Skyrim 1.4 Beta Update Hits Steam

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Skyrim 1.4 Beta Update Hits Steam


For those with the guts to try it, the first beta release of the Skyrim 1.4 patch for the PC is now available on Steam.

Updates for console games follow a very set, time-consuming process. The studio creates an update, taking all due care to ensure that it's fit for human consumption, but then must submit it to either Sony or Microsoft for "certification" to ensure that it's all copacetic and not going to break anything too terribly important. Once it's been checked over and given the green light, it finally goes out the door to the long-suffering players.

But PC games are handled a little differently. The developers do what they do and then gamers cross their fingers, grab their sacks and jump in with both feet - or not, as the case may be. The obvious upside is that things get done far more quickly, but with the good comes the bad, which in this case is the slight but ever-present possibility that the patch will fix one thing and break three others.

Right now, you have just one question to ask yourself: do I feel lucky? Well do you? If your answer is "yes," then allow me to draw your attention to the Skyrim 1.4 beta update now available on Steam. PS3 and Xbox 360 owners are still waiting for "testing" to be completed but as a member of the PC gaming elite, you don't have to wait - you can do the testing yourself!

If this sounds like a good idea to you [and how could it not?] then all you need to do is log into Steam, go into the Settings menu, hit the Account tab and then change your Beta Participation options. Select "Skyrim Beta" from the dropdown menu, then hit the OK button and wait for Steam to restart. As soon as it does, Skyrim will automatically update to the latest available beta version. It's that easy!

To be clear, the above does not constitute an endorsement of this beta, so if you try it and trash your game, it's all on you. Bethesda likewise warns that the installation of this patch is an "at your own risk" deal and recommends that you only install it if you're afflicted by one of the admittedly-many issues listed in the fix notes [http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1337259-steam-beta-1415-release-notes/].

And now, having sufficiently established that nothing could possibly go wrong with this update, have at it! Full instructions and other details are up at the Bethesda Blog [http://www.bethblog.com/2012/01/23/now-on-steam-beta-update-for-skyrim/], so you might want to give them a once-over first. Oh, and don't forget to back up your saved games! You know, just in case.


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synobal

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Jun 8, 2011
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I don't care about patches at this point just release the freaking construction set please!!!!!
 

antipunt

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Jan 3, 2009
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c'mon, come out already creation kit so that ((other)) people can make cool stuff that ((I)) people can enjoy!

^edit: ninja'd. Wowsa
 

Sucal

Dragonborn Ponyeater
Dec 23, 2009
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That's right, members of the supposedly master race can beta test for the True Console Champions. Test Monkeys Test and Betheseda might give you a Creation Kit Favoured Banana
 

Vrach

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Jun 17, 2010
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Good job on unbiased and professional journalism. Brb, need to wipe my keyboard, just spilled sarcasm all over it.
 

Frostbite3789

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Jul 12, 2010
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Sucal said:
That's right, members of the supposedly master race can beta test for the True Console Champions. Test Monkeys Test and Betheseda might give you a Creation Kit Favoured Banana
1/10, poor effort.

OT: It's a little sad when the dev is like, "Try it at your own risk, we may have broken the game. We're not really sure."

I'm slowly becoming convinced the good things Bethesda does are kind of by accident.
 

Kopikatsu

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May 27, 2010
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It's like people forgot that Bethesda said that the creation kit will be out before the end of the month.
 

Scars Unseen

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May 7, 2009
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Frostbite3789 said:
OT: It's a little sad when the dev is like, "Try it at your own risk, we may have broken the game. We're not really sure."
That's why they call it a beta patch.
 

llafnwod

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Nov 9, 2007
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Kopikatsu said:
It's like people forgot that Bethesda said that the creation kit will be out before the end of the month.
I assume they want to try and save a little face before they release the CS and the modding community fixes Skyrim's entire bug list in a couple of weeks.
 

The Lugz

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Apr 23, 2011
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LOL! Beta Bethesda software really? the release stuff is bugged enough, thanks..
although, bio-ware is on par to beat sky-rim's lengthy list of bug,s at this rate too
I guess software development has taken a turn for the worse recently :(

and yes, that was deliberate.
 

Braedan

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Sep 14, 2010
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Vrach said:
Good job on unbiased and professional journalism. Brb, need to wipe my keyboard, just spilled sarcasm all over it.
you clearly don't understand how journalism works. None of it is unbiased, the escapist just doesn't try try to hide it.
 

Clive Howlitzer

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Jan 27, 2011
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I am the only person in the universe who has never had a single bug in a single Bethesda game. It makes everyone seem so crazy.
 

Seraj

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Nov 27, 2010
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Clive Howlitzer said:
I am the only person in the universe who has never had a single bug in a single Bethesda game. It makes everyone seem so crazy.
I hear about all these bugs, but I've only ran into one and that was partly my fault...

"oooh, I wonder if I can squeeze into the back of there, maybe theres a hidden chest..."

*Gets stuck in between two rocks and a low ceiling*

"Feck, I haven't saved since I entered this damned cave"

But other than that one (which is less of a bug and more because of the retarded player) I haven't run into any.
 

Joe Deadman

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Jan 9, 2010
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Dl'd it last night, introduced a bit of a weird bug where the volume of the windy noises near caves is ramped up when I enter or exit the cave temporarly deafening/scaring me.

Other than that though I haven't had any other issues yet and I finally got to
Fix the white phial
 

lancar

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Aug 11, 2009
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Beta updates/patches are fairly common, actually. Maybe they're not with games, but in the codec scene (for example) they're the rule rather than the exception. From the top of my head I can recall at least one game with it, though. In the mmo Wurm Online they have a "test client" for the game available for the ones feeling lucky, and a "stable" one for the rest.

I think that these things are dependant on in-house testing manpower. If the studio/developer doesn't have the resources to test updates themselves, they let the community do it.
In this case, Skyrim is simply too complex to account for all the variables with in-house testing, so a Beta patch actually makes perfect sense.
 

Lethos

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Dec 9, 2010
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Apparently Bethesda took the advice of a modder called Asiru and included a compiler in this patch. The result is apparently a double in FPS.