Steam influenced Skyrim's quality?

[PsxMeUP]

Ok, besides the constant crappy patches I'm starting to think releasing Skyrim on Steam also affected the game's production value. Since you have to download the game to play it, Bethesda was probably pressured to keep the download size small. So we're probably forced to hear the same dialog lines ad nauseam because they didn't want to bloat the download size... :sad:

[Glhadiator]

I think when you consider the fact that they went with Steam at all puts that in the realm of plausability. I personally am convinced that they did it for the love of money. As if they didn't stand to make more than they could ever spend anyway. But I still love the game. Just wish Steam would go away!

[olliej666]

i agree think its more about the money they can make by someone just seeing skyrim advertised on steam mite of got them to buy it through ease of just downloading it and not having to go out there way to buy it somewhere, i didnt buy through steam as havent got a ery high opinion on steam at all and was £10 cheaper buying from a shop so watch out with what u buy on steam as is normally much cheaper else where :)

[Karasuman]

@Psx - A compelling point that I'd not thought of before, and one that is tough to argue against.

[bben46]

I don't believe Steam had any influence on this at all. The game was designed to work on consoles and the console limitations are what you are seeing. Getting it cut down to work on a console, and a single DVD - was the first priority. Then they ported what they had to PC. Downloading over the internet from steam should have allowed them to make the game bigger for the PC. But that would have required making a bigger game that would not have fit either a single DVD or a console to begin with.

 

BTW, without that money there would not be a game. Something like Skyrim needs a large up front investment as the return will not be seen for 5 years.

 

Would you like to pay millions of dollars for the privilege of working for 5 years without a paycheck? How about if that promised paycheck after 5 years is far more than the millions you paid in. And more than you would have gotten if you had been paid weekly? Then, what do you live on while waiting for that big check in 5 years? And what if the game is a flop and doesn't produce a big paycheck after waiting 5 long years? Then how much do the pirates steal before you see any of that paycheck? That is the position the game makers are put in. :confused:

[Glhadiator]

Let me just say this;

 

Absolutely nothing wrong with the money part. Without it we wouldn't have the gaming industry that we have today, or tomorrow for that matter.

 

But in my earlier comment I stated that it is the money influence that most likely brought Steam into the picture. Which is what the OP asked. If the console was the way Bethesda wanted to go because it would be more popular (ie more money) then it naturally leads to Steam because it is easier to manage. Nothing wrong with that. But it is still money that controls the influence. Hell it influences everything! Isn't that why you got up and went to work today?

 

I don't like Steam due to certain procedural policies they practice. I do however like Bethesda. What we as PC gamers need to do is promote the advantages of playing on a PC to everyone we know. Then hopefully the influence will swing our way.

 

I also think most people would agree that in todays market it seems that no amount of profit is enough. We see it in all facets of the economy. As more people are becomimg aware of this it is creating a seething anger in society against industry. And the politicians use it to get into office.

 

My point is; If you stand to make more millions than you can possibly spend (not a bad thing)shouldn't you as an industry consider all of your customers? I think they could have done a better service to PC customers than just porting it over (a very general description, don't flame me). And I don't even know if that is what they did. Just going by what I have heard a lot of programmers in the field have stated.

 

The nutshell (my opinion)

Did Steam influence the PC quality of Skyrim? Most likely Yes. Was it because they saw a better market in the consoles? Maybe, don't know for sure. Was it a 'whack at PC users? Very doubtful.

[robanybody2000]

They ignored the posibility of game development on PC's. If made for PC, Skyrim could have been a wonderful game, instead making it for both console and PC screwd the game big time. I admit that making 2 versions of the game, one for console like this one and one improved for PC (even if it were more expensive) would not be fair for console users, but it would have brought Bethesda a considerably higher income. Instead they prefered to turn a briliant long run RPG serie into an almost mindless hack and slash. So the question is will Bethesda be trusted with TES 6 by the RPG playing PC users?...they screwd us once...

 

I will like to thank The Modding Comunity within this message as they do their best to "emancipate" the game. ;) . Cheers guys !

 

Sorry i've gone off course: STEAM is just...fashionable, otherwise ussles, the quality of the game was ruined by Bethesda for trying to cover both PC and consoles.

Edited April 7, 2012 by robanybody2000

[PsxMeUP]

I don't believe Steam had any influence on this at all. The game was designed to work on consoles and the console limitations are what you are seeing. Getting it cut down to work on a console, and a single DVD - was the first priority. Then they ported what they had to PC. Downloading over the internet from steam should have allowed them to make the game bigger for the PC. But that would have required making a bigger game that would not have fit either a single DVD or a console to begin with.

 

Most console games on Xbox360, like Mass Effect, Gears of War, etc., are over 7.5GB. Skyrim is 5.7GB, so is Oblivion, a 6 year old game. Skyrim's voice sounds are 1.4GB. With an additional 2 gigs of voices imagine how richer the game would sound... I know I gripe every time I have to download a game off Steam. I just don't like downloading. We analyze everything where I work, and we're a small company. I'm sure Bethesda analyzed the influence size has on sales.

Edited April 7, 2012 by PsxMeUP

[Ringmonkey84]

I don't believe Steam had any influence on this at all. The game was designed to work on consoles and the console limitations are what you are seeing. Getting it cut down to work on a console, and a single DVD - was the first priority. Then they ported what they had to PC. Downloading over the internet from steam should have allowed them to make the game bigger for the PC. But that would have required making a bigger game that would not have fit either a single DVD or a console to begin with.

 

Most console games on Xbox360, like Mass Effect, Gears of War, etc., are over 7.5GB. Skyrim is 5.7GB, so is Oblivion, a 6 year old game. Skyrim's voice sounds are 1.4GB. With an additional 2 gigs of voices imagine how richer the game would sound... I know I gripe every time I have to download a game off Steam. I just don't like downloading. We analyze everything where I work, and we're a small company. I'm sure Bethesda analyzed the influence size has on sales.

 

Not trying to start a flame war here, but i like steam, and I don't believe that steam was the cause of the smaller file size. One game that I purchased recently, Total War: Shogun 2 was over 22 gb of memory, not including 2 fairly large expansions. I think steam can handle a little more than 5.7 gb. Consoles are where to look if you want to put the blame somewhere.

[VorrAkkagi]

I play the PC version. And I don't have any qualms about anyone trying to earn a buck. I'm trying to start my own company as well. What I DO have a problem with is this:

 

I was playing just fine, then Steam auto-patched my game, without my having any knowledge of it UNTIL my game CTDed and a message popped up saying Steam had successfully updated my game. All of my saves no longer loaded. It froze my machine and I had to do a physical shut down on my system (never a good thing) in order to recover from it. So I had to start from scratch. Then, I am rewarded with massive CTDs at random times, and can no longer enter certain areas without a CTD (Solitude being one of them - bit of a quest breaker). And there is the issue of pre-patch mods vs. after patch mods. I believe it was the after patch mods that don't work right?

 

So, I find that mod that prevents auto patching from steam. But, the damage is done. So I decide I need to reinstall the game from scratch, and prevent the patch. Guess what I've been doing for the entire day??? " The Steam servers are currently to busy to handle your request. Please try again in a few minutes." I cannot even install the game now!!! This is what one gets for relying on an online service to handle your game for you. Why can I not install the game from my CD/DVD as usual, and then log into Steam and have them download an enabler file after I have validated my game?

 

Do I really have to go find a cracked version of this game (having bought it already, I wouldn't feel bad about it a bit) in order to actually play it????