Does connecting to Xbox live to download a patch require a paid membership? Can you download patches at cafes with wifi? I've never owned a console so I don't know anything about the mechanics of such things.

Xbox live is free bro (at least for patches) if you honestly can't find a way to get an internet connection for a minute you can put the update on a flash drive just make sure it's formatted (FAT32)

Would it make you happy to buy a brand new car that can't drive, or it can, but it stops every once in a while, but you can take it to a mechanic day one, or any time you like?

I don't know about internet cafes (never been to one), but you don't need a paid membership - the free silver one does the job fine.
If internet cafes won't work, I'm sure someone has a friend or family member with internet who won't mind if you plug it in for a few minutes.

YAY! patches are what fix da game yay.

For some FO:NV ran just fine. It wasn't that way for others though.

Also, I never said anything about CD's OR selling patches so I have no idea what you are talking about. I suppose I didn't mean people with no internet, but people who don't have their systems connected to the internet. It would be good if we could download the patches and put them onto a flashdrive to install them on consoles (if this isn't already possible).

If the car company discovered that, between the time the car left their factory and the time it arrived at my dealer, there was a problem with it? Yeah, I'd be thrilled that they were already on top of the issue and had a fix for it. Rather than waiting for me to call and say "why's this dashboard light on?"


Edit: also, this is BETHESDA we're talking about. They're famous for bugs. If Skyrim doesn't CTD during a long game session, I'll wonder if something's wrong with it :tongue:

Additionally..... beyond the whole "software's more complex these days" issue, there's the "48 million different PC components, drivers, OS's" issue. Yeah, Beth's tested the game on as many as they can manage. But I'm sure that the people who got review copies have discovered more issues. Or that got released between Gold and Release changed something and caused a new bug. There will ALWAYS be more bugs for them to find. Lazy/Bad development would be to throw up their hands in defeat and say "we're done, deal with it yourself." Again, patch = good.

Dude, game developers aren't magicians, they can't fix EVERY bug in their game before it's released. At some point they gotta go gold and start packaging all their games for shipping. You honestly don't think they tried their hardest to get their game as bug free as possible? You honestly believe they're using patches as an excuse to not do bug fixing till after release? FO:NV was an example in a horrible amount of bugs on release, just because Obsidian had a problem with bug fixing and released a day 1 patch doesn't mean every other company that releases a day 1 patch will have the same problems. Game companies understand what impact game breaking bugs have on there reputation with their community. The fact that most consoles and PCs have access to decent internet is amazing, it means that bug fixes after release are now common ground for every game. You know what happened last gen when there was a game breaking bug? It didn't get fixed. Unless of course it was for PC or they released a whole other copy of the game. I for one am ecstatic that there is continued bug fixing going on and that I get a patch day 1.

I can tell you that with over a decade of programming experience that no matter if it is software, apps, games, web application, etc... it will always need a patch. To believe that the quality control process will find every issue in unrealistic, unless you want someone to spend years to just quality control which at that point their program will be obsolete.

What I gauge is how quickly a developer releases patches, and the quicker they release, the more likely I will use them versus anybody else.

With that said, I understand your frustration, but your issue is not an unsolvable one. If you posted here, then you much have an internet connection. So connect it to an internet connection, use a monitor or a small TV, or even bring it over a friend that has it connected to the internet connection. You will just get an update less frequently than most of us but at least you will be moving in the right direction.

It will not end with a day one patch. So, imagine that the company won't fix your car before you get it.

I'm very sure you can download patches and put them on a flash drive and then install them.

I would have to agree with you. Very few new games don't come out with a patch anymore.

Yeah. They day-1 patches are thing they didn't have time or didn't need to fix before the game went gold. They probably thought "Well, we can work another 3 days on this and risk not being able to keep the release date, or we can start producing the game now and apply these fixes in a small patch and ensure we get the game out on time."

To the majority of people who replied: I understand you may think the OP is overreacting, and maybe he/she is a little, but here is a point he tries to make early in his post as the reason for his anger, the absence of an internet connection. Now, I know everyone says, "why would anyone fail to have an internet connection?" If he is like me, the area in which I live is an absolute dead area. No providers whatsoever provide internet to my residence or the literally hundreds of homes around me. I live literally 10 minutes from a fairly large city, yet, no companies want to extend their coverage to my area. I could get satellite internet, but who wants to pay $110 a month for 2mb internet?! Luckily, I plan on moving after Christmas because of a new job, so I will eventually have a connection. So, before wondering about the OP overreacting, understand how outrageously infuriating it is to still live in a place where no internet exists. So, like the OP, I will he playing Skyrim unpatched, hoping no gamebreaking bugs exist.

I can tell you with a similar experience, that the quantity of bugs can be seriously diminished and that the user need not see them that often as is the case with Bethesda games.

Wow, that's a whole lot of words and emotion... for something I consider a non-issue. Day one patches? Yawn.

It's actually about consumer rights. If you let the companies set the standards, it won't be to our advantage.

I think that was his whole point. Game makers putting out games that need fixing the day it is released. Not too big of a deal to most, but if you don't have the internet connection it can be a pain. It is impossible for game designers to find every single flaw or glitch, but having to fix the game the day it is released seems a bit troubling.

I bet if the day you deposited money into a bank account and not all of it made it you would be a bit angry too. Or would you say "Day one embezzlement is fairly common these days."



Sure. It's nice they continue to support their product after they have your money. And I doubt if a week or two into release a glitch was found that needed to be fixed most would be fine. But day one patches seems like they are rushing too much to make sure the game is actually playable.

Day 1 patch is great, it means they are still working on the game with no brake, even after shipping.

That's what I call dedication, they are working hard to give us the best experience possible and i cant do anything but applaud that.

The game is huge and unscripted, do you want the game to come out in January just so they can go around testing every little thing in every different way?

This. There is literally no way to 100% test every aspect of this game, ESPECIALLY with radiant AI- it randomly generates quests. How are they supposed to test that?

Games are incredibly complicated now and will only continue to become more convoluted. As gamers expect more realistic and immersive environments and engines that can run/load textures at lightning speed, the door for bugs and glitches gets kicked open wider.

As far as your issue with 'forced' connection to the internet...you're using very complicated software. It needs updates. Welcome to the 21st century. EVERYTHING needs to be connected to the internet now- even my blu ray player has to connect to get updates to play the latest discs. My phone needs to get software updates. The world is connected now, and if you don't have access you're going to be left behind as more and more devices require that connection.

Connect your xbox to the net and get the patches. Modded console? Tough luck.

This is hardly true. The buggiest TES was probably Daggerfall. No physics there. It was mostly negligence.

I understand Op concerns, but its just too soon and an overreaction to acuse skyrim of being buggy without even having playing it.

re: no internet.

I sympathise.... not really a fan of how everythings heading towards "just download it" / digital distribution, because not everyone has a good connection.


That said - we've been dealing with patching software for decades. People have had to download patches other places and then bring them to offline computers forever. It's worked in the past. (Of course, now that the PC games require internet connections to even install and launch, you don't have to worry about patching anymore. Don't have a connection? Well, you weren't going to get to play the game anyway, so you don't need the patch.)

Additionally, just because there's a patch, doesn't mean it's for "game breaking" bugs. Can be for little things (an error in one branch of a sidequest, if you've done certain other quests & actions previously; some dialogue misspellings; the damage calculations on Unique Uber Weapon Of Doom are doing a bit too little/much damage; the trees in the southwest of the Forest Of Darkness are rendering a bit too high/low; etc)

So if you've got no internet for your console, you'll still be able to play it (99.9%..... testing on consoles isn't like on PC. They have reasonably set hardware and OS, not like the millions of parts & drivers for PC).

But we know it's going to be buggy. Or they wouldn't need a patch...
I think it's too early to complain however.