DF Direct: No, the new Oblivion Patch Remastered does not correct performance problems, blockages or degradation

Digital Foundry Direct, our regular program that covers the news of the week about technology and games, analyzed this week the new Patch 1.2 of Oblivion Remastered. The update is large and promises to correct performance problems, blockages and other bugs that have affected the game since its release. Unfortunately, Tom Morgan’s tests have revealed a state of things quite poor on consoles, with some of the most glaring problems for solving.

For us, the most important thing is that Bethesda correction notes promise an optimization of the performance of multiple game systems, photo falls in four locations, general improvements in photo time and less frequent problems in the open world … So we loaded the game with the new correction to compare a series of problem areas and see how things changed two and a half months later.

As we have seen when Alex analyzed the PC patch two weeks ago, effectively all the main problems we have identified in our original coverage remain on consoles, including large performance drops, blockages and degraded performance over time. It is worth analyzing each of these three problems to explain exactly what is going wrong – and because we do not necessarily expect all problems to be easily solved in future updates.

The main performance problem for most players arises in 60 FPS performance mode, where it would be reasonable to expect a solid update rate of 60 FPS. However, the problem with the different “cells” of the original game world (the game’s skeleton, which runs Unreal Engine 5) continues to cause significant problems in the new patch photo rate, which can reach 240ms on PS4 Pro, almost a quarter of second. Real photo rates are still in the 40-60 FPS region, whether these are on PS5, PS5 Pro or Xbox Series X.

• 0:00:00 Introduction
• 0:00:51 News 1: Sony introduces energy savings mode on PS5
• 0:18:30 News 2: Cyberpunk Xbox VRR is “working” as intended
• 0:24:12 News 3: Oblivion Remastered 1.2 update has little effect on console performance
• 0:41:21 News 4: Pure Pool Pro delivers native 8K balls on PS5 Pro
• 0:48:07 News 5: Fallout: Bakersfield trailer shows off GZDoom visuals
• 0:57:54 News 6: Crytek releases 25 year anniversary video
• 1:14:27 Supporter Q1: Are there any meaningful differences with windowed, windowed borderless, and fullscreen modes in Windows?
• 1:20:36 Supporter Q2: Will GTA 6 have a 60fps mode only on PS5 Pro?
• 1:28:08 Supporter Q3: Why is Microsoft getting rid of video purchases on Xbox?
• 1:33:24 Supporter Q4: What will the Switch 2 die shrink look like?
• 1:36:19 Supporter Q5: Is Nintendo institutionally opposed to TAA/DLSS?
• 1:42:27 Supporter Q6: Does the convergence of console design and decline of exclusives spell the end of the console war?
• 1:51:36 Supporter Q7: Have you been getting any unsolicited dock pics?

Run direct comparisons between the previous version and the 1.2 also produces inconclusive results. Some races look better at 1.2, while others are inexplicably worse. The fate of Oblivion’s performance also varies substantially within a single race through the scenario – once again suggesting invisible variables in engine streaming logic that cannot be exactly corresponded to test test. To help limit the variables a little, we resumed the oblivion application between each race (closing the game in the system menu and opening it again), but the photo rate remains irregular, even in the best case.

Oblivion Remastered also seems to suffer from a memory escape that can cause blockages during prolonged games, something that is easy to test, so we do it on PS5. Here we loaded 20 stored by listing, one after another, and the loading of the twentieth guard blocks the game to the PS5 system menu, as happened in the previous patch. Interestingly, after forcing Oblivon to close and recharge the game again, access to the twentieth guard is no longer a problem. Memory escape or not, the problem found in our original tests in May continues to correct.

The last problem, and perhaps the most annoying, is the performance degradation that occurs when there are several kept in a row. Once again, testing on PS5, we “loaded” a match carrying several straight saved and then we run our normal performance tests. Here, some areas ran significantly worse, up to 20 fps slower in the planes of oblivion compared to a new boot.

Strangely, certain visual and chamber definitions are accumulated from previously loaded saves – so we noticed that the shading of global lighting and the lumen environmental occlusion was completely different in the Chestnut Handy Stable test when “loaded”, as happens in the Planes of Oblivion, which may indicate the reason for this performance degradation. Chamber problems also remain, with the point of view too high when walking on horseback, after carrying several kept successively.

Overall, it is a great disappointment for Oblivion fans on the consoles, and perhaps suggest that at least some of the problems underlying the game are systemic in nature, if they have not yet been corrected after months of correction efforts. This is not the triumphant celebration of a Bethesda classic we expected, and the many months of waiting for a correction have not resulted in a radical turnaround of their luck.

In another point of Direct, we talked about the PS5 energy savings mode, which implies the company’s portable ambitions – among other news.

We also answer a series of supporters questions, including the likelihood of Grand Theft Auto 6 to have a 60fps mode on PS5 Pro, the difference between window modes, without margins and entire screen on Windows and Nintendo’s “institutional” opposition to companies such as TAA and DLSS. If you want to see your questions answered, we encourage you to consult the DF Supporter Program and involve you with our lovely community.