Hey guys,

I've got one of the new slim PS3s. I'm not getting much of a drop in framerate in the overworld (outdoor sections). However, I am having framerate problems in some dungeons. For example, the framerate is pretty choppy in Snapleg Cave.

I haven't yet found that things have got worse with play time (I'm up to 12 hours now) or game save size (my save file is just under 5mb).

Having spoken to friends who have the Xbox version, they aren't experiencing the same framerate issues. This leads me to conclude that the problems we are experiencing are just based around the X360 version being the lead version and that the PS3 port isn't as good as for some other titles. For example, I have Battlefield 3 on PS3 and it runs great.

One other thing I would draw everyone's attention to is that Eurogamer.net will be publishing their PS3 vs 360 vs PC Skyrim comparison today. They've done this for loads of other games and it's a really good quality bit of research into the differences including framerate measurements. I expect that they'll show that the PS3 performance in Skyrim is not as good as the 360.

P.

I'm pretty sure that I know what the answer from Bethesda will be... and it's going to basically be the same one they gave just after FONV came out. "It's a Caching error that is compounded by the systems loads in game while at the same time as background loads while online. Please, disable your internet connection, limit the number of saved games, and shut down the PS3 every 3 to 5 hours. Tell us how this works as we are trying to isolate the issue." That's a paraphrase, but I'm guessing that their understanding and approach to the PS3 hasn't gone much beyond that yet.

Honestly, I haven't played long enough yet to get a massive save file, but I don't tend to play more than two hours at any given time. I had maybe 2 or 3 game freezes, but almost no issues at all, when playing FONV for 125 hours, or even FO3GotY for 250 hours. When I do get the chance to play longer sessions, I now shut down at about the 3 hour mark, get a snack, go to the bathroom, and get back going after a few minutes. I hope that works for Skyrim. That SHOULDN'T be the way a person HAS to play, but this game is too good to ignore completely.

I'm now sure i had a faulty disc!
I went to the store where i bought the game and explained my issue.
The storekeeper made some calls and took my disc back and replaced it with a new copy.

Just got home, deleted all Skyrim installed data and inserted the new gamedisc.
Installed the game again and installed the patch again.

Loaded my save from earlier where i could not exit the Abandoned Shack from the Dark Brotherhood quest because the world was missing and crashed my PS3.
I now can exit the Shack, the world is fully there, no lag, no hickups, no stuttering... everything runs perfectly now!

So there ARE faulty discs out there for PS3!

i have a new ps3 320gb slim its about 3 months old and skyrim runs perfectly on mine. there is no texture issues or lag or anything. ok so i get the od bit where it will freeze for split second but its so rare i cant even remember the last time it happened. also the only other thing ive had is the game crash a few times but thats only about 3 times in total an nothing major as ive been playin it a lot. ive spent the past 2 days or so looking for the problems people have described and found non of them so far. all textures look good an do not change an there is no lag. im only level 10 so far tho.

Hey all,

The Eurogamer Face Off article is now up: -

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-face-off-skyrim

They have the Xbox 360 version as the clear winner in terms of image quality and performance. They also acknowledge the PS3 game save issue which apparently has been present in Bethesda games all the way back to Oblivion. They also mention the different methods that have been employed on 360 vs PS3 in cases where the framerate drops. On the 360, a framerate drop results in unsightly screen tearing. However on the PS3, it drops frames which causes juddering/stuttering. To an extent, it is a matter of taste about which is the least worst approach. Personally, I prefer screen tearing rather than stuttering since control response is still maintained.

It's also worth mentioning a couple of other factors. Firstly, Bethesda was originally a PC developer and so a lot of their knowledge and experience is in that area. That's why it's not surprising that Todd Howard said recently in Game Informer that the 360 was the lead platform for Skyrim (since the PC and 360 share similar architecture and dev tools).

In summary, whilst clearly Bethesda have worked hard to iron out the PS3 issues and close the gap on the 360 compared to previous titles, the Xbox versions appears to have less of the problems that we are experiencing.

P.

I have a 120 GB Slim, and I get lag in Whiterun. I also get some lag in areas with water, and large amounts of fire. And certain areas of caves. I know my save was over 5.6MB. It's getting close to 6MB.

Hey all,

I've managed to borrow a 360 and tried the game on there and I can confirm that it does run better on the Xbox. Sad but true. There's much less lag in dungeons that on PS3 have quite a choppy framerate.

Also, saving the game is much quicker and doesn't require going out to the XMB either.

P.

SO is this bug or whatever affecting every or most of the Ps3 players? or are we the minority? Either way yes, this should've been fixed before release!

I'm pretty much the same way. My save file is 10 MB though, I have the 160GB slim and only get the framerate drops after LONG play sessions.

I have a 250GB slim, and the framerate issues and screen tearing on this game are terrible. Never played a PS3 game that has such bad framerate problems.
The game stutters even in small fights against 2-3 people, running through most turns makes the framerate very unstable.

I know Bethesda aren't the greatest fans of the PS3, and they made no secret in the fact that the Xbox was the lead console for this game, but we PS3 users pay the same amount of money for your games as Xbox gamers do, so I at least expect the game to be playable.

I'm still really enjoying the game, I just really hope they can patch it.

Judging by what I've read the issue is likely related to the early console versions that had different NAND sizes. If people could post what console version they have and whether they're experiencing the lag it might help us to narrow that down. Early in the PS3s life they switched from 256mb NAND to 16MB NAND.

Here is a chart of the model numbers and what size NAND they have. Post a reply here with your model and whether you're experiencing the issue


PS3 Fat:
CECHA = 256MB
CECHB = 256MB
CECHC = 256MB
CECHE = 256MB
CECHG = 256MB
CECHH = 16MB
CECHJ = 16MB
CECHK = 16MB
CECHL = 16MB
CECHM = 16MB
CECHP = 16MB
CECHQ = 16MB

PS3 Slim:
CECH-20..A = 16MB
CECH-20..B = 16MB
CECH-21..A = 16MB
CECH-21..B = 16MB
CECH-250.A = 16MB
CECH-250.B = 16MB
CECH-250.A = 16MB
CECH-250.B = 16MB
CECH-251.A = 16MB
CECH-251.B = 16MB

The only reason I bought a PS3 when my xbox finally packed in was to play its exclusive titles AND skyrim. Seriously, seriously [censored] OFF right now and regretting that decision. The price of the game should reflect its [censored]ness of PS3. Think I will be returning this piece of [censored].