Digital Foundry vs Skyrim Special Edition

Digital Foundry:

It's early days with our analysis of the new Skyrim Remastered, with work only beginning proper on the day of release. Our initial objectives here were pretty straightforward - we wanted to get a grip on PS4 and Xbox One performance metrics after the various issues that have befallen Fallout 4, not to mention the profound problems encountered in the last-gen PS3 release. Secondly, after the release of only the most limited of comparison shots pre-launch, we really wanted to get to grips with the quality of the remaster itself. To what extent does Skyrim Remastered offer an actual improvement over the original release maxed out on PC?

[TheColbertinator]

Hahaha consoles are amazing

[Corpser]

Save us ps4pro/Scorpio

[badz149]

A better console can't save anyone from lazy devs!

[_-EDMIX-_]

@bad- completely agreed, this has nothing to do with the platform, it has everything to do with the developer creating on the platform they very much choose to seek 30 frames.

[Mikerob2007]

Consoles are Better than spending 1000s on a gaming pc to only be able to play certain games.

[starchild]

You don't have to spend thousands on a gaming PC. $500 to $600 would build a capable gaming PC that would easily outperform the consoles. And there are more games released for PC than any other platform.

[Ravenor]

500-600 where? Not Canada.

[2pacalypsenow]

$500? A decent GPU alone will cost $200+ and then you have the Case, motherboard,processor, hard drive, Ram, OS, keyboard, mouse, monitor.

[DragonKnight]

@2pacalypsenow: Most people who tell you that you can build a PC for $500 to $600 are doing so with the assumption you have all the accessories, monitor, and OS already. It's a foolish assumption to make, but that's how they come up with $500 to $600 builds.

[Utalkin2me]

@starchild

ROFLMAO, another PC guy thinks you can build a PC for 500 to 600 and easily outperform consoles....SMH.

First off you do realize that the PS4 Pro is getting ready to release in less then 2 weeks at 399. Secondly, just a vidoecard and windows alone would cost 300 to 400 bucks together. Then you still have tons of more stuff to get, such as mobo, processor, ram, hdd, etc. Last but not least there is no way a 500 dollar computer is even going to remotely come close to what the PRO can do.

[Corpser]

Buying ps4pro and pay 6 years of ps+ (free online on PC) you're already spending what a mid range PC costs

[generic-user-name]

Red Dead Redemption certainly is.

[GameHead85]

Lol I'm so glad I'm a PC gamer.

[2pacalypsenow]

Not as great as being a PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo gamer.....

[fenome]

I'm just glad I'm a gamer in general

[MyDietEqualsGames]

The game is running on 64 bit code and many of the textures and some graphical features that weren't present before, are in the new release. It's a chunkier game than it was when the last DLC dropped. Not my cup of tea, but I can certainly understand why the 30fps, and a lot of it doesn't have to do with 'lazy devs' or whatever, maybe just a small part. :)

[Germany7]

Better than the platform full of beggars.

[Stevonidas]

Don't you mean con-SLOWS? HAHAHA...

Looked better on the Switch...

[badz149]

cash grab!

[Gardenia]

Low textures and the same fps, only for 60 bucks...

[seanpitt23]

Yes the upgrades they have done are just not worth it for that price.

[hirobrotagonist]

interesting it must look different on pc then. The new textures look leagues better and honestly the game looks and runs better on my machine than 5 years of mods could do. Running at higher than 1080p getting 60fps and it looks great and it's MUCH more stable. The only thing they need to patch is the low quality audio compression.

for the 4 disagrees: you don't know what you're talking about. I've put in over 30 hours on the SE with only 1 crash related to a mod loading. I also have tons of mods activated and the game is running butter smooth at higher than 1080p. I've been playing Skyrim since launch on PC and have tried all the best mods and enb and there is no way that the original version of Skyrim even came close to looking and running this good even with mods. Quite frankly, you're a bunch of asshats. Sorry you took an arrow to the knee and someone stole your sweet roll.

[thekhurg]

Game looks substantially better than the original. Nothing low about it. It has additional effects that mods couldn't even pull off properly as well such as rain occlusion.

[Bahamut]

Yeah, think I'll wait until it's 80% off through a flash sale a few months from now.

[Mr-Dude]

At the current disgusting price it is a cash grab yes. When it comes in a sale, say €29,99 or less it is a good game for it's age etc. But now, no way will I spend €59,99

[Deadpooled]

@badz149

"A better console can't save anyone from lazy devs!"

THIS. Bethesda games oddly historically are full of bugs mostly on the PS platform and mostly run well on Xbox (key word here so that fanboys don't go on any sissy fits - mostly).

[MoveTheGlow]

Duplicate article, Gamespot confirms the same thing:
http://www.gamespot.com/art...

Anyway, you have gotta be kidding me with this.

Bethesda is saying that despite having all this time to add new stuff into Skyrim, and charging out the wazoo for this new thing, they couldn't optimize it to run at 60 on the consoles they obviously made this special edition for? Or put in an option for different settings and 60fps? I'd rather play the *old* version at 60 than some new god-ray version at 30. Blech.

Not that their new review copy policy helps matters either...

[Forn]

Hopefully at least the Pro version will run at a higher framerate.

[LamerTamer]

It will probably run worse because they will focus on running as close to 4K resolution as they can so all 8 users can play it in 4K. They will focus on the magic 4k number rather than improving frame rate or draw distance etc. That seems to be the trend with the Pro unfortunately.

[DialgaMarine]

LamerTamer The Pro is clearly designed with more than just 4K in mind. 4K is heavily marketed for it because it is the first ever console to be able to run games in native 4K. It's been stated time and time again, however, that developers will be able to make use of the extra horsepower in Pro in other ways. RotTR, for example, will have an option to run at 1080p/ 60 FPS on Pro. BF1 will do the same.

Love how tried to stealthily imply that no one is going to buy Pro. You clearly havent paid much attention to Amazon bestsellers or GS's preorder news. Either that, or you're conveniently ignoring those facts while you try to spread misinformation.

[thekhurg]

60fps is never going to be the standard console frame rate. Hopefully you can learn to accept that. Developers will always go for 30fps and higher graphical fidelity than 60fps unless the gameplay requires that higher cap.

[Dark_Knightmare2]

It's not but it will run at native 4k and the screenshots Bethesda released are beautiful

[LamerTamer]

@thekhurg

"Graphical fidelity" is only for those with 4K TVs and the game looking the same but just 4k being better graphical fidelity is debatable. Even those WITH 4K TVs the resolution difference will be a minor compared to other things they could have used the extra power for. Then there are many with 1080p TVs. Some have very high quality 1080p TVs still and for most viewing distances and sizes look pretty good. 4K will look a bit crisper but it won't be dramatic.

What would be much more noticeable than crisper edges at 4K (or 4K downscaled to 1080p just giving softer edges) would be 1080p native and double the frame rate at 60, better draw distance, HBAO, better shadows, even more foliage etc. If I had a 4K TV I would still choose 1080p and the better framerate and effects over 4k.

It would be nice if studios gave the OPTION (you know,like PCs) for 1080p native with better framerate and effects, or the more scaled back effects and 30 FPS and 4K. Studios treat console users like imbeciles. I am sure we could figure out how to select 1080p/ 60 FPS or 4K mode.

[coolbeans]

Whether it be GameSpot, this site, or another, they're all getting this information from Digital Foundry's tech examination. Focusing on this bit follows the story-within-story rule.

[cyclindk]

Weak sauce devs...

[Stevonidas]

More like weak-sauce conslows...

The frame rate is gimped because of the tablet cpus in both platforms.

[ClickbaitAF]

Old news

[Blu3_Berry]

Pretty sad when you have other remastered games that run at 60 fps like butter and usually look better too.

[Ravenor]

How many of them are clockwork world's like the ES series?

[kevnb]

Probably because of the cpu on the consoles, the game is heavily single threaded and requires decent IPC. The consoles have lots of cores but they are most likely being wasted.

[uth11]

Excellent point, but unfortunately too informed for this site

[Ravenor]

Don't be a tit.

[Sm00thNinja]

Game is STILL great after all these years despite the lazy port. Hopefully the Xbone gets an unlocked framerate mod

[Ricegum]

I don't think the console mods work like that lmao.

Just get the inevitable 60fps PS4 Pro update.

[The 10th Rider]

Frame right is likely stuck because of CPU. Pro isn't going to change that. Buy the old one on PC for $5 and download some mods if you want a gorgeous game at 60fps

[pyroxxx]

@the 10th Rider ,.. no way in hell has this anything to do with CPU,.. you can run it @120 on a weak i3 with much weaker gpus ,.. game looks like shit anyway. This is just damn shitty devs ,.. Or they put that there so some mods can run more consistently,.. but it really does not make much sense.

[Sm00thNinja]

It easily could an unlocked framerate mod is not out of the question. It's just a matter of would Bethesda allow it.

[Stevonidas]

@pyroxxx

An i3 mugs and rapes these weak amd socs any day of the week.

[LamerTamer]

The xbone GPU is too weak. It stutters now more than the standard PS4. You will need Scorpio to get some big improvement.

[Sm00thNinja]

You have no idea what you're talking about. Standard PS4 is more than capable of an unlocked framerate mod as well.

[thexmanone]

That's all you need with this game

[badz149]

That's probably what those slimy money grabber at Bethesda was thinking too. Minimum effort, maximum profit!

[thexmanone]

You don`t have to buy the game if you don`t want.

[badz149]

@thexmanone

and I didn't! I don't buy games full of bugs and therefore, no Bethesda's games for me to begin with because all their games are buggy as hell! give me a free copy and I'll sell it for profit.

[Movefasta1993]

lol devs se this and laugh i bet 'you heard em 30 fps is all you need!Hey guys we can take a week off from extra work these console guys are fine with 30.'

[Ravenor]

Thank goodness you were born in the 90's. If you had to deal with the slowdown of 2D games or the jank of early 3D you might not have made it to this point. Truly you are a gentleman and a paragon amongst us lower life forms.

What Bethesda does with ES, and Fallout is about a million times more complicated than basically every other title out there. There is a reason no one does world's the way they do and it's because it's nightmarish to QA and optimize.

It's about more than just numbers, and you can't just throw the Dishonored remaster out there and scream Bethesda. Bethesda the developer and Bethesda the publisher are two different things.

If you're really so dismayed at the idea of a console running a game like F4 or Skyrim at 30. A) you know nothing B) quit spreading fud C) Stick to the PC.

[MAULxx]

I am loving it.

[FullmetalRoyale]

I'm enjoying it as well. It's the exact type of game that I want to play right now.

[creeping judas]

@ Maulxx and that is all that matters! If you are enjoying it, none of this other crap on N4G matters.

[MAULxx]

I repurchase a Remastered edition of a game I love & I get called a mindless sloth that's screwing over the gaming community.
Somehow my "I'm loving it" comment triggered someone. Oh well, I'm still loving it :)

[FullmetalRoyale]

I figured some one would take issue with you liking it, so I figured I'd weigh in, as well. I've played about thirteen hours so far, and I just took a break after my horse was killed outside a bandit camp. I'm going to drink some water, then go do things to those bandits that I think best left to your imagination.

[MAULxx]

Lol.
Them dirty bandits about to get Clint Eastwooded. Sucks to be them :)

[Eldyraen]

To be fair locking it might allow more room for mods without performance loss? If they left wiggle room anyways.

Other than that it doesn't make much sense.

[Tototot]

For 'cinematic' reasons.

[BizarroUltraman]

That doesnt bother me one bit, 30 or 60fps, Im enjoying my replay. I downloaded some mods for use when I beat the game. Then on my second play through I will conquer everything I can in Skyrim.

[MAULxx]

That's awesome man. Glad you're enjoying it. I'm very happy with it myself.

[slavish0]

That crappy Mobile CPU plus lazy dev equals half as port

[PiperMCFierceson]

I knew it, I bought it on Friday. When I started playing it I immediately knew. Sort of disappointed but it's whatever I guess. Still play it not a deal breaker.

[Tankbusta40]

I for some reason didn't get around to Skyrim 5 years ago despite playing TES since Daggerfall. The 30 fps hasn't ruined my experience. Then again I have nothing to base the experience off of like others

[paulust2002]

Currently running ultra on a £120 graphics card. Sold the ps4 version. If things don't improve with ps4 pro ditching the console market for good

[Ravenor]

Thanks for letting us know, we will all be very sad to see you go. Anything else we should know about your day to day?

[1nsomniac]

I said when we started getting information of the PS4Pro & titles started being released that suddenly started looking less impressive than usual or had even gone backwards. We will start seeing less work done on standard version of games just so that the Pro version will look "even better". Less work for devs, increase in sales for Sony. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony is pushing this idea through devs also as it's a win, win situation.

[Tankbusta40]

That IDEA would 100% backfire for Sony. If gamers feel like they are getting the short end of the stick for regular ps4 games, they are not going to rush out and spend 400 dollars on pro. If anything they will be ultra weary when PS5 comes out and just wait for the next iteration, knowing being an early adopter means getting shafted later on. This would be very bad for Sony because the first year and a half of sales for a new console sets the stage for its lifetime

[Ravenor]

And what title has seen a downgrade or looks "less impressive"? Also it's kinda funny the guy with a Guy Fawkes mask would start dreaming up the conspiracy theories.

[1nsomniac]

There's a few titles I've seen lately that seem at least to be visually going backwards slightly from what you would expect. One was Ghost Recon Wildlands. Another was FIFA 17, which I know is using a completely new engine this year (Frostbite) but I think it actually looks graphically slightly worse. We know both these titles are having the Pro update treatment once released. There's other games I've noticed too but can't remember what they are off the top of my head.

@Ravenor I used to work for Fujitsu as an IT contractor which as you may or may not know deals with many banking, government & military contracts (you can look it up probably if you like). Therefore I had to be DBS\CTC\SC National Security Vetted (PES Clearance) & had to take monthly tests\exams regarding the law surrounding security, bribery, price fixing\anti-trust, whistleblowing, data protection\handling also case studies of court cases regarding these. So I know exactly how common & how widely used these tactics are between big corporations. If I could remember some I would tell you the official legal case reference's & you could probably look them up yourself on the internet.

The fact that you believe a Guy Fawkes mask means I'm creating a conspiracy theory just makes you sound a little dumb. What I would imagine you consider many conspiracy theory's, if you actually did a little real research you might be surprised at how the world really works.

[bajny77]

Anything else you want to share with us about you?

[LamerTamer]

More likely is they went for parity with the xbone version to please MS who they have a good partnership with. Since they both run at 1080p but the PS4 has a better GPU they should have been able to outpace the xbone version but chose not to.

[DragonbornZ]

Well the good news is there should be a higher ceiling for visual mods since the game is locked unlike fallout 4.

[Silkside]

It's bullshit how Bethesda get a free pass by everyone with the excuse that their games are so massive etc. Fact is they are lazy fucking dogs.

Releasing broken bug ridden games everytime. What game have they released that wasn't a broken mess? Yet you famous eat it up over and over again.

[Father__Merrin]

i started playing this on ps3 long time ago. and only recently finished it on pc at 60fps, it sure looked better but a locked 30fps would be fine on titles like this theres no fast fluid gameplay in it akin to something like battlefield etc

[mogwaii]

It really is ridiculous that ps4 cant run games this old at 60 fps as standard and even more so that ps4 pro "the most powerful console to date" doesn't either at 1080p.
I truly wonder if ps5 will even be able to.

[Dark_Knightmare2]

Since you didn't feel like reading the article because you wanted to rush and troll the comments I'll fill you in. Digital foundry says the ps4 is being underutilized so it probably would have easily hit 60 but Bethesda couldn't be bothered. Now the pro could easily hit 60 but Bethesda was more worried about it running in native 4k and I will say it does look beautiful judging by the screenshots they released so betheseda decided for more graphical fidelity over frames. Now saying all that 60 fps isn't the be all end all and I for one don't think Skyrim would have magically been a way better game if it was running at 60 fps not to mention this game with the way the combat is doesn't need to be 60.

[LamerTamer]

And if you don't have a 4K TV (like most) then 60 FPS would be much better.

I would even say that many WITH 4K TVs would prefer the 1080p and 60 FPS option (possibly with better shadows, foliage etc as well).

[raWfodog]

For your reading pleasure:

"So far, both consoles appear remarkably like-for-like in terms of their presentation, while Bethesda has confirmed that the PS4 Pro version of the game renders at a native 4K resolution. Bearing in mind that this is a 4x resolution boost over the base PS4 version, using a GPU with around 2.3x the processing power (plus other enhancements), there is the suggestion that the standard PlayStation 4 hardware may be somewhat under-utilised here."

[susanto1228]

yawnnn boringggg....on PC you just open skyrim.exe and pop in there 60 FPS and your all set.

[NohansenBoy]

I'm not sure which is worse in this situation, the consoles this game is running on or Bethesda for overcharging for minimal improvements.

[DialgaMarine]

It'll probably have an option for 1080p/ 60 FPS on PS4 Pro, seeing as the game is able to run native 4K on the console.

[meganick]

Has any open world game ever been 60fps on a console unless it's a remaster of an old game, and by old I mean 2 generations or more old?

[Dark_Knightmare2]

Mgs 5 your welcome

[MilkMan]

The only reason to play Skyrim again would be to use the mods, but if you don't bye bye trophies. Lol
You can't make this stuff up.

Full price for nothing other than pretty scenery. Character models are atrocious and if you wish to use mods, good luck with your trophies.
I don't see the upside.

[Eulderink]

damn, hoped it would look a bit better than pc on max, oh well.
Like that they made the surroundings more alive with plants and such.
But damn the only reason this is better or on-pair with pc is because, i guess bethesda didn't spend more time with it, since mods gave the game everything the remastered version is now just getting like better LOD and such. But hey it's free if you bought it already :D

[Night99]

Full price for this is beyond ridiculous.

[raWfodog]

"However, in addition to the upgrades, there are actually some downgrades too - the Xbox One and PC versions of the Special Edition actually feature heavily compressed audio, and actually sound worse than the original release of the game - an unfortunate situation we also witnessed recently with 2K's BioShock remasters. The good news is that the PS4 version actually has enhanced audio compared to the original release, and Bethesda is aware of the issues on the other platforms, suggesting that a fix is in the pipeline."

Color me flabbergasted...Did DF just confirm that Bethesda actually has something performing better on a Sony platform than PC and Microsoft platforms? Say whaaaaat? It must have been an oversight on Bethesda's part :)

[masterfox]

This Skyrim version is just a damn cash grab by Bethesda, theres absolutely no freaking reason why this game couldn't run a high settings at a locks 60 fps, hell even the xbone can do it at full HD.