Digital Foundry VS Bethesda: PS3 Skyrim is still shit

while the patch definitely helped my framerate issue, it also turned skyrim into an almost unplayable mess because of system freezes. The game froze twice in 120 hours before the patch. After the patch? I'm lucky to go thirty minutes without having to hard boot my ps3. Three times now my system has warned me that my file system may have been corrupted. And this is on a brand new 320g unit (dark souls killed my 60g fat).

Fix it, bethesda! I want to play your game!
 
If it helps, I really am sorry you guys are having issues. Like the post says, we know how frustrating it can be when you run into problems. The team has been working hard to address this stuff as quickly as possible, and we're pulling in all sorts of data based on user save files to make sure it's as comprehensive a patch as it can be.

As long as its being worked on I guess... but please send the wolf directly.
 
Hey, we hear you guys. It's not an effort to downplay the situation, but to explain what the situation is for the people having problems. It's a combination of smaller issues, and like the post says, we've been actively tracking those down and will be addressing them in a future patch.

Who do I contact to get my money back? I have contact Bethesda via email, but as usual, no reply. I would really like my $67 back being this isn't the product I was promised when I bought it.
 
Who do I contact to get my money back? I have contact Bethesda via email, but as usual, no reply. I would really like my $67 back being this isn't the product I was promised when I bought it.

Same here Nick. I don't really trust the patch is coming and I've lost faith in the company. It's crashed 4 times in the past two hours and I can barely move my character in towns anymore, nevermind have conversations, survive a battle or do much of anything really. This thing is a paperweight. I don't want a coupon or anything of that sort or a guidebook or a plush toy. Who do I contact to get a full refund for my defective product?
 
Same here Nick. I don't really trust the patch is coming and I've lost faith in the company. It's crashed 4 times in the past two hours and I can barely move my character in towns anymore, nevermind have conversations, survive a battle or do much of anything really. This thing is a paperweight. I don't want a coupon or anything of that sort or a guidebook or a plush toy. Who do I contact to get a full refund for my defective product?

What I'd like to hear Nick say is will they definitely resolve it, and they just don't know how long it will take, or can he not confirm that he knows if they will be able to fix it or not?

Also acknowledging the severity of the problem would be nice. You literally can't play the game. And don't anyone suggest you can play it if you carefully avoid interacting with the world, you can't enjoy the game like that.
 
What I'd like to hear Nick say is will they definitely resolve it, and they just don't know how long it will take, or can he not confirm that he knows if they will be able to fix it or not?

Also acknowledging the severity of the problem would be nice. You literally can't play the game. And don't anyone suggest you can play it if you carefully avoid interacting with the world, you can't enjoy the game like that.

That's exactly my problem. The answer we're given is vague, can be another temporary fix where it breaks all over again and ends up ruining the game in some other way. I'm tired of messing around. The release date was 11/11/11. It's a month later and it's literally unplayable. I want my money back or a confirmed fix with video and release date.
 
I feel like they deserve the benefit of the doubt; from me at least. Say what you will about not being able to enjoy all the content, about them knowingly releasing an ultimately broken product etc... I have played skyrim for over 140 hours now; much longer than other games I've also spent sixty dollars on.

Will I be pissed and eventually want a refund if I am left unable to see all the content they put in? Yes. Am I willing to be a little patient and not raise the pitchfork quite yet? Also yes.

You got caught with your pants down, there is no believable story about you not knowing about this issue... Just fix it. We'll forgive you, just FIX IT.
 
Same here Nick. I don't really trust the patch is coming and I've lost faith in the company. It's crashed 4 times in the past two hours and I can barely move my character in towns anymore, nevermind have conversations, survive a battle or do much of anything really. This thing is a paperweight. I don't want a coupon or anything of that sort or a guidebook or a plush toy. Who do I contact to get a full refund for my defective product?
I don't think Bethesda is giving anyone their money back. I don't remember it ever happening in the gaming industry. The best they'll do is say they'll investigate issues or are working towards a fix.
 
I don't know what's more frustrating. Having a busted game that may or may get a fix, delaying peoples desire to sell off copies to keep up holiday sales, or sludging through quests that might break progress anyway. I'm getting a coloring book next time i have the bright idea of doing something fun with my downtime. Crayola has never done me dirty.

You've clearly not used their latest book. If you use a red crayon on page 32, it sets fire to your house.
 
My experiences are similar to many who are upset in this thread. I was thrilled to pick up the PS3 version after hearing the positive initial impressions. The game ran pretty well for the first 40 or so hours except for some framerate issues in some areas (not related to the lag) and one hard lockup. This is completely forgivable for me considering the type of game.

At about the 60-80 hour mark I started noticing the horrible lag in Whiterun and other towns. Framerate drops really kill the experience for me, so I tried many of the ideas I saw online: deleting all saves after backing up a couple online, turning off autosaves (which made me lose progress many times), and deleting and reinstalling the game data.

When the patch came out it seemed to reduce the lag somewhat and I was a bit happier. Now at almost 120 hours (12 mb save file) the lag is back after I play for 1-2 hours and I've had about 4 additional lock ups. I tried waiting in-game for month but the lag still comes back. It appears to be most frequent when events take place: in towns, a dragon or another enemy appears, an NPC starts talking, etc. The only thing that helps is to save, quit the game, and restart. Several times I have done this in the middle of a laggy town and it was fine after reloading.

I've completed the Companion, Civil War, Mage Guild, Thieves Guild, and several Daedric and other side quests. I love the game, but I'm getting tired of dealing with the technical issues. I'll probably just complete the main quest and move on to a different, more polished game.
 
Such a shame! So they just wasted apparently a really good game like this. Really wanted to play it on PS3. Not worth buying before its fixed.
 
I really didn't mind the choppiness that the PS3 suffers from when your save file gets big (mine was 11MB last I checked), but now I get hard lockups in Whiterun.

I fast traveled from Riften to Whiterun and it locked up after trying to smelt some silver ore. After restarting the PS3 and having it check for errors (what, is the PS3 running MS-DOS?) I fast traveled again to Whiterun and it instantly locked up. Again after doing the 10 minute process of restarting, checking the disk, and then loading Skyrim I decided to be sneaky. I fast traveled to the Whiterun stables and then walked to Whiterun. Things seemed to be fine, but then after walking around for a minute boom—hard lockup.

I noticed two corrupted saves on my PS3—both recent Skyrim autosaves. I deleted them and gave it another shot. This time it locked up again when entering Whiterun. Balls.

Really disappointing. I could easily play this for another 90 hours, but maybe Bethesda is telling me I should start Skyward Sword.
 
I'm kind of happy that at least Bethesda is acknowledging that there's a problem, even if they're downplaying it like it's some rare thing that only happens when the planets align.

But I just can't get it out of my mind that they lied to us. The very same Nick Breckon that just posted that link lied to us on these very forums about the PS3 version being "great as well" when people asked Bethesda to show it.

So I find it hard to believe that it'll be fixed. But acknowledgement is an improvement at least. I don't know. I have very conflicted feelings about this because I had a lot of respect for Nick from Idle Thumbs. But I just can't stop feeling bitter that I was lied to.

This isn't about being frustrated. This is about having my trust and faith betrayed. It's a deeper thing than $60 lost.
Fuck Nick, am I right guys?
 
It looks like a lot of PS3 Skyrim reviews are down on Gamerankings too. Right now there are only 3 up when there used to be like 15.
 
If it helps, I really am sorry you guys are having issues. Like the post says, we know how frustrating it can be when you run into problems. The team has been working hard to address this stuff as quickly as possible, and we're pulling in all sorts of data based on user save files to make sure it's as comprehensive a patch as it can be.

While you're here, would you be able to explain how, if Bethesda did not know about these PS3 issues before release, the company managed to accidentally not send out any review copies of the Playstation 3 version of the game, even to outlets that specifically requested that version? If Bethesda did know about these issues, why did the company allow hundreds of thousands of Playstation 3 owners to purchase this game near to the release date without either releasing a day-one patch or posting this problem in a simple "known issues" post somewhere on the Bethesda or Skyrim web site? If Bethesda did not know about these issues before the release date, is it because your QA teams failed to properly test the PS3 version of the game, because it was Sony certification's failure to catch these issues, or some other reason?

As far as I can tell, this is not some strange, hard to replicate glitch that only affects a few players. It seems to be nearly universal for PS3 gamers who play a large amount of the game. I apologize for putting you on the spot, as I know you're probably just doing damage control, but I just happen to be halfway through a research paper on the tenth anniversary of the Enron scandal, so corporate speak about how everything will be fine is falling on one pair of deaf ears at the moment.
 
So yeah. Mine game froze during an autosave after fast travelling. Had to physically unplug ps3 and then when I restarted had to wait 20 mins for a hdd check, because it thought the hdd was corrupt. BETHESDA WTF IS GOING ON HERE!!???
 
How I view this entire situation...

ZJsUs.gif


My first animated gif - please be kind GAF...
 
So yeah. Mine game froze during an autosave after fast travelling. Had to physically unplug ps3 and then when I restarted had to wait 20 mins for a hdd check, because it thought the hdd was corrupt. BETHESDA WTF IS GOING ON HERE!!???

Had the same thing with BF3 ... 3 times. Fuckin' games these days.
 
Hey, we hear you guys. It's not an effort to downplay the situation, but to explain what the situation is for the people having problems. It's a combination of smaller issues, and like the post says, we've been actively tracking those down and will be addressing them in a future patch.


Nice of you to respond, but why would you let several days of Internet Rage persist on message boards, yours included (most were simply locked by YOUR mods), articles on several websites pop up, including IGN's (which they claim you never responded to) emails by gamers who paid you money by purchasing the PS3 version never were responded to?

Why did you ignore this for the past several days when all of this hit the fan?

How hard was this response to post here on GAF? Why did it take so long? Most gamers are patient, most Bethesda fans are VERY PATIENT, you have forced them to be. But the lack of information, lack of responses, lack of anything pertaining to information about these issues is so disheartening. That is the most respectful way I can put it.

I sold my PS3 Skyrim on ebay. After several days of being ignored, after watching your developers tweet about he VGAs but never respond to the angry and disappointed PS3 Skyrim owners, I didn't want any part of your game. I actually felt dirty selling Skyrim PS3 on ebay because I felt like I was ripping someone off.

Did your testers even play the game past 60 hours? Did they ever try to beat it? Get a platinum to test the trophies which would have involved 60 hours at least? There is no way you can honestly say yes to these questions. It is so obvious in the product you sold to gamers.

I will have nothing to do with your games anymore. I platinum'd Fallout 3, Beat Fallout NV twice, dealt with the inconsistant framerates in both, that never got better. But that is it. You have turned away someone who spent over $180 on your products (including the Skyrim I just sold) by your lack of information and "customer service" to your loyal fans.

Again, I appreciate that someone is responding, but this is too little too late. I could care less if you get the PS3 version running silky smooth. It is obviously not going to happen this year, or in the next patch, and you have given no reassurance it will ever happen.

I feel like I paid you to beta test your game. It feels like people still are beta testing your game with you wanting their saved game files to try to find some answers. You should have been finding answers before this game shipped.
 
As I used blizzard in a dungeon room for the Nth time today, I noticed how it makes every object fly around the room like crazy. Then I thought of this thread and I wondered how large my save file had grown from that simple action. (._. )
 
lorebringer said:
Edit: So yeah, lack of RAM.

Just to address that stuff: it is correct that the PS3 has less system RAM, which always poses unique challenges, but the team actually solved most of that long ago. They are fixing the remaining issues as they find them.

Htown said:
As far as I can tell, this is not some strange, hard to replicate glitch that only affects a few players. It seems to be nearly universal for PS3 gamers who play a large amount of the game.

It is in fact a confluence of issues rather than one specific thing, and not everyone is encountering them all at once. That's why we're spending a lot of time examining specific user saves to track down the problems that people are hitting.

What I'd like to hear Nick say is will they definitely resolve it, and they just don't know how long it will take, or can he not confirm that he knows if they will be able to fix it or not?

They'll be fixed. The post says it all: "Rest assured we take your gameplay experience seriously and will continue working on this until it’s resolved."
 
As I used blizzard in a dungeon room for the Nth time today, I noticed how it makes every object fly around the room like crazy. Then I thought of this thread and I wondered how large my save file had grown from that simple action. (._. )
Skyrim is meant to be played like a trip to the museum, haven't you heard? Disturb as little as possible to ensure the best possible visit.
 
Uhh, while SR3 on PS3 is better than the 360 version, I'd argue that Skyrim runs better most of the time on PS3. Saints Row 3 has a very unstable, often poor framerate. The game feels like shit on all three platforms, really.
You can argue whatever you want but I've seen the opposite in the head-to-head comparisons.
Digital Foundry:
But, despite their best and most well-meaning efforts at achieving parity on both consoles, we can confirm that the 360 does command a clear advantage over the PS3 when it comes to both image quality and performance.
 
Is recall and refund possible in this situation? If so, what about Fallout 3 and New Vegas?

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/281679/buggy-game-purchasers-entitled-to-refund/

Don't think the Trading Standards has any actual teeth though, but I'm not familiar with the UK.

US wise, you can file a complaint with the BBB (also has no teeth though). Not sure if it is the same Zenimax since it is listed under computer dealers.
http://www.bbb.org/washington-dc-ea...alers/zenimax-media-inc-in-rockville-md-3729/
 
They'll be fixed. The post says it all: "Rest assured we take your gameplay experience seriously and will continue working on this until it’s resolved."

True enough, that was said in the post from the beginning, but it also failed to acknowledge how huge the issue is. If you're telling me you know it can't be played on PS3 is and you will unbreak the game, then I'm happy. Thank you
 
I suppose I'm lucky in that my game is still relatively playable at 110+ hours with an 11MB save. The framerate still does get really choppy at points, and I've had at least one or two crashes a day though. What I'd really like to see is some way to convert a PS3 save to a PC save, as I have pretty much no intention of ever buying DLC for the PS3 version now. Is such a thing even possible?
 
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/281679/buggy-game-purchasers-entitled-to-refund/

Don't think the Trading Standards has any actual teeth though, but I'm not familiar with the UK.

US wise, you can file a complaint with the BBB (also has no teeth though). Not sure if it is the same Zenimax since it is listed under computer dealers.
http://www.bbb.org/washington-dc-ea...alers/zenimax-media-inc-in-rockville-md-3729/

As someone else said, State Attorney General. Also, local news media, magazines, review web sites, forums. Just spread the word about how Bethesda has handled their past three releases and how they're now finally responding because they've been outed and are out of excuses.
 
I can't play without it crashing every 15 minutes or so. My file is only 8mb too. I kinda wish I hadn't spent the money on this game. I feel like I have half a game.
 
I'm sort of satisfied its getting looked into.
I loved the game, and would be playing more of it if my ps3 version wasnt so horrible. And ontop of that, I'd rebuy the Fallouts for the ps3, if they got fixed. I dont enjoy having to reload my shit, or turn my ps3 off at the wall, because this game locked it up.

It greatly hinders my enjoyment.
But good news on the looking into it thing. It might go a long way to repairing ps3 fans relationship with the company. I know after this, I wasnt going to touch another Bethesda game for ps3. Now I may!

Also, is anyon else getting nothing but adds at the top of the site about some fucking 55 yr old looking 35? I swear to god i will destroy this person.
 
I'm sort of satisfied its getting looked into.
I loved the game, and would be playing more of it if my ps3 version wasnt so horrible. And ontop of that, I'd rebuy the Fallouts for the ps3, if they got fixed. I dont enjoy having to reload my shit, or turn my ps3 off at the wall, because this game locked it up.

It greatly hinders my enjoyment.
But good news on the looking into it thing. It might go a long way to repairing ps3 fans relationship with the company. I know after this, I wasnt going to touch another Bethesda game for ps3. Now I may!

Also, is anyon else getting nothing but adds at the top of the site about some fucking 55 yr old looking 35? I swear to god i will destroy this person.

What site is this? maybe your browser is based on gamebryo? I feel the same way. If they're seriously fixing it for reals, I can play it over Christmas and I'm not even mad anymore. This is insane though. People have a right to be angry.
 
Fuck Nick, am I right guys?

No. I'm sure he wasn't being malicious. He's just a community manager. I'm sure he never even touched the PS3 version when he posted what he did. He just spewed the company line. I'm disappointed in him for the lies, but I don't wish any ill will towards him. I don't hate him. In the end, this is all just video games and it isn't the end of the world. I am just hurt and disappointed.

At the very least, he's posting here and not just hiding until it all blows over. It isn't much but it's worth something to me.

What's done is done. Now it's just to see how Bethesda will fix this going forward. I won't condemn a person or company for their mistakes if they are genuine and truly work towards correcting the issue. Communication is the first step.
 
ONCE again, (how many games in a row is this now?) you guys are going to BELIEVE Nick (who lies for money) that Bethesda is going to fix ANYTHING? Seriously guys, get a grip. They aren't going to fix shit.

I'd love to be proven wrong--but from years of observation with Bethesda products, they just blow smoke out their ass.


In the end, this is all just video games and it isn't the end of the world. I am just hurt and disappointed.

Grow some stones. This isn't "JUST" video games. This is people's hard earned money and valuable time.
 
Grow some stones. This isn't "JUST" video games. This is people's hard earned money and valuable time.

I'm sorry that I'm not as hate-filled or angry as you are about this issue.
If by "grow some stones" you mean I should be unnecessarily hostile, then I'll pass.

Yeah, it sucks that we lost money and time from this whole thing. But it's not enough for me to despise a man.

Do I believe Nick that Bethesda will totally resolve this issue? Nope. They lost that trust. I'm still angry about the issue. Still doesn't mean I should be a jerk on some internet forums.
 
Just to address that stuff: it is correct that the PS3 has less system RAM, which always poses unique challenges, but the team actually solved most of that long ago. They are fixing the remaining issues as they find them.

It is in fact a confluence of issues rather than one specific thing, and not everyone is encountering them all at once. That's why we're spending a lot of time examining specific user saves to track down the problems that people are hitting.

They'll be fixed. The post says it all: "Rest assured we take your gameplay experience seriously and will continue working on this until it’s resolved."

You never repaired Fallout 3 GOTY nor helped Obsidian repair New Vegas both of which suffered from the same issue. Will the PS3 version of New Vegas Ultimate suffers from the same problem?

Is it going to be "fixed" like you "fixed" these two games.
 
"It will be fixed" is the new "its on par with the 360 version".

The only question is whether the lying is deliberate or a case of community managers being low on the food chain. I'd like to see some admission of responsibility but given that Bethesda can't code I doubt they can recognise the fuckup and bad will they're generating.
 
There really is a stupid sense of entitlement this generation.

I mean, I don't recall Genesis players calling Capcom for their "money back" when their version of Street Fighter had garbled voices. And those of us that played the Saturn versions of Tomb Raider or Resident Evil were fine to live with lower framerates or the elimation of some features like transparancies. We were just happy to get some of the ports to enjoy alongside of the awesome first party games for the system we bought.

Obviously what is in that video is pretty crappy but the disservice you guys have been done is by the game reviewers that failed to adequately test and let you know that this is what you were facing if you bought that version of the game.

Console ports have had superior and inferior versions forever. And there have been ports that have been shitty forever. Yet the mentality used to be "buyer beware" not "fuck the company who made this." Buy the better version or live with the inferior one and be glad you still get to play it. Hell, we used to even decide to buy consoles BASED ON better versions of games. Now it seems like the very existence of a better version leads to crying of lawsuits, refunds, and general decrying of the developer.

In today's gaming society an ever-changing society at that, this is completely unacceptable just as it should have been years ago. The state of the game on ps3 is unacceptable and most of the ps3 users are not even able to complete the game at all due to this issue. Your stance is appalling and you should not chime in on subjects if you are going to be completely irrational.

I'm sorry that I'm not as hate-filled or angry as you are about this issue.
If by "grow some stones" you mean I should be unnecessarily hostile, then I'll pass.

Yeah, it sucks that we lost money and time from this whole thing. But it's not enough for me to despise a man.

Do I believe Nick that Bethesda will totally resolve this issue? Nope. They lost that trust. I'm still angry about the issue. Still doesn't mean I should be a jerk on some internet forums.

Being a jerk is totally different from being truthful. In this case tact is out of the window due to the horrible product they served to ps3 users.
 
Shit, I wonder what happened to those guys who posted YouTube videos such as gathering then releasing 2500 Cheese Wheels down a mountainside. That must really cause some serious issues with the .ESM save game file(s). Probably a wonderfully quick way to break the game.
 
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