as i'm counting days until Skyrim release, i wonder if there are published anything about a Beta? I don't know if there were any public beta before Oblivion or Morrowind, but do you think there will be a possibility of a Skyrim beta before the release?

Nope and highly doubt we will get a beta. Were just gonna have to wait til 11-11-11

uh no i dont think there has been and probably wont be one its not exactly an mmo they have their own testers testing it why have more?

In the strictest sense, there will not be a public beta, at all.

In the broader sense, what's released on 11/11 will be a beta. It'll be buggy and the people who buy it will essentially be beta testers and it won't be really stable until it's patched a time or two (or three, or more). That's not only the way that Beth does it, but pretty much the way that the entire software industry does it.

Bethesda doesn't really do public betas. TES III Bloodmoon had a beta you could sign up for but it was pretty small (TES III Tribunal also had a small beta that involved some community members but it was invitation only). There wasn't anything like this for Oblivion or FO3 and I'd be surprised to see something for Skyrim.

It's possible they'll be a playable demo at some of the cons this season although I don't know if that is likely or not.

First off a public beta for an -RPG-? Quite doubtful. They have testers of coarse or people handpicked of a certain demographic just to get a sense of the market and thoughts on the game. But no public beta like you might find for Gears of War or something else. Also the buggy/Oblivion card is starting to feel old. If they screwed something up majorly it went by the name of FALLOUT 3. Todd Howard and Pete have already detailed mistakes or decisions across numerous podcasts and interviews over the years. Coincidentally the most recent Bethesda Podcast had one with Pete while Howard outlines a lot of decisions in a fan interview for Shivering Isle in....*drum roll* none other than our very -own- Oblivion forums that's pinned. And many of those mistakes transferred onto Fallout 3, Fallout being one of the most prestigious and legendary games ever created in gaming next to Wasteland, whose more gameplay centric ideas and innovations can be seen in TES to this day while being a truer RPG than either Fallout or TES(Or Morrowind as many of you know nothing about the franchise other than your favorite game.) has managed if we go by what a true "RPG" is. In a general overview Oblivion came out FIVE whopping years ago at the start of the Xbox 360 cycle both being a guinea pig in terms of technology, graphics to DLC as they tried from the smallest of things priced to avatar packs people bought(horse armor) to an expansion that took too much time and resources off their biggest new project(Fallout 3 and Skyrim preproduction) that it wasn't seen as worth it. Not to mention struggling with their first full VO game which can be reflected in Oblivion's dialogue although they did a more mediocre job in FO 3 "thankfully." As for the story Todd's already explained he wanted a more traditional(In both an RPG and ELDER SCROLLS sense. Not just Morrowind. Daggerfall, Arena, etc.) game and story for Oblivion. At the time his and the teams influence was Lord of the Rings. This also reflects in the story which they intentionally left without as much complexity as Morrowind. They wanted a sense of familiarity. Although apparently there was supposed to be a strain of a more political and complex plotline that didn't make it in. Otherwise its a competant if relatively mediocre game that was pretty good at the tims. Again, FIVE years ago. Not to mention it improved on Morrowind inspite of the numerous mistakes. Point is stop beating a dead horse. Oblivion is oblivion. They know what they did right and wrong. And what they intentionally did, and what they struggled on in terms of technology and voice actors instead of just written dialogue. Currently there's nothing to [censored] about. There's a new engine that seems competitive to the industry's standards and should solve a boat load of bugs. And be able to so those things in the Oblivion demo TES fans think they lied about. If it was possible with Beth's heavily modified version of gamebryo FO 3 and New Vegas disn't show it. Rift and Epic Mickey aren't bad(Also made by Gamebryo.) Wait untill there is something to [censored] about. Bethesda's a competant studio compared to a lot. If Skyrim fails wait for then. It hasn't yet.

What a pity, I'm illiterate because I played Oblivion. While I agree that the quest marker was an annoyance, I don't remember any quest in Morrowind or Daggerfall that required you to flex your gray matter. Moreover, and quite contrary to what I've heard, I found the side quests from Oblivion to be more engrossing than those in Morrowind.



Perhaps, you do realise that games are primarily made for entertainment. Most games, if not all, do not require you to use any "skill" what-so-ever. It's ludicrous to label people based on the game they play and even more absurd to cite games as an example for intellectual capability.

/rant.

As has already been mentioned, an open public beta is highly unlikely. If anything, I expect Bethesda to showcase the gameplay demo at E3 just as it did for Oblivion.

No Beta. Sadly. But luckily at the same time.

Please use the search function. I made a poll about this a month ago and everyone agreed a beta for TES is a stupid idea.

Perhaps you could get hired as a game tester. That's the closest thing to a beta you're getting.

As opposed to your post, which radiates intellect throughout.

On topic: If history is an idicator, there won't be a beta or demo or anything else. We'll just wait for the game.

OH LOOK, IT'S THIS THREAD AGAIN.

Bethesda doesn't do betas. for one thing, it's incredibly hard for a sandbox game to have a demo worth anything.

I hope we have to wait till 11.11.11 then i can do exactly what i did with Oblivion (first TES game) Walk out of the starting area and be just amazed by the open world and graphics. Then WALK! to the closest city continuing to be amazed by the world and the animals. Then entering the city, buying a weapon and a shield then go doing what i feel like (Bandits anyone?)

Pete already confirmed there will be no demo.

if they did a beta, someone is going to post spoilers everywhere

Nah. I would rather just have the complete game instead of a buggy, incomplete version of it. This isn't the size or undertaking of an MMO. Even though this game is huge, internal testing is more than satisfactory for BGS to make a quality experience.

If I said it once, I'll say it a thousand times. No wonder they call it Morowhine.

Oblivion, I'll agree, had a number of issues. The journal popped up too often, the quest markers were too over-zealous, they cut out options that it didn't make sense to cut out, game play was too easy, too little to do, horses were useless, etc. But despite those issues it was a decent game and a fair sight better game than many games even ones being released now (Two Worlds doesn't count, it's entirely too easy to make a better game than either of those two games).

But realize this. Morowhine is Morowhine, Oblivion is Oblivion. Now stop Morowhining and try to enjoy the frigging game already (I found that the best approach is to set you expectations really low, unrealistic expectations will only ever lead to disappointment).

Hey, can you imagine a beta of OB? I can't. Seriously. Maybe just the part before you leave the dungeon, but such a beta is useless, coz it doesn't show the actual game. And stop crying about Morrowind. It was a good game, but it had big flaws. And it will never come back. Period. Now cry into your pillow if you desire.

EDIT: And PLEASE, PLEASE, don't return Morrowind's quest system as the guy upper suggests. The repetitive go-kill-bring quests were the biggest flaw of the game IMHO. The HUGE one... If they add more choices and reduce the influence of/remove the quest marker, Oblivion's will be just perfect. Nothing made you think in Morrowind's system, it made you read, yeah, but not think at all.

I don't think OB or Fallout 3 or F:NV had Beta releases. So I seriously doubt they will have one for Skyrim. We will just have to wait until 11.11.11. :violin:

This.

No beta, but I hope theres a demo.

Bethesda, please be the only developers who doesn't realease beta or demo versions!!