I was greatly shocked yesterday to read an article from a major gaming site (can I say IGN?) that on the very release week of Skyrim there is ALREADY an announcement for a *patch* (ummm...W H A T ? !)...My thoughts from reading the small article immediately went from confusion and bewilderment to straight out anger! There is a reason for my heated reaction, one in which countless of persons on this very same forum will (if honest) relate to but out of blind and hopeful loyalty to our favorite gaming company, has suppressed for fear of being labeled a 'hater'. That reason stemming from a looming unsaid fear and hushed unquestioned acceptance that Skyrim may follow the same fate and pattern of another flagship title, Fallout: New Vegas, in being a very 'buggy' and 'glitchy' affair upon release.

Flashback 2010: I, like many others, waited in anticipation for the release of what seemed to be an incredible follow up to *Fallout 3 (*In my opinion thee greatestRPG ever made only rivaled by Morrowind). Capitalizing on its own self-propelled heightended 'Hype' (as is now with Skyrim), initially FO:NV promised to be the award winning Game of the Year we hoped for. But alas something happened that quickly dispelled those ideal notions; after about 80+ hours of game play (personal accounts vary) I turn on my console, tried to load a game, and (*surprise*) I received the now well documented "save game glitch" that for lack of a better phrase was "one big f******g disappointment!" ~ I couldn't load ANY of the previous saves, my only option being to start a new game...Distraught and pissed off, I abandoned the game to my gameshelf to gather dust.

Bethesda, in an attempt to remedy the issues with FO:NV, have provided several patches offered for download here and there, but I have a problem that may be of dwindling concern (to them) but is a factor I assume for me an others alike...I DONT HAVE MY XBOX CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET! Therefore, all of this constant 'patching' does me sh*t little help! As mentioned, I was now reduced, like countless others, to abandoning the game and waiting for the recently announced Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition, complete with DLC's and 'patches' (notice it did not get the heralded 'Game of the Year' title!) ~ (*On a similar note, last week I was able to finally get my hands on a copy of Gears of War 3 and Batman" Arkham City, but guess what? There's NOW "PATCHES to FIX GLITCHES!" ~ WTF is happening in the gaming industry? Just about EVERY MAJOR TITLE that's been released in the last month or so needs some damn "patch' to 'fix' what should have been noticed before it was burned and sent to marketplace shelves!!! ~ Can anyone say, "Quality Control?!"

In Short: I think that the litmus test for the technical integrity of all these game releases should NOT be based on the 'expanded possibilites' of CONNECTED consoles or pc's, but instead emphasis should be determined by, "Can this run on a STAND ALONE GAME CONSOLE WITHOUT BREAKING THE [censored] DOWN?" Even if I did have my console connected to the internet and could get downloads, I would (and do) find it troubling that there is the necessity of constant 'patching' to 'fix' a product that I just paid for or bought over a year ago! ("Why is this so buggy?!") This time around we're now being asked toPAY $60-$150 (collector's edition) for a product we're already being told is 'problematic' ~ S A Y W H A T ?!!!

Considering some or MANY of us have been bowled over by the 'Skyrim Hype' and may have Pre-Ordered, I would like to get STRAIGHT answers from Bethesda to these simple questions:

1) What is the nature of the bug(s) and how does it affect gameplay? Is it a gamebreaker? (or) is it something(s) that can be overlooked?
2) What will be the recourse for console owners who (like me) are NOT connected to the internet and or DON'T have an XBOX Live account and
want to have access to the patch(es)?

I think that I may be among a large number of consumers that are a committed crowd of Bethesda/TES fans, both past and present, whowant and expect Skyrim to be an award winning game and experience in the league of their previous titles. But I am also alarmed right now.Albeit not necessarily a huge practice of this particular company per se, a growing number of game developers in the industry seem to think that it's perfectly acceptable to release their products under the sentiment that "it's okay, we'll just put out a patch to fix it" without taking in account the inconvienience and cost to the ENTIRE purchasing public in mainataining any type of 'loyalty' to their brand under the present "sell now / fix later" atmosphere.

I say this attitude is UNACCEPTABLE and something that needs to be addressed before it spreads any further...In regards to the release ofSkyrim and its gimmicky (11.11.11) launch date, I say, I would have rathered the game be a month late to fix any existing problems, as opposed toit be thrown into the marketplace with what can be possible gamebreaking glitches or bugs.


N'uff said!

Sorry about the RANT, but I'm greatly diassappointed! ~ I've pre-ordered my copy of Skyrim and I need to be assured that I'm not being played the chump again likeI felt with Fallout:New Vegas! ~ What Do You All Think?

WE NEED TO SPEAK UP! HALF-ASSED IS NOT OKAY WHEN PEOPLE ARE PAYING OUT THEIR HARD-EARNED CASH FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD WORK!


I'M OUTTA HERE!

M+Vx


Link: http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1211842p1.html?_cmpid=ign1407

Aren't day one patches fairly common with most games now? :confused:

Its a day 1 patch, I think they started doing the patch just after the game was officially printed onto the CDs and stuff, so obviously they couldnt put it on.

Its more like a last minute thing

Day one patches are very common. I don't see why you're complaining about Bethesda continuing to work at their game even after it went gold.

Did Bethesda have much to do with New Vegas patches, or was it Obsidian?
These games are huuuge, there's no way they'd be able to fix all bugs and glitches, and I personally think it's great that they continue to fix and patch even after people have already parted with their cash.
Seeing as you're on the net now, how difficult would it be to hook up your Xbox to the net for the few minuted it takes to download a patch?
If people genuinely have now way to ever download further patches, then I would definitely suggest waiting for reviews which deal with this aspect and maybe waiting for the GOTY edition.

Bethesda didnt make new vegas

This^ Every game I have played on xbox in the last year that is new always has an update/patch when you play it.

Overreact much?

Patches being common is not a good thing for us gamers. It only means that companies think they can have it any way they wont. And a large open world can't be an excuse for any kind of bugs. Maybe for some quest related things, or something, but this argument is drawn too often.

You have no idea how bad I just wanna type "u mad bro?" and leave it at that...

Seriously though, I understand your pain, and hopefully you'll get some answers. However, I think it would've been more productive to first try to find out what the actual issues are that are being patched in a more inquisitive, less emotionally-driven way, before reacting to this degree.

yep!! i just popped in MW3 and update right away!!

a guy i know is reviewing skyrim as we speak so i have PM'ed him to ask if he has heard about the 'texture bug' if there is such a problem!

Day one patches can make things a little harder for pirates ... but why should we worry?

Is that supposed to make it acceptable?

Honestly, I don't care either way, but I am curious as to whether it will be game breaking or not.

Also, they need to find a better way to get these patches to people who don't have internet.

Those bugs must be really serious to be getting a day one attention!!

Well any large game is going to have bugs so can't you be happy that if there was a major problem or if Bethesda realised they could still fix it or few minor issues and that they actually went out of the way to do so and make a patch for it?

Since the game is Gold they technically don't have to bother doing anything to the game anymore and can just wait for the paycheck.

I don't understand the frustration with first day patches. I'd rather have the most up-to-date experience right out of the box. Other developers will simply let the game be as it is, which is even more frustrating to me. Either way, Todd even said that this game has brought about a new way that they look at bug squashing, grant them a little room to adjust to the new processes while they continue to make the game better for us. Just be happy they're working so hard to make the game work.

wat?
Arent patches meant to fix those bugs?
Why the hell are you complaining...
Feel free to leave and not buy the game tho, its your loss.

Its to prevent the nerd rage from not getting out on set release date

Day 1 patch = good.

Means that they didn't send the "gold" code off a month ago and then forget about their game to go start on DLC to "rip you off" with. Only to rush out a Day 3 patch after people start screaming.


Day 1 patch means they kept testing to try to find & squish as many bugs as possible (since there's got to be more bugs - any game this big has 'em).

I'm surprised that games aren't shipped near inoperable with a day 1 "patch" as a sort of key. I bet that would greatly reduce people selling and buying early. I always wait. Just my nature. I could have been playing a week ago when my store got it but I've just been waiting and getting even more excited.

There are larger software with less bugs than Bethesda games. I would be much happier if they tried harder to exterminate those bugs prior to release.



I really don't get this attitude. You're talking as if we have to buy their games regardless of the way we are treated. Doing things that way would be a fast way to loose customers.

Day 1 patch is pretty common. Games are usually shipped/ready for release a long time before people can actually buy it. The fact that they spend this time to fix some more stuff only makes me happy.

Previous games had only so much code and only so many things you could do. It was easy to do the test. Now there is code written by the developers, code written by middlemen (physics engines, etc.) and more that all has to come together. Before where you had hundres of lines of code, now you have thousands if not millions, there are soo many ways to do things in games, not everything can be tested ahead of time. Bugs are part of games. At least with modern games you can patch them where as older games (i.e. pre-internet connected), you were stuck with what you put on the cartridge.

I think with the way games are going, the amount of things you can do and the detail of the games, that they are moving in the right direction even if bugs get through.

day 1 patch is good ffs get it into your [censored] skull, after the printed the game they kept sweeping for bugs how [censored] are you srs?

I don't think it's game breaking seeing as a bunch of people are playing the game.
You seriously want them to start selling patch CD's? O_O
No.