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from the stop-shipping-beta-quality-code dept.
combatserver writes:
"The folks over at Dark Side of Gaming are reporting an interesting development in the game modding community--a recently released modification for the blockbuster game from Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC version). A long-running issue with the game since release has been recurring CTDs (crashes to desktop) and infinite loading screens that often bring the game to a grinding halt after just a few minutes of play, especially when heavily modded. Bethesda has tried to resolve the issue with several patches, to no avail.
Sheson, a member of the Skyrim modding community, fixed Skyrim. According to many user reports--thousands, in fact--Sheson's relatively minor adjustment to memory allocation has solved the vast majority of stability issues. The improvements have increased game performance far beyond what anyone had expected. Players are now merging mods to get around the hard-coded cap of 256 mods that Skyrim can load at any given time, effectively packing more content into the game. The fix also allows for Skyrim to run on lower-end PCs, widening the market for a game that has already sold over 20 million copies.
Since Sheson's patch released, the fix has been repackaged by other community members as a mod for Skyrim to make it even more accessible. Skyrim players who use the script-extender SKSE will be pleased to hear that the patch will be included in the next build."
[ED Note: Bottom line -- Bethesda shouldn't be packaging poorly written and untested code for sale, then requiring gamers to pay to play as beta testers. Kudos to Sheson for his hard work and effort.]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by SGT CAPSLOCK on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:41PM
Bethesda and I go way back. I was one of those people that was crazy excited when Morrowind was released (and to this day I still play it, heavily modified to look more beautiful than Skyrim!).
As much as I love their games, I can't think of one that they've released that hasn't been riddled with crippling bugs. To this very day, getting the music to play in Fallout 3 without crashing the game/stuttering/etc can be a really tasking nightmare.
But the games are so fun, I keep buying them! And I'll keep buying them. The awesome modding communities don't get enough thanks from Bethesda for the things they do to make their games properly playable, IMO.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by ticho on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:24PM
Indeed, I still remember having to regularly run the player-made utilities to fix Daggerfall savegames (remove orphaned quest items, unfinishable quests, stuck storyline, etc.) Bethesda likes their games buggy.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by SyntaxError on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:55PM
What did you do to make morrowwind look better than skyrim? I never played that one.
(Score: 5, Informative) by SGT CAPSLOCK on Thursday February 20 2014, @03:19PM
Basically, the first step I always take is to download this thing called the Morrowind Sound and Graphics Overhaul (MGSO) which is essentially a scripted installer that includes all sorts of stuff such as:
- MGE (Morrowind Graphics Extender) -- makes the game work in widescreen, adds pixel shaders, generates distant land, etc
- MCP (Morrowind Code Patch) -- fixes the bugs in the game and adds lots of modern features to make it more playable
- 4GB Memory Patch
- LOTS of mods to enhance the graphics and sounds, etc
MGSO's home page is here [ornitocopter.net].
After that, a good site to start with is the Morrowind Nexus [nexusmods.com] -- especially the "top files" section. Download and test things until it suits your tastes!
(Score: 2, Funny) by jcd on Thursday February 20 2014, @05:26PM
No! No, you can't make me reinstall it again! No, I won't do it.... no.....
"What good's an honest soldier if he can be ordered to behave like a terrorist?"
(Score: 2, Informative) by darinbob on Friday February 21 2014, @03:05AM
Well the characters for sure will never look better than Skyrim. But the landscape can be. It helps that Morrowind has a lot of barren areas and ash deserts. So just some retexturing helps a lot, and in areas by the ocean they can plop down more plants.
However it's not necessary. You really can play it without the mods and enjoy it, and get past the graphics pretty quickly. Though mods to improve the UI so that more fits on the screen, add the unofficial patches, and so forth, will be handy. It's much more of a sandbox than Skryim is, there's a lot of land area than is covered by all the quests, etc. It has its own unique feel; Oblivion was too much like generic fantasy, Skyrim was too much like generic nordic fantasy with dragons, but Morrowind has a very alien feel and unusual creatures. (though these unusual creates are now commonplace in ESO, with guar down in southern Tamriel, bah humbug)
(Score: 2) by ticho on Saturday February 22 2014, @10:27AM
Is MGSO the same project as Skywind [tesrenewal.com]? Probably not, the Skywind guys seem to be a bit more ambitious, remodeling and retexturing entire landscapes, creating new models, and recording voice for dialogs in Morrowind.
From the dev video they released [youtube.com], it looks impressive. Hopefully they won't give up, and Bethesda won't slap them with a C&D.
(Score: 3, Informative) by NCommander on Thursday February 20 2014, @04:33PM
Suprisingly, as far as the engine itself goes, I've had relatively good luck with Fallout: New Vegas (Steam), though the game script has bugs which are at least cross platform.
Still always moving
(Score: 3, Interesting) by combatserver on Thursday February 20 2014, @10:55PM
"... I've had relatively good luck with Fallout: New Vegas..."
You bring up a good point--they share the same engine. I wonder if anyone has tried applying Sheson's patch to Fallout: New Vegas?
I hope I can change this later...
(Score: 1) by darinbob on Friday February 21 2014, @03:09AM
Fallout New Vegas (and Fallout 3) shares the same engine as Oblivion. Skyrim is the next generation engine (and will most likely be shared with Fallout 4). The patch as-is probably won't work but it's possible that the concept would.