Skyrim PC patch arrives, adds mandatory Steam DRM, kills some tweaks

by Christopher Grant on Nov 22nd 2011 8:30PM

It should come as no surprise that Bethesda's massive Skyrim needs some patching and last night, the first patch, weighing in at a humble 18MB, arrived for the PC platform. Unfortunately, this patch didn't address any of the game's bugs; rather, it prevented the main executable from running without Steam. "DRM," you cry, waving your makeshift pitchfork in the air. Well, yes ... but a bigger problem than that, as detailed by the good-looking folks at Rock, Paper, Shotgun, is that the patch disables some of the game's more popular mods.

Initially the patch disabled the large address aware third-party patch that allowed the Skyrim executable to, well, address larger amounts of RAM. For some reason, the game will only recognize a maximum of 2GB of RAM (or: the same amount of RAM that a bathroom scale has). Luckily a workaround has cropped up that doesn't need to alter the executable and life goes on. However, the "fabled uGrids .ini file tinker that made the game's icy landscapes look significantly more gorgeous" is no longer operational post-update. RPS isn't bullish on long-term patch support from Bethesda, so consider this a warning if you're considering playing PC and have a religious or philosophical opposition to being unable to mod your software.

Source: RPS

Tags: Bethesda-Softworks, elder-scrolls-5, microsoft, patches, pc, playstation, ps3, skyrim, the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim, xbox

Reader Comments (113)

1.05 patch for dark souls came out today too fyi rpg fans... makes the game much better

@GuardianLegend2 It does not fix the patchy pixelated grass though :

@Eniko

Because that's SUCH a bigger priority than at least giving the broken online a crutch to stand with.

@GuardianLegend2
And on a relevancy side: 0.

@Lucky48
...wait 'til you get to a 6 Mb save..

Wait...what?

Why Bethesda, why? There is no good reason to deny users to change their INI files around, let alone removing LAA hack support, since 64bit systems can use their RAM as intended.

In other news, why the hell do posts get devoured upon post half the time?

@Jennacide

oh well, guess it´s time to wait for THE CRACKED EXE of the file. yeah, i said it...... i paid for skyrim, i didn´t pay to let Bethesda screw with my game...... so let´s wait for the baby pirates........

@Hunter141072 Not saying I agree with this but according to the EULA it's not your game it's theirs you are buying the right to play. Also, your statement brings up an interesting debate about ownership of ideas. They are trying to create a world with a manifest vision and consistent experience. By your saying you have ownership that compromises their ability to provide content. The nub behind most IP arguments. Just an insteresting aside. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with you but your statement opens a very interesting can of worms.

@Jennacide Hey, I'm not sure if you had the same problem I did with the .ini files, but I did find a work around. Since the folder is locked, pull the ini file out, and place it on the desktop. Edit it there, save, and then put it back. Worked like a charm for me.

@commonperson

yeah, i know that, but to be honest i´ve never believed in those stupid eulas or that "your game is not your game" stuff, for example.. i still have my old copy of Phantasmagoria, according to that EULA that game is not mine either, and doing anything to it in order to "change it" is also a violation of the EULA, but guess what?? sierra is no longer here, i still have the game, they are history, they can´t provide anything for me to keep playing it, so what was the solution?? yep, a patch which was not created by sierra, it´s not official and it´s very likely that it´s not legal, but that´s how things are. And the funny thing in the case of skyrim is that you can´t change the game but there are going to be millions of mods for skyrim, you can´t touch anything but they can add DRM to your machine , which is something I didn´t agree in the first place because that DRM was NOT mentioned or present in the copy that i bought. sorry man, i understand what you are saying and as you said it´s a controversial thing, but i´m sure a lot of people is going to use the baby pirates solution, not really a lot of options specially when they want to screw you....

@Jennacide
The 4gb patch is the only thing that made the game playable. Great job dicks. Now I get to go back to crashing every few minutes and having textures not load constantly. Wonderful.

@Alex Oglitchkin

yeah right, and it´s THEIR DRM the one who is going to be on my machine, even though when i bought it it wasn´t present, can i send THEiR game back for this??? no?? ok, then it´s MINE... whatever they think so or not........

@Alex Oglitchkin
the go on and enjoy THEIR game, while i definitly enjoy MY cracked game more

@mietha

I have a mildly built machine running a first gen i7 with a 480 gtx and the game runs buttery smooth at (almost) max settings. I have dumped over 40 hours into Skyrim already and the ONLY crash I had was from bumping the core clock on my 480 too high. Not everyone has texture issues and crashes. All in all, it has been VERY playable pre-patch.

Still though, I agree that bethesda f'ed up with this update. The only thing that will come of locking mods out is pissing people off and losing fans.

Praise Talos that we have such a good modding community though, we'll have all the features back in no time.

@Alex Oglitchkin It's so cute how you think EULAs actually mean something. Especially in an offline, single player game.

@Tinkus "We have this EULA here so we can legally stop evil modding bastards like you from adding aimbots and wallhacks and ruining everyone else's fun!"
"...it's singleplayer."
"Doesn't matter, you'll still tell your adventures to your friends, and I'm saving them from having to listen to your stories about how you used '1337 Haxorz' to slay a Jarl!"

@Hunter141072 I just saw this thread and I have to say - ignore the idiots. Once you purchase a piece of software it is yours to do whatever you want with it, 100% legally. If it weren't legal, Lionhead would be shouting to shut down sites like fabletlcmod/fable2mod/fable3mod. The simple fact is, they have no grounds to do so. The only time it is illegal is when you are distributing modified game files -- which is why most mod sites have tools that do the modding instead of just saying "here, download this .exe!". I have been modding games for over a decade and even register accounts on official forum sites (ie: Lionhead's) just to poke them and laugh - without the use of a proxy. I've yet to be fined, taken to court, etc because of modding -- just do it legally (find/write a tool to do the modification instead of downloading a new tesv.exe).

Well, this is a first...

@ironneko

Yes, it's the very, VERY rare "We already got your money, suckers!" gambit.

@Gibbeynator

Upvotes were given for the ingenious reply.

whoa...Bethesda is actually blocking mods?! and RAM usage?!...Thats just so....weird. I guess they have plans to upgrade the game graphically as time goes on maybe? Idk, I've never really heard of a game blocking RAM.

@OGC

It's not really BLOCKING ram, it just supports up to 2 gigs... Like games from 5 years ago. This patch didn't purposely break the fix, it was just one of the many side effects.

Pretty sure none of the consoles have more than 2 gigs. You should just be satisfied with console performance, console resolution, console menus, console un-moddability...

@StClair boooooooooooooo

@StClair
"PC Gaming is dead"
Because consoles keep twisting the knife.

@StClair
but what does that have to do with the PC though?

@OGC
I gotta ask. Does Skyrim presently use 2GB of RAM?

@ColorblindMonk

I dont know what it uses on PC ultra settings. Of course on console we're stuck with this wack 512 MB

PC Master Race.

Oh god, I didnt just read skyrim having DRM
I DIDNT!

@arucious Yes it's called Steam. What do people think Steam is? It's a delivery system that hides a DRM system. Sheesh, think about it people?! For all the love on for Steam it's the back door DRM to end all back door DRM an always on system for rights management that PC Geeks don't get all up in arms about. Genius!

@commonperson

I've preached that for years, yet the valve worshippers somehow irnore the DRM aspect of Steam.

@Knight Marquise That is because it is pretty easy to ignore. It runs on modern computers like my own, always on, never causing issues. It has a simple authentication system which even allows me to just automatically log on without even having to see the log in screen. It doesn't take up a huge amount of resources. If I am ever asked to log in to another service to start the game it is the fault of the developers of that game (Wings of Prey 2...). I've also modded tons of games in my Steam library. Best of all it is one platform with one log in and I am done.

So yeah, easy to ignore. I don't think most people would care about DRM if it were as easy to use as Steam.

I don't care if developers want to use any method available to them to protect their games, as long as it doesn't affect gameplay. This made Skyrim unplayable for me again just like it was before the LAA modded .exe.

"In the name of protecting our IP, we're making it impossible for people to fix our broken game and patch bugs we may or may not ever get around to acknowledging, let alone doing anything about."

oh, Bethesda.

@StClair lol...
they said "yes we had tons of problems with new vegas,fallout 3 and the dlc for those games but THIS games we gotta make sure we start with DRM fixes.Cant have stuff working before we get it working."

@(Unverified)

lol

Dear Fanbase,
We were tired of you making a better game out of our games than we made when we did them ourselves.
Consider it patched.
Next up, Re: psychic guards, world leveling, and other bullshit that makes our games unplayable or fun.
-Beth

@RequiemDogma

P.S. We're going to sell you the mods as DLC

@RequiemDogma

How else are you supposed to share in and enjoy all the bugs console users have to deal with on every. single. bethesda. release. ever? Hmm?

PC gamers have been demanding more attention from the industry, and here's the response.

@omf the response was "how dare the fix our shit! the pirates will have access to that and a free game"

@Timjoy It worked for Valve. Look how many people bought l4d.

Pretty sure this is the worst patch ever, for any game, ever.

@blueskyv201

Star Wars: Galaxies would like a word with you.

@Omenege LOL.

So Bethesda is trying to make the PC version more like the console version, less control by the users and such? : (

@nerdydesi1

Ignorance is truly bliss on the console side. Once you guys mentioned all these mods for Fallout 3 and Oblivion, makes me want to go re-buy them for PC.

My bro was surprised that when he bought the game at launch, he could just run the .exe and the game ran without Steam, there was no DRM and he applauded Bethesda for that decision. I guess the no-DRM was too good to be true, especially in this day and age with PC gamers drowning in draconian DRM. : (

@nerdydesi1

Since when has Steam been draconian? Its DRM is one of the simplest and least inconveniencing I've experienced. You have to be logged in to play, and can only be logged in on one computer at once, and can still play offline if your internet craps out? That's a DRM I have never noticed so I don't see the problem at all.

@RogueJedi86 I believe to play Steam games offline, you have to go into offline mode. And to do so requires being on online. So you can play games offline if you plan ahead. But if your internet just craps out without warning you won't have planned ahead and I think you can't play until it comes back.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Skyrim PC patch arrives, adds mandatory Steam DRM, kills some tweaks

Reader Comments (113)

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:38PM GuardianLegend2 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:29PM Eniko said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 12:17AM Mechazawa Prime said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 6:24AM Andrew12h said

Posted: Nov 28th 2011 5:08PM adobe64 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:38PM drhitts said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:40PM Jennacide said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:37PM Hunter141072 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:51PM commonperson said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 12:32AM Pugnaciousturtle said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 12:32AM Hunter141072 said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 2:03AM mietha said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 2:18AM Hunter141072 said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 6:35AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 9:56AM DURDADUR said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 10:47AM Tinkus said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 7:43PM Jetleo1 said

Posted: Nov 30th 2011 2:23PM quasistar said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:40PM ironneko said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:23PM Gibbeynator said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:51PM ironneko said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:42PM OGC said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:50PM liquidsoap89 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:05PM StClair said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:51PM nerdydesi1 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:00PM Kayonesoft said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:24PM OGC said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 11:26PM ColorblindMonk said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 12:25AM OGC said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:47PM houstons85 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:47PM arucious said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:53PM commonperson said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 10:43AM Knight Marquise said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 6:54PM Sabbatai said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:52PM StClair said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:39PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 12:50PM kentuckyfried said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 8:55PM RequiemDogma said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:08PM Timjoy said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:34PM omf said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:41PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 11:09PM Faceless Troll said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:03PM blueskyv201 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:08PM Omenege said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 10:41AM SirUrza said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:07PM nerdydesi1 said

Posted: Nov 23rd 2011 12:59PM kentuckyfried said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:08PM nerdydesi1 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 9:56PM RogueJedi86 said

Posted: Nov 22nd 2011 10:15PM spin cycle said

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