From here: http://www.bethblog.com/2011/12/01/skyrim-what-were-working-on/

The relevant bit is at the bottom: "To be safe, we are prioritizing code side fixes right now over data fixes. Quest and balance issues are usually data, and those will start rolling in a large way with the January updates."

We've had the LAA patch and some vague optimization patches, so they have already done the "code side" fixes. Personally I hope the devs have taken notice of the deficiencies Skyboost addresses, and continue to work on code fixes, but chances are they started work on quest patches already in December.

you're super pissed that you got 180 hours out of the game before you started getting issues? That's 18 times the gameplay you would have gotten out of a lot of other games...
The issue svcks for the people it happens to, but you still got a ton of enjoyment out of the game right? And you can still get more enjoyment out of making a new character...




really? Oblivion crashed at least once an hour for me, right from the get go. Skyrim has crashed maybe 3 times in 250 hours. Anyway completely different groups of people work on quest and engine issues, so don't worry about that. I'm guessing the January update will also include more engine fixes, it's just being called the quest patch because it's the first patch where we are seeing quest fixes.

You're playing on outdated hardware and are then complaining the game is unstable? Really?

my core2duo is outdated hardware. single core is ancient.

came back to breezehome to a schizophrenic lydia - ending up having to dispose of here, but on the upside a courier brought me her inheritance.

Is it possible that CTD due to game file size can be fixed for current save files? Or is it more likely that a patch will prevent bloating in new save files, and bloated/unplayable ones cannot be fixed?

Patch comes when bethesda has gone tired of basking in the glory and polishing their awards.

The patch comes when Bethesda have had time to test it, to make sure that there are no glaring issues. They're probably testing new patches a lot better than they tested the previous patches, seeing as how they caused a few "how did they miss that" bugs along the way.

I work in the software development industry (business software). Here's what goes on when someone finds a bug that needs to be fixed:

• The bug needs to be reproduced. If it can't be reproduced, the developers don't know where to start looking, and the testers won't know if any code changes have actually fixed the bug.
  
  • Depending on the bug, it may be extremely difficult or impossible to reproduce. Unreproducible bugs tend not to get looked at, as any potential fixes will be blind guesses, and may cause other issues.
• The developers track down which bits of the code are responsible for causing the bug.
  
• The developers make changes to the code to fix the bug. They also have to check that the changes don't have any obvious flow-on effects.
  
• Testers run the software, focussing on the affected areas. Depending on the possible flow-on effectes of the code that was changed, multiple areas of the software might need to be tested.
  
  • If any bugs are found, it's back to step 2.

When there are enough bugs fixed to warrant releasing an update, the product then needs to go through a series of regression tests to make sure that nothing has been accidentally broken. These tests may be automated, or they may be manual, and there's a good chance that there are things that aren't covered. If anything is found to have been broken, it's back to step 1.

This is not a fast process for any piece of software, let alone something as massive as Skyrim. The update will be released when it's ready.

Good description

Yes, good piece of info there NZgeek:)

Reading this should clear things up for those people that believe Bethesda are being lazy or uncaring or sloppy in any way. The process involved is very obviously both intricate and time consuming - or at least it should be time consuming... with that in mind we know the longer it takes the better their work is.

But yes, for the record, im itching for the next patch too!

This has happened to me once i approach a city within a hold that i've killed imperials in, the ones that were taking away an arrested stormcloak. Not sure if its the same thing as your problem. If it is, im pretty sure this is the cause. Not sure if this is a bug either since there were no witnesses or is meant to happen.

Polishing? it needs to be thrown away, its just as old as the damn CoD4 engine those damned CoDmakers have been useing for the past years..
DICE scraqed their engine, made a new one and then had REAL betatesters, their game turned out very, very good

Bethesda did the same thing.

Well, kinda.

They didn't scrap the engine, but they did rename it and tell everyone it was a new engine! LOL

I truly hope you're right, because bethesdas lack of community communication has made me lose alot of faith.
About the time issue; go see how often and how fast CCP releases patches, and you'll see why i might have doubts.

(Yes, I know. Two entirely different games, but still, if they manage to release quick fixes over night, and extensive patches after a weeks time, so should bethesda)

Bethesda might have some idea, but if so, they are not telling. (Which, if true, would be most inconsiderate.)

I would guess, that saves large enough to have caused issues are probably a lost cause, or at best, would result in missing content. I hope, that saves small enough not to have caused issues may continue to be playable with content intact. I fear, that one may have to start a fresh new game.

It would be nice, but unlike Bethesda, for them to support gamers by giving early advice on this issue, at least to the extent that they can. Perhaps somebody more familiar with twitter could use it to ask them directly.

i have frequent (crashes after about 1-2 hours) ctd when i play on my old characters (pre 1.3). the new ones do not seam to have this problems, although they all are 80+ hours into the game (had 1 cdt with a "new" character). may be a coincidence though...

Yeah ... I also did not have any trouble with the CTDs until they started after about 300 hours into the game.

After that I have managed to put about 80 hours more into it and the CTDs are getting more an more frequent, both outdoors and trying to get in some larger indoors area. At this point he CTDs are making this game almost totally unplayable.

The game IS beautiful, about that you are right.

PS. I am not running any mods (the official CK is not out yet).

Now that I finally have the game running how it should be with Skyboost, I am really afraid for a new patch. Like all the previous patches, who knows how much the new one will break people's games. I guess I'm okay as long as a new version of Skyboost comes out shortly after the next patch, but I can't go back to playing the game without it. It's unplayable without Skyboost on my pretty high end gaming PC. It would be nice to get some bug fixes though. I really want skill books to start working all the time. I have a wierd bug where skill books don't work even if it's the first time you're reading that specific book. If I go back to an older save and go to the same skill book, it'll work. It really svcks.

the new patch isnt rushed at all, they take their time and fixes all the critical problems i think.

I agree with this completely. It's kind of a bitter-sweet anticipation. I can't wait for more bug fixes but I know getting the bugfixes, means skyboost won't work(at least for awhile). I am on a 1090t@4.3 and mine crawls in the cities without it. Who knows, maybe Bethesda looked at skyboost and decided to incorporate it. It seems to me if a couple of talented modders/coders could do something like this, Bethesda's team should also be able too. Only time will tell.

just keep steam in offline mode and wait a day or two after the patch has been released.

The time between releases depends on the processes used by the development team. Most of the larger, more-established teams have a fairly set process, and it takes time to work through all of the steps. Other development teams might use more responsive development processes, or may have next to no fixed processes for updates.

It also makes a difference if the patches then have to be sent out via a third party (e.g. Steam, XBox Live, PlayStation Network) or whether you're in control of patch distribution (e.g. MMOs). If you control the distribution then it's far easier to re-release an update if a bug is introduced - you can get the update out whenever you like. If you need to go through a third party then you've got to wait for them to do whatever it is they do (e.g. XBL or PSN testing).

With regards to Bethesda communicating with the community, I don't expect too much to be said. It's a matter of managing expectations. If you say that something might happen, and it doesn't, you can guarantee that a bunch of people will get angry. It's easier to not say anything until you're 100% sure that what you're saying is true. You can't just have the developers coming here and posting in an official capacity either, as people tend to abuse that communication channel. I've seen it before on other game developer forums, and it's not pretty.

The longer you play the more frustrating this game gets. My save has hit the 17mb mark and traveling to certain areas in Skyrim guarantees a CTD. It's like a dragon ate my sweet roll, crapped it out, wears it like a hat and calls it CTD.

So given that some of these bugs have existed since Fallout 3, why are they still around and why are people still giving Bethesda so much leeway?

You guys shouldn't expect too much from Betheseda.
They will try....but it will be the modders who fix the game.
Just look at what has been done so far, without the editor !
I'm more concerned about the release date of the SDK then I am Betheseda's patch.
As soon that is released there will be an " Ash pile be gone !" mod...probably same day.
Sorry to hear about the CTDs though.