Patch 1.2 for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was suppose to fix the lag issue plaguing the PlayStation 3. It apparently didn’t work, though, as some players are still experiencing problems due to increasing save file data. And the now-available patch 1.3 for Steam didn’t even address the issue.
To help players out, Bethesda’s senior community manager has posted some advice that will hopefully improve the game’s performance. As posted on Bethesda’s forums:
- Turn off auto saves. This can cause temporary stuttering since the PS3 saves these files in the background. This is most noticeable with large saves when fast traveling to a new area or entering a new area that auto saves.
- Clear space on your hard drive. Skyrim makes heavy use of the hard drive, and freeing up space on here seems to help many people. Hard drive speeds also differ in PS3 models. Some users have reported increase performance by upgrading their drives.
- Waiting for time to pass. Many things are running in the world depending on what quests you’ve done or places you have visited. Using Wait or Rest options, passing time will clear up some of these. It depends how long you wait, it may take up to 30 days for some items. Saving, resetting, and loading after this will have the largest effect.
According to the community manager, the second option is resulting in “positive feedback” from players and having at least 2 GB of free space helps. Another option that’s provided is to delete Skyrim’s corrupted save files or enter PS3’s “Safe Mode,” but the latter is footnoted as not being recommended since it could result in data loss.
Bethesda’s community manager, as well as a post on Bethesda’s blog, say that updates for the game will continue to be rolled out (for all platforms).
PS3 tips to try [Bethesda Softworks forums, via 1UP]
