

  • Darren #122 6 months ago

    No texture streaming issues here! Mind you, I am running the PC version... :p

    Seriously though, I do hope this issue is quickly fixed for Xbox 360 owners as I always install my games to the HDD as a matter of course because even my Xbox 360 Slim is pretty noisy when running games off the disc like I did for Halo Anniversary on Saturday (the HDD install sounds like someone turned a hover on inside the console!).

  • Zerobob #123 6 months ago

    Well, I unistalled the game and played from the disc drive yesterday and surprisingly I didn't notice much noise from the drive at all.

    The game, however, looks a fair bit better. Road signs are readable, a lot of objects look better close up and I also noticed the ground 'stone cobbles' texture in the first town looks sharper, I think.

  • Sodding_Gamer #124 6 months ago

    Thank god I'm not the only one. My hands and weapons in the game look awful at time. And some of the rock's literally have no textures at all. However I really don't want to risk fucking my xbox up. I got a RROD for playing Fallout 3 from the DVD drive. So I don't trust Bethesda games as it is :/ Will just wait for a patch me thinks.

  • SheffAl #125 6 months ago

    Lots of 360 users are reporting lo-res textures playing from the disc too (ie not installed). All this 'run from disk and its ok' is just BS from Bethesda that many sites are happy to regurgitate.

  • Beano #126 6 months ago

    @SheffAl I think Betheada also mentioned that the issue can occur while playing from DVD because of caching. Frequent cache clearing should fix it.

  • justsomeone #127 6 months ago

    it's really not a big deal...and i say this as a PS3 owner too. i can't discern any meaningful difference in the two pictures, even on a big monitor here in my office...i doubt i'd notice it on my gaming setup back home, especially not while being chased down by a sabre cat (i'm still only level 8).

  • cloudskipa #128 6 months ago

    Right, NOW I'm confused. I'm getting the texture glitch even if I pay from disk? :cry: What is that about? Before it was fine but now it's glitching no matter what I try and do. This is simply inexcusable Bethesda, how on earth does something like this get past the testers? Are you telling me they are just as blind as some of the members here saying they can't notice any difference? (or don't care either way)

    I absolutely refuse to play this until it is fixed as I cannot enjoy all of the "Micro Detail" as Todd Howard called it. Not when it looks like an N64 game close up I can't anyway. SORT IT OUT, this is a great disservice to your fans.

  • Xardan #129 6 months ago

    After 30 hours of play some textures have finally managed to load properly. In particular the bear fur and some animal skins and wall surfaces. But the usual ones (signposts, tables and armour) really dont want to load.

  • Sodding_Gamer #130 6 months ago

    @cloudskipa

    The problem persists even if you install on USB or play from disk. It isn't a caching issue, Caching helps relieve the problem a tad, but you would have to play like 10+ hours and not play any other game. However there still is texture issues. Meaning it is some sort of coding within the game. SO just wait for Bethesda to sort it out! You seriously didn't expect Skyrim to be flawless did you? Bethesda is known for the ability to push out bugged (yet awesome) games!

  • InsoFox #131 6 months ago

    To anyone complaining about Bethesda talking about textures 'temporarily scaling down' then 'not scaling back up', use a bit of sense, please. Clearly what they are saying is that the scaling down is supposed to happen, and is supposed to be temporary, and the problem is that for some reason when installed it isn't always temporary. Simple. They've stated what the problem is and say that they're working on it. That's all we can POSSIBLY ask at the moment.

  • cloudskipa #132 6 months ago

    @Sodding_Gamer No, I didn't expect it to be flawless but this is taking it too far. I literally cannot enjoy this game in the current state it is in.

    I agree with JHo in the sense that all the people who say they can't see the difference you must have a HORRIBLY calibrated HDTV at home, either that or defective eyesight.

    To those who say is "no big deal" or they "don't care" you deserve this. You are the people encouraging Bethesda to put out a half finished game like this. It makes me wonder, are these people with such low graphical standards and poor eyesight the same people populating the Digital Foundry tech analysis articles? If so I guess that would explain a lot now I think about it.

  • wolfofdarkness #133 6 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:51:23 12-12-2011

  • Saint_of_Killers #134 6 months ago

    As has already been mentioned in this very comments section, someone at EG may want to update this link: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-11-skyrim-xbox-360-cleared-cache-may-increase-save-game-load-times

  • carlosdfn #135 6 months ago

    You can spend an entire day watching bugs and glitches on YT, there doesn't seem to be an end to them. 10/10.

  • TruSmiles #136 6 months ago

    @cloudskipa I haven't been able to see the difference myself as I'm at work and can't check, but I honestly think the reaction here is rather hysterical. I was playing the game perfectly fine before hand, although if the difference is that bad I'm sure I will notice it after uninstalling.

    Some people are acting like the game is completely unplayable as a result, which is a bit silly, don't you think?

  • drhickman1983 #137 6 months ago

    Aside from roadside signs, which are difficult to read, I don't mind the textures too much. In all honestly, until it was pointed out to me and I saw side by side comparissons, I didn't even notice the textures weren't loading properly.

    Sure, I noticed they weren't as high detail as some other games, but not bad enough to make me think "this is awful!", especially as the long distance vistas are pretty awesome.

    I'm not trying to say "it doesn't matter", because it does, but for me it's certainly not game breaking. I might try an uninstall, see how noisy the drive gets, from previous comments doesn't sound like a noisy disc.

  • Sodding_Gamer #138 6 months ago

    @drhickman1983

    Yeah it isn't a game breaker, and it does look awesome when you have the beautiful vistas. I spent like 20 minutes looking at the northern lights in the game haha! I definitely noticed it but I didn't think it was a bug. I just thought they were poor textures. Either way for most people this game has never been about graphics, just gameplay.

  • muttler #139 6 months ago

    Where's the DF face off review?

    Whyyy are we waiting, we are suffocating!

  • vizzini #140 6 months ago

    @Cloudskipa

    The problem might well vary in severity based on all matter of items that use the southbridge bandwidth on your 360.

    If we assume the hard drive, data cache and DVD performance hasn't degrade because of age (or being more than 2/3 full); which they all eventually will, and your 360 is in good shape and not about to rollover dead, then you might want to look at everything that uses southbridge resources:

    Being connected to Live with cross party chat or background downloads, Kinect being plugged in and any other official (or unofficial) USB accessory devices; one that the system has to poll while handshaking and doing encrypted authorization.

    If it is now legitimately being reported small instances of the issue are being seen on PS3, then that sounds like worn hardware unable to copy with the game's bandwidth demands in certain circumstances.
    Edited by vizzini at 14/11/11 @ 12:16

  • Xardan #141 6 months ago

    Any new news on this bug? It would be nice if Digital Foundry could get in touch with Bethesda for more details on the issue.

  • Beano #142 6 months ago

    "For the PS3 full install debate. It's not that Sony won't allow a full install option, it's more that they didn't see the need due to the capacity and speed afforded by the BD drive."

    No - the PS3 BD drive is much slower than 360's DVD drive for example. And, Sony allows for full installations (it's up to the developers) but full installation is usually sloppy design choice and only needed for data that is accessed frequently by the game. Prerendered cut-scenes, music, streamed level-data, etc. that can be streamed fast enough from the BD drive, is usually not installed.

  • MasterNameless #143 6 months ago

    I'm actually interested if this can be fixed by clearing a little more space from the harddrive?

    Someone mentioned this earlier, as the guy who originally did the youtube video had very little space left after he installed it - this is also the case for me, and I imagine the majority of users (assuming once the drive fills up, we delete just enough stuff for what we need to install - leaving a very small amount of space left on the drive).

    I realise it's a long shot, and if people are testing these texture issues at home, maybe someone could report back on this? Maybe the Xbox needs a little extra "headroom" on the HD to stream the textures correctly?

    I'd test it myself, but I'm at work and won't be able to have a go until later...

    Edit: I'm only suggesting this as some Xbox users seem to say they are not having this issue. Which could easily be them simply not noticing it - which I'm likely to believe as some even say they can't see the difference between the installed/not installed screenshots above - and the difference there is pretty damn obvious!

    For the record, I'm still absolutely loving the game - I had noticed the dodgy textures, but as a poster above mentioned, I just thought they were bad textures, and not a glitch!
    Edited by MasterNameless at 14/11/11 @ 12:48

  • IronCladChicken #144 6 months ago

    @Goodfella
    'It seems the 360 version is the one to steer away from here'

    Bethesda disagree - PC's, apparently, are far too complicated for them to develop a stable game for.

  • cloudskipa #145 6 months ago

    @TruSmiles A bit silly? No I don't think it is. It completely taints the immersion. This game doesn't not work as advertised. It's because for a little while I was playing it how it should look and it is without doubt one of the best looking games I've ever seen, then it turns into Morrowind and I'm supposed to just get over it and carry on like nothing's happened?

    I was prepared to just put up with it when I thought I could play it from the disk and it would be ok, but even now that's throwing up the glitches so I have no way to play it as it was looking before. To me, in it's current state it IS unplayable, games like this are all about the immersion and atmosphere. I'm glad you find it hysterical though. Nice.

  • Jenslyn87 #146 6 months ago

    Still waiting for the DF analysis before I dare buy a copy :p

  • TruSmiles #147 6 months ago

    @cloudskipa I find the reaction hysterical because the game plays perfectly fine, minus a texture bug. It's not like the bug is preventing progress in the game, corrupting quests or deleting game saves.

    I've been playing the game all weekend with the 'low res' setting due to naturally installing it before playing. I've found the landscape to be beautiful, I took stared at the Aurora in game for a good ten minutes or so. It didn't affect my immersion of the game at all, although maybe when I uninstall it and see the improved textures for myself, I'll change my mind.

    (When I say hysterical, I meant 'overreaction' not 'funny', sorry for the confusion, it's a Monday morning :p)

  • Monkey_Puncher #148 6 months ago

    I've been playing all weekend for 20 something hours (yes, that scares me as well, haven't been this addicted to a game since...Oblivion) with the game installed and other than a very odd looking dragon, I can't say I've noticed any issues with textures.

    I might uninstall when I get home later and see if I notice any difference though. Even with supposed low res texture problems, I'm being constantly amazed by the views and visuals in this game. I came out of a dungeon last night just as the sun was setting and my jaw hit the floor seeing the mountains bathed in reddish light as the snow fell from one of the most incredible sky boxes I've ever seen in a game.

  • cloudskipa #149 6 months ago

    @TruSmiles OK, but if you haven't actually seen the difference yourself then how can you judge other peoples (over)reactions to it?

    yes some of the far distance vistas are still beautiful even with the texture glitch but close objects including the ground, your weapons, your hands, your clothes and armour, other characters, trees, foliage, walls etc etc all look well bellow Oblivion standards. It's like Morrowind on the original Xbox. That may not break your immersion, you obviously don't let it but I can't be that forgiving. Certainly not after experiencing it'as true beauty when it was briefly running properly. I want to enjoy the game how it is supposed to look, I can't for a second forget the glitch is there.

    If you bought a nice new Ferrari (yes, it's analogy time) and drove it home only to wake up in the morning to find someone had thrown paint stripper all over it, would you just say "oh well it's still perfectly drivable! Not to worry" ???

    To quote someone in the official Bethesda forums;

    Its like having the mob come and cut up your beautiful wife's face with a knife...

  • SheffAl #150 6 months ago

    @Beano

    Thanks for the info but this doesn't work and it doesn't work for many other people.

  • cloudskipa #151 6 months ago

    @vizzini Interesting. I'll give those suggestions a try thanks.

  • Wolf3 #152 6 months ago

    Yikes. Honestly this ticks me off. I know Oblivion used caching, and that made sense because at the time that was the only way to use the Xbox's hard drive. But it does NOT make any sense now.

    The Xbox is CRAZY loud without games installed, that alone would make it mandatory. But of course it also gives better performance, and saves wear and tear on the optical drive as bonuses. We're YEARS past the point Microsoft started letting us install most games...it's just completely unacceptable that Bethesda would continue using the drive cache in 2011. This issue alone makes the Xbox version clear cut worse than the other two. It's not an option to run it off the disc to get proper textures...

  • Wolf3 #153 6 months ago

    Darn...I should have asked...do Fallout 3 and New Vegas have this same issue? Yuck if they do :(

  • drhickman1983 #154 6 months ago

    Thought I'd try running off the disc, it honestly hasn't helped, textures still seem just as poor as they did before. Tellingly, shop and road signs ar still pretty illegible. So back to installing it, at least it loads much quicker installed.

    @Wolf3 Nope, Fallout 3 and NV ran perfectly well on the 360. The textures wouldn't be up to a high end pc, but at least they loaded properly.

  • bowledova #155 6 months ago

    @lollage yeh sounds like a washing machine

  • sweatyBallacks #156 6 months ago

    The game on 360 is literally f*cked, installed or not it seems from reading comments. PC it is in 3 months time.

  • Collymilad #157 6 months ago

    Had the game installed and pretty sure I didn't even get the bug until about 5 hours in. Looked really bad at some parts.

    I uninstalled it and cleared the cache, this seems to have fixed the problem, although it did improve over time. Maybe took 1-2 hours for all the textures to be ok.

  • Murton #158 6 months ago

    "What complete drivel. The PS3 has forced installs because of the "speed afforded by the BD drive", i.e. it's slooooow."

    Misquote for the win? Read again and you'll see I never said anything about forced installs, I was talking about FULL installs, something Sony didn't see a need for because the media can hold more data than any developer is likely to use and the drive is fast enough to stream that data. I didn't make any outrageous claim that the drive was superfast and meant that installs would simply never be necessary, that would require an optical drive that is faster than a HDD, a technology that to my knowledge doesn't even exist.

    Installs on PS3 are and will forever be down to developer choice and the majority of developers use them for either storing commonly used assets (ie, a proper install) or for caching data streamed from the disc (ie, like Bethesda's installs) Then of course there are the games that don't install at all, which kinda sinks the whole "forced install" argument that you made in your post. The odd thing is, some of the games that don't require an install look better and run butter than those that do, strange that since the drive is "slooooow" as you put it.

  • bigtechno #159 6 months ago

    @Cjail I think its because of the speed of the drive the blu-ray only spins at x1 speed and if the ps3 didn't install the game it would be too slow to load in the data. On Xbox the DVD drive can spin much faster so does not rely on a HDD install but if you do game load time can improve slightly

  • Uncompetative #160 6 months ago

    Please make as much noise about any successful patch. Thank you.

  • RodHull #161 6 months ago

    So the 360 version can end up looking last gen and the PS3 version stutters to a game breaking stop. What mischief does the PC version get up to? Release Smilex gas?

    Nice to see Bethesda aren't disappointing us with their ineptitude.

  • jah #162 5 months ago

    has this been fixed yet? Posting one month after article.