Bethesda Reveals PC Requirements for Skyrim

[tpi2007]

DirectX 9 compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon 4890 or higher).

Some games lately have the habit of recommending a Nvidia card that when it was reviewed was deemed to be slower than the comparable ATI. In this case, the HD4890 was released later and compared with the GTX280, while the HD4870 was the one that competed with the GTX260 Core 216.

However, there were some cases where the Nvidia cards performed better - notably The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, so, being the sequel, this is probably the case again. However, the card can't perform that well to the point of 896 MB of VRAM being upgraded to 1 GB LOL. I think they meant the GTX280 which has 1GB of VRAM.

 

[RipperjackAU]

[citation][nom]notsleep[/nom]here's hoping this doesn't end up like the rage pc release fiasco....[/citation]

I really hope not. It's a sad day when my laptop with its nVidia 335M graphics can run RAGE way smoother, than my Intel i7 gaming rig with its ATi 5870 Crossfire (2 cards) graphic setup.

 

[Guest]

"Internet access for Steam activation"

Means it won't touch my hard drive until STEAM gets stripped

 

[letsplayskyrim99]

Uh oh ... I have a 9600M GT with only 256 RAM. Assuming I meet the other requirements, can I possibly play on low?

 

[fomoz]

Isn't an HD 4890 much faster than a GTX 260?

Either way, I think I should be OK to play maxed out in 1080p with 2x6870's, right?

 

[jeffredo]

GTX 260 for High? That's not too bad. I have a GTX 560 OC'd to 930 Mhz. Should be able to get Ultra out of it I would think.

 

[dreamer77dd]

6 gigs? Seems small compared to Rage or other games? At least RAM is cheap no problem with 4 gigs.

 

[crisan_tiberiu]

why DX9? oO

 

[bustapr]

Didnt really like Oblivion, it was by far the most complcated rpg Ive ever played. And I found the size of the world really insanely frustrating. not interested in this one, so far Im not a really big fan of bethesdas rpgs.

 

[razor512]

Th[citation][nom]crisan_tiberiu[/nom]why DX9? oO[/citation]

There are many people on OS which only support dx 9, and whether you like it or not, making a game thats dx10/11 only means you are cutting off nearly 40% of your market. PS a well made dx 9 game can look very close to the quality of a dx 11 game

another point is that the game is not designed to be extremely demanding as it significantly cuts the market (combining dx 10/11only with extremely high requirements means you will only get a select few people buying your game)

From the requirements, they are targeting the mid range and lower market, so people with higher end systems can get a decent visual bump while people on lower end systems who completed oblivion, can continue onto skyrim without having to spend $500 to do it.

 

[bustapr]

[citation][nom]crisan_tiberiu[/nom]why DX9? oO[/citation]
well, this game is also being made for consoles. And they look quite amazing with their DX9 capabilities. I doubt a dx9 card will run this game on pc as nicely as consoles, but it will be able to run on some. those are minimum requirements, those never look any good but they can run.

 

[kastraelie]

[citation][nom]iam2thecrowe[/nom]I agree steam is a gay piece of crap, but im used to it. At least you wont have to be permanently connected to the internet to play the game, only to activate it.[/citation]


??? Steam is the best thing to ever happen to PC gaming. Amazing sales mean my collection has hundreds of games, instead of...tens. I can download and play instantly, and their servers are so reliable that I can actually play the game on launch day. I can log into my account from any computer and play my games. Some might argue that having to activate your game online is a form of DRM...but it certainly is the best. Who the heck wants to use CDs and punch in a freaking key when they want to install a game? Not me...because of Steam I can actually go back and PLAY my old games because I don't need to dig up both.

You guys might hate steam, and I suppose that's fair...but you should at least not be hypocritical and hate ALL other methods of content distribution...like going to the store for instance.

 

[viridiancrystal]

Basic persons belief: requirements are low = graphics look bad

I like to think that Bethesda did a good job optimizing the game to run well. Anyone ever play a single Valve game? Portal 2 and L4D2 look really good and run very well. Good programming can mean good graphics and performance.

I'm getting the game either way, because if its not fun to look at, it will be fun to play.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

[citation][nom]kastraelie[/nom]??? Steam is the best thing to ever happen to PC gaming. Amazing sales mean my collection has hundreds of games, instead of...tens. I can download and play instantly, and their servers are so reliable that I can actually play the game on launch day.[/citation]
Are you serious?
1. Retail stores have sales just as cheap as steam if you bothered to move your legs and get of your seat.
2. I have had many problems with steam, nothing "downloads instantly", maybe if you live in USA or Japan with whatever amazing internet services you have. The whole world does not have access to this, regional areas especially get screwed. Downloading from steam is slower than downloading from a torrent for me and servers seem to fail when i really want to play a game. Its nice that everone with uber high speed internet in the USA likes steam , but the USA is not the world, although people there forget that sometimes.

 

[lordstormdragon]

Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim are all top-of-the-foodchain titles. They're among the best games ever made. They are certainly the most wide open games ever made. Even GTA games lack the size and scale of Morrowind and Oblivion.

Naysayers can suck it; go play your Region of Small-Scale Skirmishcraft games and leave the big-boy games for the grown-ups. If you don't like TES, you simply don't like RPGs. Your choice obviously, but don't try telling the rest of us they're crappy games. Bethesda's among the only companies doing the solo-RPG experience, and aside from the latest Deus Ex (amazing!), they're the only ones doing it right.

 

[bystander]

[citation][nom]iam2thecrowe[/nom]Are you serious?1. Retail stores have sales just as cheap as steam if you bothered to move your legs and get of your seat.2. I have had many problems with steam, nothing "downloads instantly", maybe if you live in USA or Japan with whatever amazing internet services you have. The whole world does not have access to this, regional areas especially get screwed. Downloading from steam is slower than downloading from a torrent for me and servers seem to fail when i really want to play a game. Its nice that everone with uber high speed internet in the USA likes steam , but the USA is not the world, although people there forget that sometimes.[/citation]

One big problem with retail stores is they typically have very little in stock, rarely have a game available on launch day, except perhaps Blizzard games. Before I made the switch, I'd have to drive to 3 or 4 different stores before I could find the game I wanted, and often they wouldn't be sold for a week or 2 after release. To top it off, a lot of stores won't carry games that are available on Steam, giving you no choice but to buy online.

Now that I do buy online, it does save a lot of gas money and got rid of all those annoying anti-hack techniques. I have 2 games on DVD that I can't play, because I've altered my machine since I originally installed them and they won't work on anything but my original setup. (I've called them a few times after waiting on hold for 30 mins, only to have it become locked out again and I've given up).

Steam also allows for small game companies to be successful with an easy to distribute method that works around the world. Steam also helps against piracy as well, which makes PC's a lot more profitable which in turn keeps Dev's developing for us PC users.

 

[pozaks]

This is a 360 game. Of course it will work on my old fucking PC.

 

[bustapr]

[citation][nom]lordstormdragon[/nom]Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim are all top-of-the-foodchain titles. They're among the best games ever made. They are certainly the most wide open games ever made. Even GTA games lack the size and scale of Morrowind and Oblivion.Naysayers can suck it; go play your Region of Small-Scale Skirmishcraft games and leave the big-boy games for the grown-ups. If you don't like TES, you simply don't like RPGs. Your choice obviously, but don't try telling the rest of us they're crappy games. Bethesda's among the only companies doing the solo-RPG experience, and aside from the latest Deus Ex (amazing!), they're the only ones doing it right.[/citation]
or it could also be people dont like TES because the maps are too tiring, the lack of a voice, and the bad leveling system. Mass Effect for example is nothing like TES, but its a more enjoyable RPG for alot of people.

 

[pozaks]

[citation][nom]bystander[/nom]One big problem with retail stores is they typically have very little in stock, rarely have a game available on launch day, except perhaps Blizzard games. Before I made the switch, I'd have to drive to 3 or 4 different stores before I could find the game I wanted, and often they wouldn't be sold for a week or 2 after release. To top it off, a lot of stores won't carry games that are available on Steam, giving you no choice but to buy online.Now that I do buy online, it does save a lot of gas money and got rid of all those annoying anti-hack techniques. I have 2 games on DVD that I can't play, because I've altered my machine since I originally installed them and they won't work on anything but my original setup. (I've called them a few times after waiting on hold for 30 mins, only to have it become locked out again and I've given up).Steam also allows for small game companies to be successful with an easy to distribute method that works around the world. Steam also helps against piracy as well, which makes PC's a lot more profitable which in turn keeps Dev's developing for us PC users.[/citation]
They're crappy games. Pointless fantasy/postapoc hiking simulators where you do a bunch of random shit in a world that you don't affect and where nothing changes. And they're ugly as hell. Bethesda are the most egregious bullshotters out there, but people still accept their prerelease screenshots for some damn reason.
Sorry I can't fathom the complexities of your true RPGs.

 

[lordstormdragon]

[citation][nom]bustapr[/nom]or it could also be people dont like TES because the maps are too tiring, the lack of a voice, and the bad leveling system. Mass Effect for example is nothing like TES, but its a more enjoyable RPG for alot of people.[/citation]

Speak for yourself, son. I'd never play Mass Effect, and it's not my fault your graphics card was so old that you couldn't see the distant trees in Oblivion. The maps are tiring? What's tiring about fast travel, kiddo? The levelling system was "bad" just because you couldn't figure out how to play?

Don't go saying "people don(')t like TES..." Nobody made you the Voice of the People.

 

[fulle]

I'll try to reserve judgement for now.

The low system requirements for recommended are a bit concerning. A DX9 capable Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher? With 1GB of RAM? Sounds like a console port that needs extra ram to prevent as many graphical glitches with pop-in and whatnot due to horrible optimization.

The 6gb install requirement? Sounds like some really low res textures to me.

But... maybe that's just the low end stuff. It's possible that a high res texture pack is available, and it's possible that the graphics scale higher, and might even use some DX11 effects. It's a "multi-platorm" title, so this sorta thing is expected. As always, devs are held back to program for the 6 year old console hardware, that's equivalent to PC midrange of, I dunno, about 7 1/2 years ago.

Which also reminds me. The last time I was impressed by a game, was in 2004 when Half Life 2 came out. Thanks consoles.

 

[gm0n3y]

While I applaud the low minimum requirements, I'd like to see the graphics scale all the way to beyond the best video cards of today. As long as you allow people to adjust them then who cares if less than 5% of people can play at full detail. That being said, from the few screen shots that I've seen the game looks pretty damn good for such low requirements.

As for the gameplay / leveling, I'm going to wait until the game is released and I can read a few reviews before judging it. From what I've read it sounds like they've listened to people's complaints and at least modified the existing system to try and remedy them. I really hope this game is good. I plan on having many, many sleepless nights because of Skyrim.

 

[nicodemus_mm]

[citation][nom]Proxy711[/nom]That makes me sad. Any modern game for PC should be around 15GBs IMO. Less lower res textures.[/citation]

What a dolt... did you ever consider efficient compression and/or efficient use of resources? Not every developer has to waste an additional 9 gigs on fluff or poor code. In other words... Skyrim =/= WoW.

Oh... and even with the bloat WoW still looks like ass.

 

[nicodemus_mm]

[citation][nom]pozaks[/nom]Sorry I can't fathom the complexities of your true RPGs.[/citation]

Your lack of capacities does not deem a game (or genre) crappy. It's just a sad comment about, well... you.

Also, your description may fit almost every game... "where you do a bunch of random shit in a world that you don't affect and where nothing changes." Aside from certain aspects of EvE I don't know of any game where a single player can affect the game for everyone.

 

[lordstormdragon]

[citation][nom]nicodemus_mm[/nom]Your lack of capacities does not deem a game (or genre) crappy. It's just a sad comment about, well... you.Also, your description may fit almost every game... "where you do a bunch of random shit in a world that you don't affect and where nothing changes." Aside from certain aspects of EvE I don't know of any game where a single player can affect the game for everyone.[/citation]

Let it be stated that Deus Ex: The Human Revolution steps outside this concept very, very well. One of the best games I've played since 2000, when the original DX came out. A wonderful RPG.

That stated however, it's not a wide-open world like TES games are, and considering Pozak should have known it was a wide-open world game when he/she started playing it, there's really no validity to his crying at all.

If you don't like walking around in a fantasy world, don't play fantasy world games, Pozak.