Skyrim players continue to be frustrated by significant game lag on the PS3 version of Bethesda's RPG this week - and in many CVG staffers' games the problem has been upgraded from 'bad', to 'shocking'.
The problem - which doesn't seem to affect the Xbox 360 version at all - is said to occur once players rack up a large amount of hours in Skyrim, and save files grow in size.
Earlier this week we showed you how bad the lag could get at around the 35 hour mark, and below you can see the problem's gotten significantly worse now CVG's Tim Clark has reached 60 hours (he loves the Skyrim).
For the record, the video was made using an original PS3, Tim's character is lvl 34 and the game had been played for 60 hours in total and two hours up to the point the problem above appeared.
Bethesda confirmed over the weekend that a new Skyrim patch will arrive in a few weeks for all versions of the RPG, and "improved performance for long-term play on PS3" is on the change list.
Is anyone else still suffering with this? Or have you given up until the patch arrives? Click the Skyrim guide.
Comments
40 comments so far...
Y2Ken on 23 Nov '11 said:
I'm just about 70 hours in, level 43 (I think) - experiencing this problem now, but as you say only after a couple of hours of play. Not quite as bad as it is there, perhaps as I'm on the Slim PS3? At the moment I'm just restricting play to 1-2 hour sessions, which is probably good for my University project. That said if you're working and just have evenings to play then this probably is way more annoying. Here's hoping that patch lands soon.
I decided to buy the PS3 version as I prefer the controller and in general use the system a lot more, so hopefully this gets sorted and I don't come to regret my decision. That said the 360 version has it's own share of problems so perhaps I'd feel the same if I'd gone that way too.
JBoo on 23 Nov '11 said:
Don't Bethesda have game testers? lol Every game they bring out(on EVERY format)has sooooooooooooo many problems/bugs :-/ That is why i don't bother buying their games until months later.
El Mag on 23 Nov '11 said:
I'm playing on a 320gb slim and it's exactly the same on mine. I played it last night for the first time in 2 days and for a couple of hours it ran fine, but then it went to s**t again. My save is 11mb and I'm level 50 after 45 hours but the trouble started as soon as my save got to 9mb.
I had to turn it off last night and watch the footy instead....and that just p**sed me off more!
TheLastDodo on 23 Nov '11 said:
When I watched the first vid t'other day I thought yeah I can tolerate that until a patch is released but OH MY GOD this new vid? If this upcoming patch doesn't at least help with the framerate issue then Skyrim can be traded in, small bugs I can go along with but this is gamebreaking.
At least we now know why they wouldn't send out PS3 review copies.
StokedUp on 23 Nov '11 said:
Well I've got my launch day 60bg phar PS3, and I'm still yet to get this lag, my save is 7.5mb now.
I'm feelin left out I want to experience the lag!!
The patch is out next week to fix this, looks like I may never experience the lag.
Dark Sky Fire on 23 Nov '11 said:
Well maybe this will teach people to buy games on a proper console like the 360!
Only kidding
But seriously....that sucks! Can't imagine having to limit my Skyrim addiction due to lag.
I imagine that this will be a retail kit only issue and not occur on Dev kits as it's a pretty obvious bug, and would have been found during daily playthroughs etc...
Plus Sony do not provide Developers with Green discs, so you get the Retail copies only a week or so before the public!
RandyChimp on 23 Nov '11 said:
Wow, thank god I'm an impatient bellend, I got sick of waiting for the post and bought Skyrim on Steam, and I've just been playing that through since. Haven't played my ps3 version yet, waiting for the patch.
phate666 on 23 Nov '11 said:
It does sound like it's effecting people at random! There's a few suggestion on bethesdas forums for short term fixes. Stuff like not littering the world with all the items you don't wont (store them in one place), closing doors you've opened etc. One user claims to have found a way to shrink down the size of the save file in game but I haven't tried this yet.
My experience of it so far have been tiny frame rate drops extremely rarely and it crashed once when I first started it. 30 or so hours, level 27, 8meg save file
80Gb ps3 with 500Gb samsung 5400rpm HD installed and all up to date versions/firmware
STE MO on 23 Nov '11 said:
Why does it only affect the PS3? Is it the RAM? I really feel for you guys that have the lag. Seems like its always the PS3 that gets the dodgy ports.
spunwicked on 23 Nov '11 said:
The concerning thing is that Bethesda haven't directly addressed this issue.
They have skimmed around it, but ultimately haven't pledge to fix it. Addressing 'long term play' issues could mean anything. Unless they come out and say, "We have a fix for the terrible framerates of the PS3 version of Skyrim" expect nothing to get done.
I know Obisidian devleoped FO:NV, but Beth published it. I gave up because of the same problem, the game was broken. I think there is more to this situation than meets the eye. Almost as though Beth are nerfing one edition for nefarious purposes. Call me paranoid, but worse things have happened.
budge on 23 Nov '11 said:
That's how bad my game got after 65 hours. I'm seriously thinking of trading in my dud PS3 version for the Xbox one because i honestly don't think that Bethesda can fix this!
Reegeee on 23 Nov '11 said:
AtlasVG on 23 Nov '11 said:
Thanks for reporting this... here's another video demonstrating some horrendous lag - http://youtu.be/cUoDfO1pWto
This game was definitely NOT tested properly on the PS3.
El Mag on 23 Nov '11 said:
I was on 41 by playing naturally, but then this started and I knew I wouldn't be getting the trophy for getting to 50 without a fix. So I used a glitch to level up the last 9. Google "Oghma Infinium glitch" and you'll see how easy it.
StonecoldMC on 23 Nov '11 said:
(Still) GOTY* 2011?
*Disclaimer, I havent played it yet*
360_Fan on 23 Nov '11 said:
Can anyone on ps3 confirm that they are not having these issues. I find it hard to believe it's all copies, and more than likely only a few users making lots of noise. It's a shame that a game this good has been tarnished this way.
Also, can someone tell me where they see how many hours they have played? Can't seem to find it.
slick loose on 23 Nov '11 said:
I haven't seen Tim Clarks sexy face since I used to collect OPM2...ahhh nostalgia....sexy, sexy nostalgia.
Queen Skillage on 23 Nov '11 said:
I stopped playing when it started to lag, and moved onto Assassin's Creed Revelations. I'll keep going once the patch (hopefully) fixes it.
Mmmmgrolsch on 23 Nov '11 said:
Yeah that's right people are just making noise about it
ste hicky on 23 Nov '11 said:
honestly? i may get flack for this but zelda has utterly destroyed it.
even if skyrim was running at 60fps perfectly for everyone, it would be beaten hands down as it is at best an oblivion mod with a worse ui.
if i'm being completely truthful i think xenoblade is a better rpg too that does far more that is new.
G00N3R on 23 Nov '11 said:
Meanwhile, on the PC, I'm 62 hours in and the performance is smooth as silk
(Apologies, I do feel sorry for anyone suffering from this lag because clearly it will ruin the best game of 2011. I just can't deny though that, considering all the stick the PC gets, I find it amusing that this problem is happening on one of the consoles).
Toasted_PSP on 23 Nov '11 said:
This sounds exactly like the problems with Fallout3 which thankfully got minimised with patches.
On Fallout3 you could always tell when a crash was coming, the lag never just appear but increased from a point of been bearable to unplayable. As long as you are able to tell when the lagging was approaching it was just a simple case of putting a hard save down, quitting the game (To the XMB) then reloading the game and carrying on. On Fallout3 the problems started when the save file grew too large and when people played for long seasons, I normally only play a game for 1-2hours at most per season, but my friend plays much longer seasons and suffered from the problems a lot more than I did as a result.
While the condition of this game is totally unacceptable, with a little knowledge about fixes (Assuming this is the same as Fallout3) you should be able to manage the problems and have a reasonable gaming experience.
stickyfiddle on 23 Nov '11 said:
It's good that a patch is coming, and I've only just started to have slight stuttering at 7000kb/50 hours, but what about people whose PS3s aren't connected to the web? They have a game they won't be able to finish. That's just unacceptable.
The Bossman on 23 Nov '11 said:
Similar situation to the Fallout games on PS3 then. I know 2 different developers made the Fallout games and Skyrim, but the fact they're still getting it wrong with a new engine is baffling. Just as well I'm not getting this for a while, I'll get it in January now I think.
pepperman on 23 Nov '11 said:
Aye, I feel for those PS3s that are not connect to PSN for whatever bizarre reason. The game has clearly not been fully tested on the PS3, including previous Bethesda products. What's the potential of this fault harming the hardware / firmware?
It's a strange legal situation with consumers buying software. The consumer doesn't actually own the product, so how can you return something you do not own? Not really my speciality, but given this situation of a broken game, the consumer clearly deserves their money back if requested.
Sammy_bham on 23 Nov '11 said:
65 hours in
level 20.
loving the game, still no slowdown, no glitches, no lag.
ps3 - 120gb slim. 8mb save file.
stunning game.
BruceFace on 23 Nov '11 said:
In older news: I still can't play FO3 DLC because of the lag.
I don't suppose they'll patch that any time soon, will they?
geardley on 23 Nov '11 said:
ive put 70 hours in,got 11mb save with that....then my ps3 got the yellow light .....dam
geardley on 23 Nov '11 said:
oh i forgot it slowed down twice in all that time...not to bad i suppose.a quick reload and it was fine.
Frypot on 23 Nov '11 said:
Makes me chuckle that the ad before the video was for skyrim on 360
damoxuk on 23 Nov '11 said:
I'm gonna be playing this during the christmas holidays so hopefully it's fixed by then otherwise might just get the PC version.
havoc33 on 23 Nov '11 said:
I was planning to wait with Skyrim anyway, I'm too busy enjoying Skyward Sword! Easily the game of the year for me.
Mmmmgrolsch on 23 Nov '11 said:
I hope this gets fixed as I've been looking forwards to playing it after Christmas when the game's bugs were ironed out.
There should be some governing body of some sort where all games MUST go through a thorough testing process before it's even allowed to be sold! It's f**king bulls**t that gamers have no rights protecting them.
It's clear that Bethesda hasn't finished this game off and wanted to quickly cash in on the Christmas money
Imaduck on 23 Nov '11 said:
Bethesda really got to get their performance together
Hope this is fixed for you people soon.
The Bossman on 24 Nov '11 said:
Hehe.. heh... err, no.
rhyfel on 24 Nov '11 said:
bethesda should do the right thing and offer a refund for the ps3 owners who bought this broken rubbish, dont get me wrong i think the games great but it should never of been released in its current state. videogame publishers like bethesda and activision dont give a crap about there customers, all thay care about is the money in your pocket, people need to stop buying these broken unfinished games and then the game publishers might realise that without customer loyalty there is no business.
LisVender on 24 Nov '11 said:
I'd recommend playing Dark Souls to scratch the dungeon-crawling itch until the patch is released, but that game's got framerate problems too! Nothing this bad, but still...what the hell, man?
JussyB on 26 Nov '11 said:
I have an original PS3 still with its 30 odd Gb hard drive and I currently have a 145 hrs clocked on Skyrim and the save files are now clocking in at 16MB a pop.. Each game runs for about 30 minutes before it grinds to a halt ( or at least its unplayable) . The Graphics are breaking down , horses I ride on disappear , details vanish that sort of thing. Another classic from Bethesda or at least their games would be if it wasn't for the same issues cropping up time after time ,after time..My only recommendation if you're a Bethesda second class citizen ( PS3 owner) is restart and take off any all autosaves .Although this is really a poor substitute for what should happen and that is Bethesda test games thoroughly before release..Dream on..
procion on 27 Nov '11 said:
Before Skyrim came out I posted in the official Bethesda Skyrim forums a poll and a thread about my concerns of lag and freezing in Skyrim due to Bethesda's Extremely bad reputation with problems with those issues in Fallouts 3 and NV. I was publically names a troll and a flamer by the forums MOD can you believe it, practically IMMEDIATELY after I posted. He did not take the time to even READ my thread thru to the GOOD things had to say about those games. His response made all the obediant conditioned Americans to uphold their mod masters view of me and so HE became the flamer by inciting the pitchfork and torch weilding Bethesda fanclubbers to Troll ME just for stating my concerns about this game. And now it seems my concerns are somewhat founded. WHYtf is this happening just on ps3? I know Bethesda has Micro$hit's hand firmly pupeteering their backside & the timed dlc is a pet hate of mine. It seems the 360 had all the promo packshots and achievments featured by this company in press releases and on the fb page. I am really starting to dislike Bethesda's modus operandi, from their mods on their forum to their utter disregard to folk whom missed out preordering on the games CE MONTHS before it came out(200 measly copies for NZ all gone in 2 hours and Beth did not give a flying faq)and now this crap on ps3. We are starved for this kind of rpg content on ps3 without having to put up with rude or uncaring Bethesda staff, QA on the game that Zynga could have done tens times better if they were farmed out the work and brownfacing up to Micro$it.They put so much into extemely indepth canon and well scripted dialogue. Beautiful worlds and game systems, yet the after you have bought features start to come thru thin. All promises that are made on a house of cards. Start treating PCers and ps3ers with some more attention Bethesda and get some decent mod staff on your forums. There is much more good than bad in your games but the bad needs fixing, or at least attention.
ajchamp98 on 31 Jan '12 said:
I am actually getting the same experience with skyrim on xbox 360 as well but only when in combat which this first occurred on the thief's guild quest Blindsighted inside Irkngthand just moments ago.