Ok, so the biggest problem that was hurting the system was that the system was remembering everything you ever did in dungeons. That problem is now fixed.

That being said, no amount of waiting appears to drop the save file beyond the amount that the initial install of the patch drops it by (a number that I assume is directly related to dumping that sort of information).

You then begin to accumulate file size again. I'd managed to keep my save file down at 4.6 mb by basically only working on things I could do around just one town. So my save file only went down by 200 kbs. Others with 10+ mbs claimed a loss of 1mb which seems to be in proper proportion.

Questions I need answers to in order to understand the situation are as follows:

1. What is a typical computer/360 save file size?
2. How often do dungeons reset in game for computer/360 versions?
3. For someone who found the patch fixed their problem, how long have they been successfully playing aftwerwards without crippling lag?

The answers to those questions will help answer two further questions.

1. Is there anything wrong with our file size being so large?
2. Is the game now functioning like it's supposed to?
3. Does this fix actually address long term gameplay?

If the file size of the other machines is large, then there may be nothing wrong here. If so, a variety of things can happen, like a corrupted save file that will eventually come back to haunt us. The game functioning properly is just out of interest. Long term play is really all that matters.

One thing that is apparent, quests will not be fixed. You can't fix everyone's individual save file in anyway short of a general quest reset (which is identical to restarting your character without losing your level). So it may really be best just to start a new save game now and keep your old one in case this is ever sorted out.

I asked a friend who recently got the game (for PC), though only lv 8 or 9 about the save files sizes. Theirs started around 3mb but is now 4mb so they do grow as well.......


I patched my lv 20 6.3mb PS3 game last night.. lost 400k from my first save.. played for 3 hours (performance was great) did a dungeon or two, smithing etc and some selling. Saved again and lost 100k. I then noticed my date was the 20th Heartfire or something so I rested until the next month to see what happened and lost another 300k. FIle size now 5.5mb?!

Don't know what this all means though seemed relevant to the posts you have been putting up!!??

They did indeed fix the cell reset issue as now shops restock much more frequently, bodies don't lay there for ever, and if I die in a dungeon, the items in chests/barrels are different than they were the first time, which was not the case pre new patch.

The resting trick took about a MB off of my file, but now it seems it's slowly but surely heading back up again.
If the save file problem wasn't from the cell flushing issue, I fear all may be lost for us.

But if PC save files grow as well... is that the problem?

No. The problem was, and i think much more less still it is, how the engine dealt with cache and disk access. The more the filesize is, the more is likely that you changed the word. Without proper cache reset, the ram of ps3 become full, ps3 starts to access to HD frequently creating a bottleneck, and the game stutter. That is also why a SSD (>>>>>fast than the 2500rpm ps HD) solve the problem. The patch has improved the game data cache management in order to use better the ram, i think they're still working on it. Improvements have been made.

So what you are saying is the file size is irrelevant and happens to be a coincidence? Basically the more you mess with the world / item's the more problems start.. Having a large/growing save file is a normal bi-product of that and not the cause of the lag problem? Can PC/xbox users who have played for hours confirm file size growth on the same level as ps3? If we could just put the whole files size thing to bed would be great as I play the game more bothered about how that reacts then making dragon armour lol

That would explain why Bethesda initially responded that file sizes aren't the problem. Because they knew and expected file sizes to increase. It just became an indicator for us of how many dungeons a person has visited (because the size goes up when you do that).

Since dungeons don't refresh, this means that the people were having file size creeping each time they were also accumulating a large numbers of bodies/objects that they left in dungeons.

This could mean that our save file size means nothing intrinsically, it just meant something when part of it was dedicated soley to remembering those dungeon objects. The two were associated. This (lucky for me), means I was right about my estimate of what was causing the problem before (dungeon delving and such).

That's potentially great news. Still though, people who kept playing despite the problem and subsequently corrupted their game and therefore save file should be able to play but not recover most quests.

What it means is that the save files may contain different types of data. Some are more dynamic (like dead bodies) and are meant to be cleared out while others are more static (such as towns or location data). If this is the case, fixing the problem where the more difficult data gets properly dumped after enough time may actually fix the problem.

The stuff people are most likely running into now may just be related to the corruption that occured while this necessary memory dumping was not occuring. A new save file (character reset) or a file that hasn't been corrupted enough to cause problems (like mine) shouldn't have any problems.

I'm hoping that mine is OK to continue playing with. First session seems to say so though I won't hold my breath.

Again though any XBOX/PC players (or friends of) playing with 10-12+ mb save files?

I strongly recommend saving your current file where it is, just in case. If everything goes to heck eventually, you should have that to follow up on.

Consider it done