The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered finally has a new update with much-needed performance improvements and tweaks to the difficulty settings.
Bethesda said update 1.2 focuses on fixes for quests, gameplay, and performance, and includes new damage settings. 1.2 won’t roll out to all platforms just yet, Bethesda added, but it will be released today, July 9, on Steam Beta.
A performance patch was much needed. Oblivion Remastered has enjoyed a hugely successful launch, with over 4 million players and a ‘very positive’ user review rating on Steam (although that’s since fallen to ‘mostly positive’). However, if there’s one issue that continues to crop up, it’s performance problems.
The tech experts at Digital Foundry found Oblivion Remastered on consoles to have significant problems across the board. DF’s Thomas Morgan said of Virtuos’ Unreal Engine 5 overhaul:
No platform is spared of issues: whether it’s PS5, PS5 Pro, or either Xbox Series machine, all struggle with traversal hitches while roaming the open world. Secondly, there’s major sub-60fps frame-rates, where I’ve also discovered that performance slowly degrades with more playing time — quite possibly down to a memory leak. And finally, software freezes are the icing on the cake, with all PlayStation and Xbox platforms crashing to the system menu on loading a save one too many times.
How does this manifest itself in-game? According to DF, a “charged” playthrough with more continuous play time behind it performs worse than a fresh boot. Cycling through saves also introduces bugs in the charged playthrough, Morgan revealed.
And this is particularly curious: this also leads to the camera position being too high while riding horseback. You can fix this by resetting the game. The update 1.2 patch notes, below, include “Fixed player character height scaling,” which may be a fix for this specific issue.
“It’s a dire position for any remaster to be in and developer Virtuos needs to address the game’s stability – the crashes – as a priority,” DF continued. That’s a damning assessment of Oblivion on console, but what about PC? DF called PC performance “dire.” It’s worth checking out DF’s analysis in full for more.
Oblivion Remastered, developed by remake specialist Virtuos using Unreal Engine 5, has a long list of visual and feature improvements. It runs at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, as you’d expect, but other changes are more meaningful. Everything from the leveling systems to character creation, and combat animations to in-game menus have been improved. Meanwhile, there’s lots of new dialogue, a proper third-person view, and new lip sync technology. The changes are going down well with fans, some of whom believe Oblivion Remastered would be more accurately described as a remake. Bethesda, however, has explained why it went down the remaster route.
Soon after launch, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered players started warning newcomers to do Kvatch before the level scaling makes it an absolute nightmare. We’ve also got a report on a player who managed to escape the confines of Cyrodiil to explore Valenwood, Skyrim, and even Hammerfell, the rumored setting of The Elder Scrolls VI.
And be sure to check out our comprehensive guide to everything you’ll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, every PC Cheat Code, and much more.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered update 1.2 patch notes:
SETTINGS CHANGES
- We’ve added additional difficulty settings to allow players to further tune their “Player Combat Damage” & “Enemy Combat Damage”. Players can now select from “Novice”, “Apprentice”, “Adept”, “Journeyman”, “Expert”, and “Master” options in the Gameplay menu. We hope the “Journeyman” setting, specifically, will act as a better bridge between “Adept” and “Expert” for players.
UI
- Fixed map markers disappearing
- Fixed missing punctuation in Simplified Chinese text
- Fixed “Toggle All” button on Map screen to work as a ‘Hold’
- Various fixes to localized text
- Fixed controller issues in Spell making menu
- Fixed menus being cropped incorrectly in 1280×1024
- Fixed the incorrect player stance in the inventory menu after fast travel
- Fixed rebinding keys for Lock Picking
- Fixed keybinds not updating in AZERTY
- Fixed soft lock with controller in Enchanting menu
- Fixed stats not updating when equipping enchanted items
- Fixed a character skin glitch when closing the inventory menu
CRASHES
- Fixed crashes that could occur while fighting Jyggalag
- Fixed crashing when killing a paralyzed NPC with an arrow
- Fixed crashing when paralyzing an already-paralyzed NPC
- Fixed crashing in Spellmaking menu when rapidly removing & implementing effects
- Fixed various GPU crashes
- Fixed crashes that could occur during auto saves
AUDIO
- Fixed underwater SFX persisting after leaving exiting water
- Fixed missing ambient SFX in Shivering Isles
QUESTS
- Fixed NPCs floating after being knocked down during Priory of the Nine quest
- Fixed crashing when entering Flooded Mine during Final Justice quest
- Fixed pathing for Shaleez in Flooded Mine during Final Justice quest
- Fixed crashing when opening Gate to The Fringe during Retaking the Fringe quest
- Fixed mages loading without clothes in Fort Ontus during The Necromancer’s Amulet quest
- Fixed NPC pathing issues in Gardens of Flesh and Bone during ‘Through the Fringe of Madness’ quest
- Fixed missing VFX during the closing of the Great Gate
- Fixed Ilav Dralgoner’s missing facial animation during ‘Saving Time Itself’ quest
- Fixed Sir Thredet’s speech during ‘Umaril the Unfeathered’ quest
- Fixed NPC pathing issues during ‘Baiting the Trap’ quest
- Fixed Obelisk Crystals spawning disconnected during ‘Baiting the Trap’ quest
- Fixed crash at end of ‘Through a Nightmare, Darkly’ quest
- Fixed wall crumbling in Malada during ‘Nothing You Can Possess’ quest
- Fixed misaligned food at the Castle Leyawiin County Hall dinner party during ‘Sanguine’ quest
- Fixed an issue with visibility of ghosts during ‘Ghosts of Vitharn’
- Fixed cutscene not playing during ‘Light the Dragonfires’
- Fixed missing textures in Cropsford Campsite after finishing ‘Goblin Trouble’
PERFORMANCE
- Fixed frame rate drop in Deepscorn Hollow
- Fixed frame rate drops in Black Rock Caverns
- Fixed frame rate drop between Skingrad and Skingrad Castle
- Fixed frame rate drop south of Bravil Castle courtyard
- Reduced the frequency of hitches in the open world.
- General improvements to frame time in many locations.
- Optimize updating of character attachments.
- Optimize rendering of water volumes in the open world.
- Optimize light/shadow updates in several lairs.
- Optimize waterfall particle FX and rendering.
- Optimize the weather system.
- Optimize character animation system.
GAMEPLAY
- Fixed player character height scaling
- Fixed armor items hiding Argonian and Khajiit tails
- Fixed slow camera movement when initiating NPC dialogue
- Fixed soft lock when a player with a high bounty goes to jail
- Fixed Orrery animations
- Fixed physics bug with floating necklaces
- Fixed vampire sleeping animations
- Fixed NPC beards not following facial animation.
- Fixed ghost NPCs being completely invisible
- Fixed missing animation when talking to Shamada in Leyawiin
- Fixed occasional very long load times when fast traveling
- Fixed missing facial animation for Snak gra-Bura
- Fixed falling unconscious in water preventing player from getting up
- Fixed NPCs losing collision when swimming
- Fixed NPCs stopping combat when player is blocking
- Fixed female Dremora teeth clipping
- Fixed soft lock after choosing player class
- Fixed Amber weapons clipping in first person view
- Fixed vines clipping into columns
- Fixed helmets clipping into player character’s head
- Fixed missing textures on Daedric statues
- Fixed duplicated pages between Oghma Infinium and Mysterium Xarxes
SYSTEM
- Fixed flickering shadows when using XeSS Upscaling
- Fixed title properly restarting after purchasing the Deluxe Upgrade on PC
- Fixed settings properly migrating between PC and XBOX
- Fixed water disappearing after fast travel
- Fixed cursor slowdown when enabling high frame rate V-Sync
- Fixed shaders not preloading due to cloud save replication
- Fixed long blackout during loading screens
- Fixed weather VFX flashing while outside
- Fixed motion blur artifacts while in the Oblivion Plane
- Fixed NPCs not obeying the Wait action from the player
This update will be in the Steam Beta. If you would like to opt in to the The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Beta update, please follow these instructions:
1. Open your Steam Library and navigate to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
2. Right click on “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered” and select “Properties”
3. In the new properties pop-up window, select “Betas”
4. In the beta drop down to opt into, select “[beta]”5. Wait for app to download new build and launch.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
