The point is, none of us really have any idea why they chose to add some features or didn't add others. We weren't there. Presumption happens when you make a statement as if you know something that you don't. And it actually becomes calumnious when one attributes false motives to someone based on presumption.

Im sure its got the code to sort by category now, but I doubt thats the issue. Adding it through the controller/keys would require a reworking of the inventory, merchant, and container UI. Which is probably why they havnt done it.

I wouldnt say Bethesda wont do it ever, but theyve been adding a bunch of new features for free and all people seem to do is b**** about it. I can see why their enthusiasm might have been curbed a bit.

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1365964-patch-16-discussion/page__view__findpost__p__20712668 but i have not seen proof.

has anyone seen actual confirmation?

What new features? Underwater transistions and more kill cams. The underwater transitions are nice, but they should have included a toggle with the new killcams. That is the only "new feature" I have heard people complain about. But people were complaining about lack of a toggle for the kill cams even before they released the magic/ranged kill cams, so it should have been no surprise that people would complain more when they are forced to endure more kill cams without the option of turning them off.

What bothers me is that in a game that is supposed to be a "do what you want game" where you can literally play it any way you want, Bethesda gives us precious few options to customize our game.

instead of DLC add in what ever you want...

[img]http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/575145_436016529758132_100000493667339_1670004_1155743310_n.jpg[/img]

Exactly what I thought. What do you think about my theory posted above? These guys probably don't even know how to tweak their own UI.

The new sorting is a Kinect-specific update.

@Mitheledh Your theory is starting to sound more plausible . . . sure sounds like inventory sorting was something intentionally given only to Kinect users.

Gstaff's statement didn't sound final... as in there will never be a way to sort inventory for other platforms (obviously PC gamers don't need to worry about it) by any other method.

This incarnation of sorting, yes. We understand that you would need a Kinect for voice sorting. What about sorting of a different kind? Menu options, tabs, etc?

It sure sounded final to me, but I would be very happy to be proved wrong.

Would the forum members who claimed bias towards the PC care to revise their statements?

This, in my opinion, is very poor product support. Very poor indeed.
While I'm not going to lead a revolution against Bethesda or anything, I am very disappointed in this statement.

But not surprised by it.

Me neither. We are lucky they said anything. I have never heard one word on a compass toggle.

This is why I'm not surprised: If the whole voice command thing was developed using the Kinect API/SDK, then it's not something that can be transferred to other platforms. Using voice commands allows them to make these changes behind the scenes, without really touching the UI itself. So, without the voice commands, adding sorting to the other systems would require substantial modifications to the functionality and navigation of the current UI. And I'm not surprised they don't want to do that.

Why is it that the new features force you to use Kinect when you don't need Kinect to do it at all? There is no reason to keep it from those who don't have, nor want, Kinect.

Yea, the more I ruminate on that, the more frustrated I am with Bethesda for having said it.

If they can't add a sort feature to the underlying game and need to rely on Kinect to sort inventories for them, then they have designed a very ineffective UI from the start. Far more ineffective than I had imagined. This is a good example of carelessness. Not only that, but it's the first clear example, in my mind, of Bethesda simply doing lousy work.

I am really quite put off by this.

Computers have been filtering and sorting lists since ... computers. It's one of the simplest and most basic functions of any piece of software. To think that a modern video game would not have simple sort and filter options in the UI is just completely incomprehensible.

And to argue that it's a technical limitation that causes it? That's either manifest dishonesty or incompetency.

This is really stupid for a game that really needs it.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/develop/new.aspx.

That doesn't mean that games have to support it. It's been released for Windows so that people can make 3rd party software using the Kinect, it doesn't mean that Bethesda will support it because GStaff has made it perfectly clear that they aren't.

Honestly the inventory sort issue is less bothering to me than the lack of toggle for GPS compass and sneak crosshair. Those features infect the entire game, whereas an inventory sort is an annoyance only every once in a while. But yeah, all of these types of things should be standard fare in a modern computer game.

So does this mean Oblivions inventory is superior to Skyrims

Yes, I am aware of that. However, Microsoft has stated that they did not release the Kinect on the PC for gaming. They released it for other uses and applications. So it's not really relevant.

It's not so much the specific lack of sorting options as it is the general implication that Bethesda designed an ineffective interface, and has no intention of supporting it.
Then, worse still, they try to blame that ineffective UI on technical limitations? Give me a break.
It's the principle of the thing, really.