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Bethesda investigates Shivering Isles bug, patch released

[UPDATE] Bethesda releases patch to combat bug in PC expansion that makes game unplayable; still no reported cases of glitch in Xbox 360 version, says rep.

The Shivering Isles expansion pack for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion adds a new land to explore--the Realm of Madness--along with 30 hours of new gameplay, new creatures, dungeons, and quests. For some users, it also includes a bug that could break the game.

Bethesda Softworks has confirmed that a major glitch in The Elder Scrolls IV: The Shivering Isles exists and that it is working to fix the problem. The bug apparently starts affecting the game as soon as the expansion pack is installed for the PC version of Shivering Isles. The problem arises because the game generates a huge number of identification numbers internally for objects, and once the allotted space for those numbers becomes exhausted, newly created objects will disappear from the gameworld and the game could simply crash.

Depending on the number of frames per second generated on a user's PC, the game will be "rendered unplayable" from between 50 to 120 hours of gameplay, according to reports in the official forums and the game's Wiki. It appears that the more frames per second the game runs at, the faster that space of identification numbers fills up.

"We have verified this problem can happen on the PC and are still looking into whether it is possible on 360, since we don't have any reported cases of it happening on that platform, nor have we been able to recreate it on 360 ourselves," a Bethesda spokesperson told GameSpot. "We're testing a fix for it right now and hope to have it out as soon as possible."

[UPDATE] Bethesda has released a beta patch for The Shivering Isles that addresses the form IDs problem. The file, which bumps the expansion up to version 1.2.0410, is available at The Elder Scrolls Web site.

"We wanted to get something out for PC users as quickly as possible to try and address the problem with this beta patch," a Bethesda rep told GameSpot. "We are trying to be as responsive as possible while making sure that any updates we release don't cause additional problems."

The rep also said that there have been no reported cases of a similar problem affecting the Xbox 360 version.

245 Comments

  • maccaaccam

    Posted May 16, 2007 1:29 pm GMT

    when is an official non beta patch supposed to come out. how long to bethesda betas last? by unistall oblivion does that mean start again or can i back up my saved games?

  • Matti9845

    Posted Apr 25, 2007 10:14 am GMT

    Ah well I don't really play a charactor for more than 100 hours at a time.

  • Chef_Bretz

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 7:27 am GMT

    Since I've installed Shivers on my Xbox - certain 'Oblivion' missions now crash.

  • Ra-Devil

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 5:31 pm GMT

    Haven't had any autosave problems, but I have dropped an Item in my home (because I decorate my home with armor and weapons) and when I came back to get something.... nothing I set down was there....

    please fix this bug for the 360, we're suffering too.

  • zarkia

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 6:25 am GMT

    ahh, good to hear the pc version has been offically patched.

  • BraindeadRacr

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 12:11 pm GMT

    http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=677583

    Xbox 360 users are affected. It's been confirmed.
    (for the users who didn't believe me before, 207 comments back)

  • Ibero1970

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 11:46 pm GMT

    Shivering Isles is (however great it is) causes problems with the autosave on my x360. Anybody else experiencing that particular problem? The system freezes when loading the autosave for replay. Very annoying, happend a couple of times now. Otherwise great adiition to Oblivion, cannot wait for more...

  • runejedi

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 10:17 pm GMT

    oblivion works fine on vista and you dont get the problem where you lose the keyboard controlls if you hit alt-tab that you get on xp .

  • champmanfan

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 5:31 pm GMT

    Good job I didn't buy it at launch otherwise it would be a frustrating experience with these bugs that my friend is having on his PC. Thumbs up to Bethesda for releasing a much needed patch, but it should have been handled much better than this.

    Anyone having trouble with this game on Vista or shall I install it on my XP partition ?

  • grim_fandango

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 2:17 am GMT

    Oooh thank goodness I haven't bought the expansion pack yet xD

    I haven't really done much in the original game anyway (too much hw from school =[ ) so not much point in getting it at this time.

  • killercuts

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 2:12 pm GMT

    Wish most game company's fixed there major problems as speedy as this. Gotta luv Bethesda.

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:43 pm GMT

    patches... I love patches. Patches is my dog.

  • j_vega07

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:09 pm GMT

    NO CASES ON XBOB My A**......................mine is stuck can't even play with a new character , it freezes after like 20 minutes of playing.........DAMN FIX it !!!!!!

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 12:17 pm GMT

    lol, that's a hell of a problem. As someone who's done a little programming, it's a pretty easy one to make but it's also a pretty easy one to fix, provided you can find it.

  • ldonyo

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 10:11 am GMT

    As much as I want to play Shivering Isles, I'm going to wait for a fully-tested patch before even installing it.

  • nvenice

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 10:01 am GMT

    How could Beth's testers have found a glitch that doesn't materialize until 100 - 150 hours into it? Surely we can't expect them to have a tester play one character for that amount of time. It's cutting edge technology - meaning mistakes have to be made for lessons to be learned.

    Beth is a shrewd, talented company and I'm sure they'll make good.

  • HydroMat

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 9:46 am GMT

    The bug itself always existed even without shivering isles, the form i'd just accumulated alot slower before the changes that the Si's patch made to the game.. hence why pc/xbox/ps3 all had the issue.

    the forum fix is only a temporary measure and the beta patch still hasnt had enough testing.. (1 user already had a major glitch occur as a result of the patch with formId's)

    beth has NOT acknowledged the existance of the issue on the 360 or ps3 version (hence no patch), even though its known to the community that it does in fact exist.

  • astrozen

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 9:39 am GMT

    I have to give props to the Elder SCrolls Forums for collectively troubleshooting the problem down to two specific instances in the game with ID overflow. It was patched up nicely by the fans and I'll bet my shrouded armor that Bethesda had one eye on the forums while they were making their patch. Go mod community and fans on TES Forums!!! Anyways, don't worry PS3 and XBOX 360 players - if the problem in the main ESP exists it can easily be fixed with a patch. It's not worth missing one of the best games ever created (I've logged over 300 hours with 4 different characters) it's fun to roleplay!

  • LoJo10

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 9:31 am GMT

    I looked at the patch fixes for Obilivion as well as Shivering Isles - It was amazing how many bugs the original game had! (for a triple A game)

  • FreakyDeacky2

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 9:26 am GMT

    I just finished the shivering isles yesterday, there is not a single problem with it

  • Somini

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:42 am GMT

    HydroMat:

    "This bug DOES affect the xbox 360 and likely the ps3 version aswell, and that has been independantly proven and documented in the elderscrolls forums."

    How could it affect a PS3 version? There isn't any PS3 Shivering Isles made yet and when it will come out, the bug will be fixed.

  • riverdragon13

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:38 am GMT

    I think the problem affects the 360 version too because I've logged about 112 hours on the 360 version and it is running like ass. It freezes periodically, takes forever to load now, and sometimes items will randomly disappear from the game except for thongs and shirts. So I hope they find out whats wrong because for now I'm holding off on playing Shivering Isles. And its not my console because every other game plays perfectly. Also I did not glitch so I dunno. I know I'm going to have to delete my save file and start over and that blows.

  • a-man-called-e

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:28 am GMT

    i knew it wouldnt take that long

  • PyroX4414

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:27 am GMT

    I hope the 360 doesn't end up glitched too. Yet again kudos Bethesda for being so responsive to it.

  • jordanbijl

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:12 am GMT

    Ouch good thing they fixed it

  • HydroMat

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 7:03 am GMT

    This bug DOES affect the xbox 360 and likely the ps3 version aswell, and that has been independantly proven and documented in the elderscrolls forums.

    xbox saves can be read with software on the Pc and the Fbomb ID overflow was present in 360 save games,, that also means that this very same issue is almost garaunteed to hit the ps3 version when it becomes available.

    the shivering isles Esp is what accelerates the FormID's exponentially.

  • quetzilla

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 5:39 am GMT

    If Oblivion is lagging for you when you walk around, turn the settings down or upgrade your computer, I play with max settings at 1280x1024 and get 30-50 fps all the time, and my computer is a year old.

    It is a nasty bug, but you do have to play a character for 100+ hours after installing oblivion to hit it... not something I would have expected Bethesda to catch before releasing it.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 5:17 am GMT

    that's a nasty glitch.

  • Razoroo

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 4:15 am GMT

    What about the other glitches? I want to complete that bloody quest! Send me the patch!

  • Dracamus

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 4:12 am GMT

    Is it me or is Bethesda Softworks lazy at de-bugging there games. Obilivion had a bug that crashed your game out when certain daedric quest not to mention the annoying lagging when walking about the world. Tho they do have patched out for these problems they should of had it right from the word go

  • azizrulez

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 4:03 am GMT

    even though there have been no reported cases of the bug on the 360,
    there are PS3 fanboys conjuring their own 360's and saying they have witnessed the bug.
    Classic Fanboy Stuff

  • Somini

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 3:45 am GMT

    Good thing that they fixed it so fast, I stopped playing as soon as I heard about this bug, but now I can go back to the Shivering Isles. I didn't wanna wait for too long, good job Bethesda!

  • anarchicgoth

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 3:00 am GMT

    wow good thing i have it for the 360!

  • 99adgil

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 2:40 am GMT

    in response to ihardwick692

    can u actualy read? because it says this is only on the PC so stop bashing teh 360 for no good reason silly ps3 fan boy

  • lhardwick692

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 2:35 am GMT

    dont tell me something is buggy on a xbox360--thats something new --not..

    ..
    ... they released the expansion pack quickly maybe even quick enough to the point they were able to build it in the game--but where would they make money from then..

  • mouldy133

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 2:05 am GMT

    dude there are no foficial SI forums on beth soft works website...

  • BounceDK

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 2:03 am GMT

    "Try reading the last paragraph of the article, the one where it says there have been NO reported cases of the problem on the 360 version."

    I suggest you head on over to the official SI forums and read the tests. They might surprise you.

  • mouldy133

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 2:01 am GMT

    my xbox360 continually freezes on oblivion, once every 2 hoursish if im on SI but i havent reported it, ive also got loads of disc unreadable errors...
    But Only For This Game (there is nothing wrong with my xbox and there was some framerate stuff as well but thats just oblivion lol!

  • TTDog

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:36 am GMT

    "Chef_Bretz: I'm scared to play the expansion on my 360 until they release a patch for it on Live!"

    Try reading the last paragraph of the article, the one where it says there have been NO reported cases of the problem on the 360 version.

  • Ninjiz

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:28 am GMT

    Bethesda releasing games with lots of bugs and patchinng them later????? OMG who could have imagined such a thing. Its unthinkable....

  • soulessblade

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:28 am GMT

    x360 user here; I had 350 hours on my main before installing and playing SI. I have just finished the main quest in SI and so far have not had any glitches or stalls. In fact since installing SI I no longer freeze when travelling the road between Kvatch and Anvil! Yay!

    I freakin love this game. It's the title I bought the 360 for and its the only title I repeatedly go back to. Sure it's Morrowind Lite, but I love playing it and isn't that all that matters?

  • Justinkapelke

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:27 am GMT

    After i downloaded Shivering Isles i went into the world. There i did make an experience. I could not sit down on a chair. The man was just standing there.

  • GeigerdolylWodd

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:23 am GMT

    Oh so its only for the expansion? No worries

  • Chef_Bretz

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:00 am GMT

    I'm scared to play the expansion on my 360 until they release a patch for it on Live!

  • Lumenadducere

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 11:29 pm GMT

    This was a pretty huge bug that really should've been noted and fixed sooner than this. I'm kinda disappointed in Bethesda.

  • Priest57

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 8:23 pm GMT

    I never encountered a glitch while playing Shivering Isles on the 360. It had some frame rate issues in some really heavy spots of action, but other than that it was fine. Glad to see that Bethesda is taking care of their sh*te.

  • iceteo012

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 8:08 pm GMT

    i have to uninstall and reinstall the whole game? nah, I'd use the mod community fix first and wait till an offical patch is released. My form ID is still in the FF1XXX range so I guess its OK.

  • wildsnipe

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 7:37 pm GMT

    Man PC's are always glitchy, but Bethesda will fix the bug pronto. Guess its happening on the 360 version and It might be harder to fix on 360 as well since its not as open as PC .

  • xBelisariusx

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 7:28 pm GMT

    There is a problem on the 360 version. If you want details on this whole mess, go to http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/
    index.php?showtopic=674914. This discusses it in further detail.

  • Genexi2

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 7:18 pm GMT

    Glad I had to order this online rather than via my slow-ass WalMart...., that would have been nasty to encounter.

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