I hope that they did not actually skip over some old fashioned "thinking while coding" in a rush to bug ranching.

Anyway, that could help to explain why many people seem to be able to run the game deceptively well until issues relating to longer play times and large saves come into play. Those issues could be something they have neither tested nor thought about. Not a comforting possibility.

They are workin on to fix Oblivion bugs then they maybe try to fix the Skyrims bugs (joke).

And that's the truth - when software companies need to meet a release date, they fix and test the glaring, major bugs (i.e, the low hanging fruit) and just leave what they deem as 'minor' bugs for post-release. I've worked for several software companies, and the investors and release date are king - when the money runs out, get the software on the market and worry about the issues later.

Don't be surprised if the bugs they fix in 1.4 introduce new bugs. Hopefully, it doesn't take 3 months to fix those...

Hopefully we'll get some news soon. I do remember them saying January, but not specifying a date. It would be nice to hear from them, but their silence isn't all that uncommom among developers. I'm a little bit annoyed, but after playing WoW for over 5 years, I think I just got used seeing constant feedback which is awesome, but not really the norm for game developers.

Hopefully the wait is worth it, and we get a patch that finally fixes some of the worst UI, Stability, and Framerate issues. After using TESVAL and all versions of Skyboost, I've yet to experience any issues that can be traced solely to those tweaks, so I'm hoping Bethesda is working on their own implementation for that. I love Bethesda's games, but the release versions always feel more like Beta versions until a few patches finally get it at an acceptable level for the majority of users. As for the shadows, I've just come to accept that they're absolute [censored]. They look awful and are a huge performance drain, and I can't see Bethesda, after actually making them like that and deciding it was acceptable, coming out with a patch that actually makes them look good and not kill your FPS.

Thanks for the link. That was in interesting and appreciated look at how Howard is acutely aware of the problems they would face with Skyrim. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any response from Bethesda that would qualify as "on the fly." I'm not worried, though, because I know these things take time. A lot of people seem to think that a lack of information means that Bethesda is holding out on us when they are certainly working to solve as many problems as they can for a substantial January update. In order to deliver an update this month, they will have to test it. I'm not sure if the blog entry from last month stated that they would deliver the update to all platforms in January or just the PC, but I would expect they will make the effort to make a simultaneous release. That means a week of testing, in all probability. If that is the case, then we should expect to hear something within the next week or so regarding the status of the next update. Release notes aren't typically divulged until the update is actually released (and they're never completely indicative of everything that was fixed or changed), so I wouldn't expect to see "what they're working on" until the update is actually released.

All of this aside, I agree that communication has a lot of room for improvement, but not only for Bethesda. Until the community learns to be more civil and respectful, I wouldn't expect to see more frequent updates from Gstaff or any other Bethesda representative on these forums.

That article takes on an entirely different light when read in January 2012. Makes ya think.

I see some nice pc specs in some posts, surely better than my pc but I don't seem to have hardly any problems with the game and as I am typing this I cannot think of an annoying bug. Are the problems with pc's also? I thought I was being stubborn bying only pc games but maybe not?

I gotta admit I'm pretty curious about what they'll be releasing with it. We know it'll tie into the CK so there's that but also since the last patch those CPU optimizers have shown up and it would be really poor form of Beth not to address that front as well and just do it proper this time. I can take quest script bugs and stuff and I don't suffer from CTDs unless I'm intentionally pushing something in a direction that would likely cause them so at this point I'm really just interested in a more efficiently compiled set of code that features instructions genuinely meant for modern computers, oh and smart enough to acknowledge the instruction set limitations of the less modern.

Or just wait for GOTY version

I am not complaining about a patch not being out yet; as others have said it's still January.

I am curious however why the moderators claimed they would become more responsive within the community and the developers would release more frequent updates after the holidays, then go completely quiet for a month. No updates, no news, no info, nothing anywhere.

If post-release patches of 3 a month (11/11/11 - 12/21/11) was not frequent enough, should't we have 3 new patches 2 weeks post-holidays already?

EVEN if they are using this 'on the fly' updating mechanic, shouldn't they post some info about it somewhere? This isn's a sports game, we won't quickly notice a name change on a team's roster.

Perhaps a more productive approach to the matter of the future update would be to discuss the most preferred, if not the most likely, issues to be addressed in the next and successive updates. I see the following as being the most likely to be considered for, if not included in the next few updates:

Low-hanging fruit
*recompiled game executable with optimization flags for increased PC performance (easy and obvious choice and embarrassing to ignore)
*item and perk fixes that address upgradability of items; missing entries in perks such as matching set; ebony blade behavior matches two-handed weapon classification, etc.
*fix mouse sensitivity in User Interface with regard to dialog choices to ensure that intended options are highlighted and chosen

More involved fixes
*investigate savegame file bloating and possible connection to game instability (one of the few issues they've already said they're working on)
*numerous quest bugs (assumed to be an ongoing effort)
*address numerous problems in favorites/hotkey system linked to weapons being renamed, removed from favorites or having their hotkeys removed

Other, more specific issues including balance and exploits
*inconsistent or inappropriate behavior of objects contained in player character residences (bookshelves, mannequins, etc.)
*balance Smithing by removing infinite "Legendary" status, i.e. there should only be one Legendary "tier"
*Fortify Restoration potions should not enhance Fortify enchantments (this fixes numerous exploits)

Edit: Note: these are not my personal preferences, only what I think will be most likely on the top of Bethesda's list given what they've provided in the (sparse) details of their Skyrim support roadmap, as well as being consistent with the types of issues they've addressed in updates so far.

Jagex it way worse. Thy said Steller dawn was coming soon for almost 2 years
when they finally got around to saying it will come out some time in 2011 they still lied, its 2012 now.

Sadly, I moved on from Skyrim, did pretty much all I wanted to do in the game and, well, the patch I needed never came out. So I guess, even if the game is ever fixed, I probably won't go back to it. Except if I find a really awesome mod. Same thing will happen with the next bethesda game

I haven't even beaten the main quest yet because I lost 2 of my save files.

Oh that article is rich. On the fly fixes? Puh-Leeze LOLOLOLOLOLOL.

@Kastagir That's a fairly comprehensive list, let's hope they're actually working on some of those things. Before the holidays we had gotten into a habit of patches hitting on wednesdays, sadly that's come and gone with no update and nothing from the staff in a month, pretty disconcerting.

Not disconcerting at all IMO. And my first game is totally unplayable ATM.

New tweet from bethblog:"we're still looking to have it out this month. Keep an eye on our blog for new updates" (http://twitter.com/Bethblog) - sounds not too good for a release this month tbh.

So much hostility towards Bethesda in here. I love it

I have currently stopped playing, and am waiting for the patch. While I haven't had any "game-breaking" problems, there have been a plethora of annoying problems. Additionally, with the high incidence of large save game file/CTD problems, I really don't want to invest 100 hours into a run of the game and then have CTDs break it. Hopefully, they will fix this issue (if it is an issue). If they do fix it, I would assume that previous saves would probably not be good, so, thats just another reason to wait on my doing a full playthrough. I am not complaining about waiting for the patch...I would hope that after pushing out arguably one of their buggiest releases yet, and a blundered patch or two (excluding the 4gb patch which was a definite benefit), they would put some time and thought into this one. What I do have severe issue with is the lack of communication. I have said in number of posts, that most people would be understanding of the situation if there was a stickied and locked regularly updated roster of bugs/issues that were being addressed. That way, at least people with problems would know whether or not their problem had been noted. This would cut back on the large amount of duplicate posting and drama, thats for sure. It would only take 5 minutes every day or two to keep a list updated, if that, and it would go a long way to keeping people in the loop. After all, people paid $60 for the game, thats not exactly chump change; they are definitely right to demand some answers and help with their problems from the people who collected the money and delivered a product that functions in a sub par manner for a significant portion of people.

Well, bugs alone are a socially neutral technical issue. They are inconvenient of course, but not bound to estrange customers if properly handled.

Non-communication, on the other hand, is heavily loaded with personal disrespect. So, I would say that Bethesda/ZeniMax reaps what Bethesda/ZeniMax sows.

As a separate observation, I am honestly surprised, that a corporation like ZeniMax seems to have no relevant skills whatsoever in customer communication.

Crash. Tinkle. There goes another kitten.

I like your thinking, sheogorath

I played Skyrim for about 4 days - the first 4 days after it got released. Being the sort of player that strays off marked paths as much as possible, and does things in strange orders, I managed to break a ridiculously huge number of quests/scripted events/similar issues in a very small amount of time... not to mention encountering various CTD areas (infamous Bonechill), all the weird physics bugs, being disappointed at the poor textures, and then having my saves all corrupt themselves. Which made me give up on actually playing the game in less than a week after release.

I spent the next couple of weeks creating/maintaining the initial "Unofficial buglist" threads here, only loading the game up to test reported bugs/reported fixes and try to reproduce stuff, and then I just gave up altogether - I've only loaded the game once in the last four weeks - and that was only to briefly test the unoffixial fix which sped the game up by ~50% (a horrifyingly massive improvement by somebody who didn't have access to the source code or a game editor).

I doubt the next patch will fix the game to a state I'll feel comfortable actually trying to dive deeply into Skyrim - there's too many problems - I think it's going to be a case of wait for the editor to come out, then wait about ~4 weeks, download by then probably patch 1.5 which will hopefully fix some of the engine issues (the unoptimised compilation, some of the nastier CTD bugs, hopefully improve physics etc.), install the unofficial bugfixes the modders release (modders tend to fix the majority of more common scripting/questing issues pretty quickly!) and a few of the popular mods (various high-res texture packs etc.)... and finally get to enoy Skyrim as it was meant to be enjoyed

I'm hoping that come the end of February/start of March, I'll actually play through Skyrim!

That's some extremely wishful thinking.

Without any communication from Beth/Zeni we have no way of knowing if the creation kit is still being released. I mean, this is a game catered to Xbox players, and we all know they have no idea what modding is all about.

It took me almost 2 years to be able to enjoy Oblivion. 2 years post-release.

Why would they suddenly decide not to release the CK?

Come on, there's no logical reason to assume that they are shelved it.

They had announced there will be one before release of Skyrim.
They had given a more specific release window in december.
They have talked about their plans with Steam as an (optional) mod platform.

Nothing does in any way hint towards the CK not being released, so again, learn some patience.

Re-read what I wrote very carefully. You missed a key phrase.

On another note, noone has any clue what Beth/Zeni are doing because they will not relay their progress to us in any way, shape, or form.