Skyrim update 1.4 went live on consoles yesterday, with Bethesda saying beforehand it'd introduce a slew of bug and quest fixes, the most important being "long term play optimisations for memory and performance" on PS3.
Following its release, our friends at Official PlayStation Magazine took to the Bethesda forums to get an idea of the patch's effectiveness.
Forum user Tsoglani said: "I was level 32, with an 8MB save, but after patching it dropped to 6.5MB and unbelievably, Whiterun (which was the area with biggest frame drops in my case) is certainly lag free,". "I believe this patch is working, although I am not giving the all clear yet."
CaptainMarvelQ8 didn't have such a good experience: "Guys, I'm sad to say that this fix is only a temporary one. After three hours playing the lag is back in full force, even worse at times."
Seti18 noticed some slight improvements (probably): "It's very slightly better or the same as before... still no constant 30 fps. The fall forest is definitely running a bit smoother for me. I think they definitely cleaned up come dirty code and the game runs generally, away from the memory issues, a bit better overall."
Bethesda community manager Nick Breckon gave the following tips for getting the most out of the update on PS3:
1. To ensure the fastest jump in performance after applying the patch, be sure to first create a new manual save by entering the save menu and choosing "save game." You should then restart your PlayStation 3 before continuing to play.
2. If you encounter strange behaviour while playing immediately following application of the patch, do not be alarmed - this is a temporary effect of Skyrim scripts correcting themselves after the update. Once this process runs its course, be sure to make a new save and restart your PlayStation 3."
Has Skyrim changed for you post patch? Let us know in the comments.
Comments
57 comments so far...
Joco84 on 10 Feb '12 said:
I'm not touching this game. Unfortunately, this whole mess has left a sour taste in my mouth. Although the game might be one of the games of this generation, to release something so buggy and messy is unforgivable in my opinion.
I will not be purchasing another Bethesda game, which is a shame.
jbruns2012 on 10 Feb '12 said:
Quests and still broken with 1.4 update.
Go to Foresaken Cave to kill the leader, leader is already dead.
Go to crime scene, cannot complete the quest.
Nice work Bethesda.
dodgy1 on 10 Feb '12 said:
@Joco, Agreed, I've traded all my Bethesda games as a result of this, yes including Oblivion & Fallout!
Its simply destroyed the respect I had for them. I fail to see how some of these recent "awards" are justified? 
MattyR95 on 10 Feb '12 said:
The only noticeable technical problem i've seen with skyrim is the lag, which isn't that bad for me when it starts (It does build up eventually till it's just playable but just restart and it's fine for a good few hours) my save is 12mb. I haven't encountered any quest glitches or anything else, best bethesda RPG on the technical front (Apart from lag)
justforkicks101 on 10 Feb '12 said:
follow the blood.. well, tis what i did
timewarp1 on 10 Feb '12 said:
Are you talking about a mission in the game or a trail of blood to a Bethesda employee after meeting a few disgruntled ps3 owners ?
0LDKAMIKAZE on 10 Feb '12 said:
Ok, if its the one where the gaurd tells you about the blood trail then follow it. not the arrow follow the blood to the west and then north. it should lead you to a door. it will then advance and show crime scene investigated
Padua on 10 Feb '12 said:
I haven't got this yet. So is the consensus to wait until version 2.0?
0LDKAMIKAZE on 10 Feb '12 said:
Ok, the bug I am having is not fixed with the new patch
Striking the heart. Its the one at the tower name starts with a V. Anyway I can't complete the companions quest because I had killed the leader before I got the quest. So now when I show up the arrow points into the ground. Going back is not an option as I stumbled onto the tower early in the game. I am on PS3. I know about the fix for PC players, but that does not work for PS3 as far as I know? Lag is better
thornibrook on 10 Feb '12 said:
As much as i like to join the "not buying another bethesda title again" , I know down the line ill end up buying the shagging things. Even if this does fix the problem, its f**king ridiculous how long it took bethesda to respond to the problem. Its been three months now since the game came out, three bloody months! I have never played such a bad ps3 port in all my life, and bethesda knew they were releasing a broken game to the masses. They only sent the xbox 360 and pc version of the game to all the reviewers and held onto the ps3 version, hoping that idiots like me will purchase the game. Bad form!
Strangermods on 10 Feb '12 said:
I agree with joco84 100%. I will not touch this game either. I usually purchease games I am interested in the day they come out, but in the case of Skyrim I didn't. The issues people are having on the PS3 are beyond the scope of a patch and there is no way to play the game as it was intended to play. Bethesda really messed this game up. One thing I will never understand is some of the reviews Skyrim is getting by several of the gaming media outlets. How can anyone talk about a game being great and give it incredible ratings when it has so many flaws and so many people are having major problems ranging from glitches to lag and even frozen consoles. Skyrim may have been one of the best games ever but we will never know.
dakillerelite on 10 Feb '12 said:
I can’t understand what the problem with Skyrim has supposed to be. I have been playing it for about 176 hours with a 11mb save file the only problem is the occasional lag which the new patch looks liked its fixed (I have only played about 4 hours with the update) and I know of about 4 other people that have played for longer than me and none of them have any so called “game breaking” problems, and this game cannot be missed it’s the best RPG type game ever, plus with a game on this scale and that many variations on how to play its always going to have some bugs!
timewarp1 on 10 Feb '12 said:
I didnt get a 1.4 patch, I got a 2.3 one ??
steve_2003 on 10 Feb '12 said:
It depends which format you play it on, I'm lucky enough to be playing it on the 360 and it's worthy of all the merit and awards it's recieved. A fantastic Xbox 360 title!
icedmetal57 on 10 Feb '12 said:
I like how people seem to think that a company with a small amount of employees testing the game, well compared to that of the number of consumers who play, can fix every bug out there in a game of this scope. Like you said, there's numerous ways for people to play the game so of course there's going to be some bugs.
I personally haven't faced many problems except for the occasional glitched quest but I've been able to find a work around. As for the framerate drops, I have noticed some but that's been a hardware thing as I play PC and don't have the best possible hardware to play at max settings, but I have noticed some improved framerates with this recent patch.
monkey_hanger on 10 Feb '12 said:
All you people slagging off Bethesda and "not touching the game" are really pathetic. This is a massive game with massive permutations and alright it has some bugs but to pay £40 for something that gives you 200 hours plus gameplay and that has brilliantly entwined quests, graphics and storylines, the value for money is second to none. I congratulate Bethesda on a fantastic game, and yes it has it has some issues, but these are far outweighrd by the sheer genius of the game. Stop griping and enjoy the it - and for those "not touching it" stop whinging and move on to another game.
STE MO on 10 Feb '12 said:
I really do feel for the people that got the PS3 version, the game is great. I really do hope they have fixed the issues and you could enjoy the game like I have. It's much better then my experience with New Vegas which decided to crash without warning all the time.
NoGenocide on 10 Feb '12 said:
Has lag issues been answered by scaled down graphics?
dicky1993 on 10 Feb '12 said:
christ half you guys are whining about quests, is the lagged fixed was the question ?! and as for the guy that said he traded in all bethesda games, that's just pathetic, you don't like skyrim so bye bye fallout3 & oblivion
DAEDALUS79 on 10 Feb '12 said:
My 12mb save file was disgracefully bad at lagging my game, but its been perfect since the update, even whiterun runs like a dream. Very happy!
TheLastDodo on 10 Feb '12 said:
At least that guys got principles and I respect that.
It's a much better attitude to take than just rolling over and accepting it.
Bethesda will never get my money again until they change their ways.
Imaduck on 11 Feb '12 said:
I'll do my part.
The PC is obviously different but I''d imagine the changes will be brought on by the same things and have simialr results.
. IN GENERAL, much smoother performance in most places. Still a bit of: High Hrothgar = 60fps+, Random f**king log you look at = instant 30fps drop. But we'll get there!
. Some major quest fixes, I noticed you can now become Arl of Riften properly
Overall it's a step in the right direction, hoping it translated well onto consoles !
I have noticed a memory leak since 1.4 though. Not sure where the hell that came from.
phoenix0879 on 11 Feb '12 said:
That's not a bug, it's part of the nature of a true open world game - and featured in older Elder Scrolls games. You can kill any character (I believe it is any at all, but not 100% certain), at any time. If you kill someone before you are 'meant' to (as in your case above) then a later quest may become unresolvable. The easy solution would seem to be to have the game prevent you from starting the quest if a character involved is already dead, but with so many npc's I imagine that that's easier said than done. But, put simply, it isn't a bug at all - *you* broke the quest by killing that character 'early'. Had you not done so, the quest would be fine. You won't get a 'fix' for this, sorry to say. Just like in life, you killed them and they are gone for good (unless, as you say, you have the Power Of The PC lol).
BenThomasFoster on 11 Feb '12 said:
What you think bethesda care you've traded in games that are worth £10 on steam, games which you already paid for. Also the Skyrim is no more bugged than Oblivion ever was, just your s**tty ps3 couldn't cope with what a memory intensive game it is.
feeg86 on 11 Feb '12 said:
If this is 1.4, why the hell is 2.3 downloading? Does it fix the fix
mogwatch on 11 Feb '12 said:
Yeah agree there. I have had some lag on the PS3 version (have about 180hrs play) and had trouble with 1 quest overall (repairing the vial) but its one of the very best RPGs I have ever played.
Its still not as good as Morrowind though. The main quest line in Morrowind is epic, Skyrims is a bit of an anti-climax and way to short. The Dark Brotherhood quest line rocks the b*****ks off though
TheLastDodo on 11 Feb '12 said:
If PS3 can't cope with a game like Skyrim then don't release it on PS3, it's that simple.
Judging from Bethesdas track record, it would be impossible to say whether the PS3 issues are due to the the PS3 or to Bethesdas skills as a developer (however the evidence points to the latter), no other game struggles on the PS3 like Skyrim, yet game breaking bugs are common in Bethesda titles across ALL platforms.
I can see you're a PC gamer so you've been conditioned to this kind of shoddy treatment for a good decade or so now and have accepted it as the norm, but some people still have this old fashioned view that a game should be in working condition when it's released, crazy right?
dakillerelite on 11 Feb '12 said:
What do you class has a "game breaking bug"? At most the bugs in Skyrim are more annoying than anything it can still be completed from start to finish even before this latest update. Even Fallout new Vegas could be completed from start to finish, has for the other fallout I never had a single problem with it.
Bethesda are constantly pushing the envelope for open world games and the scope of these games are vast, to test them on every system for every possible event that could happen or not would take years and I would rather them release the game and address bugs has they go along rather than wait for ever to play the game by which time the next gen will be with us! I see it has the annoying bugs are a small price to pay for probably one of the most ambitious game ever created.
TheLastDodo on 11 Feb '12 said:
I had a game breaking bug right at the start of Fallout 3 trying to take the G.O.A.T test, it wouldn't let me take the test, that is one of the very first things you do in Fallout 3, how can that be anything but lazy developing?
Annoying bugs like clipping are acceptable, THAT^ and Skyrim PS3 lag aren't. If your 360/PC versions work then good for you but PS3 owners are perfectly entitled to complain about the Skyrim problems.
Like I said, if Bethesda can't do Skyrim justice on PS3 then don't bother at all.
dakillerelite on 11 Feb '12 said:
I am talking about the ps3 games! And have been plying Skyrim since day one and haven’t come across anything that is "Game Breaking" just annoying at worst.
TheLastDodo on 11 Feb '12 said:
Good for you but plenty of other people have and they're entitled to complain about it.
I've not suffered from the "lag" yet but I've seen videos of people that have and I consider the game unplayable in that state.
People aren't complaining about clipping or textures not loading properly or floating mammoths, that stuff is annoying but you can look the other way at those.
If you've had no serious problems then good for you, you got lucky, but taking the attitude of "stop whining, they'll fix it eventually" is the wrong attitude to take here, it will only lead to the same treatment next time (likely worse because they know people will let them get away with it) and maybe you'll be one of the unlucky ones.
dakillerelite on 11 Feb '12 said:
But like I said I know about 4 or 5 other folk that have played more than me and finished the game and none of them have had any major problems on the ps3, it can’t be that I only know really lucky people, you said yourself you haven’t had many problems, and this is what I cannot get my head around that I haven’t seen all of these really major problems with the game, is it a unlucky few who have had problems opposed to the odd lucky people that don’t have problems?
dakillerelite on 11 Feb '12 said:
It would be intresting to see how many copys they have sold on the ps3 and how many are reporting problems.
TheLastDodo on 12 Feb '12 said:
According to a poll on IGN taken after the "lag" was first detected, 1/3 of PS3 owners were hit by the "lag".
If that number is real, then it's significant.
pjstar32 on 12 Feb '12 said:
I love how everyone is so quick to bash Bethesda like they have a clue as to his many lines of code it takes to make a game of this magnitude. If you think you can do better then go for it or quit your whining. This is the first Bethesda game I've owned and I've had to deal with the College of Winterhold quest bug and the occassional system freeze during the loading screens that require a hard reboot of the PS3 but this is still an amazing game and well worthy of all the awards and then some. Seriously, complainers, go buy some inferior game with a fraction of the playing time this game offers and leave Skyrim to those who recognize a great game and recognize the amount of time and effort Bethesda has not only put into the game but have also put into trying to fix some of these issues, which by the way happens with everything from apps (android and iPhone) to PC Software.
flash501 on 12 Feb '12 said:
Posts like these really f**kin annoy me. Bethesda released this game knowing that the PS3 version was significantly inferior to the other versions and did their utmost to hide this fact. Plus it's taken them 3 months to get around to fixing the lag (if it is fixed, which I seriously doubt). If you're happy to let a Dev get away with this sort of behaviour, then more fool you!
KingsBlade on 12 Feb '12 said:
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *keeps spazing*..........*stops* ITS GONE xD all of it 4 me its all gone used 2 not be able 2 walk in whiterun/all other towns with doors NOW I CAN with no prob its like a new game xD i had a 12 MB save and its so much better now BUT i still have a odd dragon like 1 of tem in all this game i cant kill hes filying backwards and when i dragonrend nothing happens so i killed him in the air with lighting storm <3<3 and he lost his hp but was still in the air and flying and never died >_> O WELL mage+theff= awesomeness
KingsBlade on 12 Feb '12 said:
LAG FREE<3>3>3>3>3> oops
<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3 there
Aeon Lucifer on 12 Feb '12 said:
Some Bethesda guy said that we have to manually create a new save file, delete the old one then restart th console. Also i heard that there's gonna be some abnormalities at first...but its normal cuz the script reconfiguring itself or something like that. and something curious to help, Bethesda said that we may want to let past 73 ingame hours....yes...make your character sleep or rest for 73 hours. That will help somehow. Well in my experiense i havent seen ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL, EVEN BEFORE THE PATCH. my save file was 11mb but after playing a while it went to 7kb. And yes, im mad at Bethesda for this....but ill be fair....i played a lot of their games....even the elder scroll 2 and 3 and fallout....never had a major issues...but if someone is having problems please let me know...im still a little scared to keep playing tho. thanks. BTW I DIDNT MENTIONED IT BUT I THINK U ALREADY FIGURED OUT THT IM TALKING ABOUT THE PS3 VERSION XD
deadric sky on 12 Feb '12 said:
I don't think the lag issue is half as bad as everybody's making it out to be.
Call of Duty had lag issues also, but it didn't deter players from playing.
I think for as huge of a game Skyrim is, with the great graphics you could expect from a ps3, without it being a pc related console, i'd actually expect it.
For me, the lag hits after 3-6 hours of gameplay and only in whiterun or in a heavy fight. i don't find it unusual or gamebreaking, just unfortunate. however it's a problem that's easy to deal with and not lose my mind over.
I auto-save my game as for 5 mins and everything. before a boss fight i save. I save just for the hell saving sometimes.
if all else fails, i turn off my console, let my ps3 rest for about 10 mins, make myself a sandwich, then go kick some more ass (and pick flowers) unlagged.
Thanks for the great games Bethesda, i'm sure you guys are working diligently to resolve everybody's technical issues.
deadric sky on 12 Feb '12 said:
And you can try to trade in your games if you like, but you won't get nearly what you paid for it even if you bought it brand new and played it for 1 day. I work at Gamestop and see all titles come and go, and for as much as people complain about Skyrim online over petty issues, I have seen only 3 traded back in since its release(of the hundreds we've continued to sell). If skyrim is really that bad for you, you're free to sell it back to us whenever you like, but don't expect to see much other games that can compete with it. And I know you'll go back and try to rebuy it, it's exactly what the others tried to do.
-We will be waiting.
dakillerelite on 12 Feb '12 said:
After playing the last few Bethesda games and spending up to 200 hours playing each of them I think they are the best devs out there for scope and value, and don’t care what bad rep they get I will still buy the next big game from them on day one (hope its fallout 4 on the ps4!!).
flash501 on 12 Feb '12 said:
Why would people bring the game back to Gamestop for a pittance when they could sell it on ebay for 3 or 4 times as much?
Barry316 on 12 Feb '12 said:
And why are all the posters that are bending over for Bethesda new ones ?
It's the next Red Dead Redemption sequel thread conspiracy waiting to happen.
dakillerelite on 12 Feb '12 said:
cos i never felt like posting before cos most of the posts on this site are fanboy drivel, and i feel Skyrim needs defending cos in my experience there not that much of a problem and i don’t want folk missing out on one of the best games ever!
nick10361 on 12 Feb '12 said:
you know what i am sick of seeing all these people cry about how bethesda sucks well you know what im here to say skyrim is the best game out there. there never was any lag for me if you guys would just expiriment with your games you would see that if you created a new profile and double saved it the lag would stop from the beggining. but no all of these people saying ohh ill never buy another bethesda game again your just lying to yourself you know once the new elder scrolls comes out whenever it does you will come crawling back and dont you deny it cause you will. so just stop crying give them another chance and just play the game the way its meant to be
.... And hey just have fun because the lag is gone hopfully for good 
TheLastDodo on 12 Feb '12 said:
I guess the moral of this story is don't voice your opinion if it might upset a Bethesda fanboy with multiple accounts.............erm I mean multiple personality disorder.
pjstar32 on 13 Feb '12 said:
@flash501.... you've got serious issues. Maybe if u cleaned up your PS3 and got rid of some of that porn your system would run better and wouldn't have such issues playing Skyrim. This is the first Bethesda game I've owned so I'm certainly no fanboy and you complainers are being ridiculous. When you develop your own games and have a clue what goes into making a game like this then maybe your complaints will have some credibility. Until then shut your mouth and maybe stick to some stupid kiddie games that are more on your level.
flash501 on 13 Feb '12 said:
NEVER!!!
rhyfel on 13 Feb '12 said:
bethesda should do the right thing and offer all ps3 owners a refund "if wanted" for this broken mess of a game, skyrim on the ps3 has been a total joke since the broken crap was launched. and all the skyrim fanboys saying "you have got to expect bugs in a game with such scope" RUBBISH nearly every game bethesda release is broken at launch and if people dont stop buying there unfinished crap every new game in the future will be the same as skyrim because its cheaper for bethesda to fix the game after launch than if it held the games back.
Mmmmgrolsch on 13 Feb '12 said:
FairPlay to not rising to that idiot.
F430Saint on 17 Feb '12 said:
I am now 215 hours into the game and it is now virtually unplayable. I was c.195 hours in when the latest patch came out and for a while it seemed to have corrected many faults. That was however, short lived. The game crashes constantly now, the lag makes almost every aspect of the game intolerable and even opening a door to a shop can be a 1.5 minute wait - the record is counting to 103!
On another point, I don't believe a word of that nonsense article regarding file size having no impact on gameplay...how come everything is as smooth as silk up to c.9 meg save file but my 15meg saves are now unplayable??
pacundo on 20 Feb '12 said:
1.4 update . lol i still have framerate issues ,now is much worse when selling items and opening items menu it stop on the moment you equip ,unequip and sell items . :/
CelticOutlaw on 25 Feb '12 said:
This didn't solve anything for me. My character has been trapped in blackreach since 1.3 came out. Every time I try to go to the tower to get the scroll, it disappears and then my game freezes. If I try to leave... Same thing. Where's the love Bethesda??
EmilVdV on 29 Feb '12 said:
I hoped they could fix the companions quest: striking the heart. I have to kill a silverhand leader at Valheim towers, but I already killed everyone there very early in the game. Now there is just an arrow pointing to the ground. I guess my companions questline has ended, and I really wanted a cure for being a stinky Werewolf
ace-_-144 on 7 Apr '12 said:
uk guys give them a break, it takes a hell of a long time to write a computer program and render it 3 months is actually quite quick, im sure they were busting there ass just to please you but thats impossible i see
krisz on 28 Apr '12 said:
Interesting that you mention that Bethesda guy because you know what....ITS WRITTEN IN THE ARTICLE!