Xbox 360 Restarting with the DLC

[Vidarr]

Wow, thanks so much for all the replies guys.

I've finally decided to officially start over, so I am going to begin the process of designing my new main character.
I'm hoping that starting a character with all the patches and DLC already installed will make a difference (in a positive way of course).

Fedpol2
Thanks so much for sharing that with us. Good to see that they recognize problems like this and aren't just BS-ing in their response.

 

[LotusEater]

I have had Paarthurnax's skeleton follow me around for ages, and that was without ANY of the DLC's downloaded at all. So it's not a DLC problem.
At first it was amusing and at times would scare the heck out of me the way it would just "POP!" be there, but then I got annoyed. I killed Parthy by accident due to another glitch were he froze after I hit both him and Alduin with Dragonrend on the Throat of the World. "I'm sorry I keeeled you OK!"

It got so annoying in the end that I retired the character and started the new one with the DLC's.

I was coming out of Hag's Cure in Markarth and a dead Ancient fell right on my head. Scared the hell out of me. I thought I warped into a giant rib cage for a second.

That's funny. Every where I went his skeleton would appear and flop around, or drape itself over buildings. In the middle of Riften, out in the wild...it did not matter. It got to the point, every time I fast travelled I was like "And cue Parthy...."

The best part of this story is that you killed him on accident. So funny. I'm sorry...

 

[shadowkitty]

I was coming out of Hag's Cure in Markarth and a dead Ancient fell right on my head. Scared the hell out of me. I thought I warped into a giant rib cage for a second.

That's funny. Every where I went his skeleton would appear and flop around, or drape itself over buildings. In the middle of Riften, out in the wild...it did not matter. It got to the point, every time I fast travelled I was like "And cue Parthy...."

The best part of this story is that you killed him on accident. So funny. I'm sorry...

HAHA! I know.. He froze mid air and I shot him full of arrows. Then fast travelled away and came back again, to see if that would fix him. Not even thinking about all the arrows I just peppered him with. I get there and he drops dead. I was horrified! Then the haunting started.....

 

[Fedpol2]

Not to go way off topic here but I have had the same issue with the dragons occur. Just as Remington721 said Lakeview Manor seemed to be the spot for me as well. Revenant helps with the cleaning them up and I still enjoy launching them across the map with it. I have issues with the Penitus Oculatus Agents appearing in Solitude. I noticed if I killed them their shield and sword never cleaned up. Hawks do not clean up for me either and I've got five of them in Solitude as well. At least I could pick up the swords and shields and sell them. Anyway though I read on another board, forgive me as I can't recall which one, that after 1.9 is installed you should just keep playing and things will stabilize eventually. This has worked for me. I do notice that if I get several quests going at once that I can experience some slow down but it has been managable and I try to avoid having too many going at once.

 

[LotusEater]

That's funny. Every where I went his skeleton would appear and flop around, or drape itself over buildings. In the middle of Riften, out in the wild...it did not matter. It got to the point, every time I fast travelled I was like "And cue Parthy...."

The best part of this story is that you killed him on accident. So funny. I'm sorry...

HAHA! I know.. He froze mid air and I shot him full of arrows. Then fast travelled away and came back again, to see if that would fix him. Not even thinking about all the arrows I just peppered him with. I get there and he drops dead. I was horrified! Then the haunting started.....

You're killing me. This might be the best glitch ever... at your expense of course. Sorry about that.

 

[Fedpol2]

Had the same things happening to me and ultimately emailed Bethesda. Here is their reply;

Hi,
Thomas,

First, we're very glad to hear that you're enjoying the game and we completely understand the need to keep your save healthy. It's odd that you're having this issue on the Xbox, as generally the memory issues happened on what we call "Epic Saves" (100+ hours) on the PS3. However, there are a few things that can help with your save's health:

1. If you're not connected to the internet, connect your console to the web via WiFi or an Ethernet Cable and start up Skyrim. This will install patches for the game which massively improve the stability. We've released 9 patches for the game to date to fix memory issues, quest bugs, and various other things that needed to be addressed. It is highly advised that you install these updates.

2. When you launch your save, use the "Wait" function (select) and set it to 24 hours. Do this 30 times to pass 30 in-game days. It's time consuming, but basically 30 in-game days runs every clean-up script in the game. It will unclear dungeons, pick up dead bodies, clean loose objects, and overall improve the stability of the world.

3. When you save, be sure you create a NEW save each time you save. Overwriting saves can cause major issues later down the line. We understand that players like yourself will have a laundry list of something like, 800 saves, which isn't really convenient. If you find that your saves are taking up more space than desired, head to System Settings\Storage\Hard Drive\Games and Apps\Skyrim, and simply delete some of the older saves. It's a bit of a pain, but ultimately best for the health of an Epic Save.

If these measures do not help, we suggest making sure that all of the patches are installed and starting a new game. A fresh save on patch 1.9 will not run into the same memory issues that a release save would. We know this is inconvenient and we never take pleasure in telling this to our players, but we also want you to have the best experience possible.

I hope you find this information helpful, and if there is anything else I can assist with please feel free to reply to this email!

If you need further assistance, you can also reach us online at http://support.bethsoft.com or our technical support staff at (410)-568-3685. Please include all previous replies when/if responding to this message.

Best Regards,
Greg A. at Bethesda Technical Support
support04@bethsoft.com

This is great. Thanks so much for sharing [/quote]

You are all very welcome. They were very quick to respond as well. One day was all it took. I was impressed. Even with the flaws I absolutely still love the game. 400 plus hours on my first character and I still find things to do and new places. It is an insane amount of content. Can't beat the entertainment value for the money invested. I am just now working through the DB DLC and really enjoying it. Most of the bugs I have encountered I have been able to find a work around for thankfully. Minus the Bard's College bug that is but I got over that for the most part. I save and save often now as most times a simple reload can fix things.

 

[shadowkitty]

The best part of this story is that you killed him on accident. So funny. I'm sorry...

HAHA! I know.. He froze mid air and I shot him full of arrows. Then fast travelled away and came back again, to see if that would fix him. Not even thinking about all the arrows I just peppered him with. I get there and he drops dead. I was horrified! Then the haunting started.....

You're killing me. This might be the best glitch ever... at your expense of course. Sorry about that.

No problem. It was kinda funny at the time

 

[JClarke1953]

Hey man,

Most of the issues I have been facing are technically not anything that can necessarily be directly blamed on the DLC. It's (I suppose) entirely possible that it is coincidence.

But I have suddenly started experiencing freezing like never before - where upon loading, I can only walk for 8 seconds before the game crashes (often in the same locations - such as passing a specific signpost)

This also all started happening after I did a 30-day rest/reset in Whiterun to try and fix a 'random dragon corpse' issue I had been having in the Rift.

To this point, I have yet to find out if the 30-day reset has worked, because I haven't been able to make it to The Rift on foot without the game crashing at multiple points along the way.

Anyways, even if these issues aren't necessarily caused by the DLC being added, I still wonder if it would just be best to start fresh with brand new save files and all of the patches/DLC installed from the get-go.

Understand that this is not a decision I take lightly, as I have over a hundred hours on this particular character.

What I found out as far as bringing the DLC's into my XBox was that I had to move my game progression to and external hard drive, bring in the DLC's, the put my game progression back into my XBox.

I rarely have a freeze (usually now, they happen when I have too much inventory on my char. One day I bought a bunch of Alchemy ingredients, and couldn't leave the shop without freezing. So I backed to when I entered the shop, and reduced the amount of what I bought, then I was able to leave).

 

[Vidarr]

You are all very welcome. They were very quick to respond as well. One day was all it took. I was impressed. Even with the flaws I absolutely still love the game. 400 plus hours on my first character and I still find things to do and new places. It is an insane amount of content. Can't beat the entertainment value for the money invested. I am just now working through the DB DLC and really enjoying it. Most of the bugs I have encountered I have been able to find a work around for thankfully. Minus the Bard's College bug that is but I got over that for the most part. I save and save often now as most times a simple reload can fix things.

Good to hear, and I couldn't agree more.
Any other game with this many bugs and I probably would have dropped it in frustration ages ago. But Skyrim will always keep me coming back.

Anyways, I am officially going to start a brand new character.
HOWEVER, before doing so, I want to know if there are any extra things I could do to ensure that this game is as smooth and potentially bug-free as possible (as well as avoiding save game bloat).

Does anyone have any tips/advice?

 

[JClarke1953]

Man-oh-man did I "f" up! I went into my saves and accidentally deleted Dragonborn and Dawnguard!

Now I gotta find where put them, as XBox doesn't seem to keep downloads. Just "active" ones from what I can find. Gotta go back into char's I haven't played on for ages to hopefully find them.

If not, I guess it's "game over" period for me, cause I ain't buying them again!

 

[shadowkitty]

Man-oh-man did I "f" up! I went into my saves and accidentally deleted Dragonborn and Dawnguard!

Now I gotta find where put them, as XBox doesn't seem to keep downloads. Just "active" ones from what I can find. Gotta go back into char's I haven't played on for ages to hopefully find them.

If not, I guess it's "game over" period for me, cause I ain't buying them again!

Are you sure you can't find your downloads?
Redownload a game
If you delete a downloaded game from your hard drive, you can redownload it from your download history:

1. Sign in to Xbox Live using the gamertag that you used when you originally purchased the content.
2. Go to Settings and select Account.

1. Select Download History.
2. Browse your download history. If you want to download something again, select the item and then selectDownload Again.
   Note If you want to see the charges on your Xbox Live account, see Check your Xbox Live billing and download history.

 

[Vidarr]

^ Exactly.
You shouldn't ever have to re-purchase anything on xbox live.
Either look in your download history or find it manually in the marketplace and 'download again'.
Hope it works out for you!

So, back on topic, does anyone have any tips for ensuring that my fresh start is as smooth as can be?

I'm gonna remove existing saves, probably clear both the game and system cache, make sure that I have all 3 DLCs downloaded, and I think I'm gonna try being vigilant with picking up dropped weapons and stuff to reduce save file bloat.

As I said, any more advice or input would be greatly appreciated.
I want to make sure that this character gets off on the right foot and STAYS on that foot.

 

[shadowkitty]

clearing stuff out of your inventory works to. It's less memory the Xbox has to commit to. One I didn't even think of was all the damned keys you end up collecting. Throw useless ones in to a chest somewhere you aren't likely to visit (but only if you don't intend to use them any more). The game will get rid of them for you.

 

[Vidarr]

clearing stuff out of your inventory works to. It's less memory the Xbox has to commit to. One I didn't even think of was all the damned keys you end up collecting. Throw useless ones in to a chest somewhere you aren't likely to visit (but only if you don't intend to use them any more). The game will get rid of them for you.

Thanks for the tip!
Even Jorrvaskr would be a good place to do that, as most of its chests seem to reset like crazy.

My main point is that I want to try and prevent my save file (if possible) from getting anywhere over 5ish MB (I've heard it's been done before). And I'm hoping that by starting the game with all of the DLCs + patches installed, that the bugs in general will be much more scarce.

Any more tips from personal experience? Also, I'd be interested in hearing how you guys prefer to pace your characters quest-wise.
(as in starting with all DLCs, what order do you do Main Quest, Dawnguard, Civil War etc.) As well as - me being an RP freak - how you make the storylines flow for your character.
Sorry if I'm not very clear

 

[shadowkitty]

When I start a new character, there are certain quests I like to do first. I seek out the companions so I can become a werewolf, as I am dead against becoming a vampire. I start the main quest up to seeking out the greybeards. Then go and do some other misc quests to build up my levels and experience. I start the Dawnguard quest early on to. At level 10 the Dragon cultists make an appearance, but I ignore going to Solstheim until I am way higher level (over 40). I like to do the Thieves Guild quest as soon as possible as well, but with enough experience to fight Mercer at the end, because I want the Nightingale armour and weapons. Having Serana as follower until I finish Dawnguard, she makes for a handy follower while I do other quests. During all this I am building a house and seeking out the husband and children I want. Then I do some more of the main quest up to the treaty and getting Dragonreach ready for the dragon. I might go to Solstheim now, but NOT go to the temple. Just start some side quests there, mainly to gain the ancient pickaxe, and Severin Manor to store stuff. I go back to Skyrim, do some more side quests and that is what I am up to now.
So far this character has avoided doing any Daedric quests except Nocturnal and Merida. She hates Daedra. She is all geared up for the final part of the main quest so she might do that pretty soon. I generally leave the Dark Brotherhood quest until last.

 

[Vidarr]

^ Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing shadowkitty
I'm the kind of RPer who get's so easily disturbed by the most minor disruptions in my character's progression (I'm exaggerating a bit), but that's why I initially wanted to hold off on installing Dragonborn until my character was ready for it (because I want to do it AFTER the MQ and Dawnguard).

But seeing as I'm going to start my new character with all of the DLC installed, I'll need to figure out how to properly pace and justify the order of quests that my character takes.

 

[Straumgald]

Wow I have 2 epic saves, and I believe I have around 15 characters with 25 hours or more. I don't really have any issues, but I also don't have any DLCs installed yet, legendary edition comes in Friday.

That new save every time thing Bethesda suggested is crazy. I think I would have thousands of saves, wouldn't that cause just as many problems?

I'm doing the DLCs with new characters, but I made them already, got them "twinked" out at the level I want to start the DLCs at. I wanted to remake the characters with things I didn't like about my main characters that I modeled them after, like only using 1 trade skill instead of 2 or all three, not using any leveling tricks/tips that make leveling faster. etc. I enjoy playing new characters more than old ones anyway.

 

[Vidarr]

Wow I have 2 epic saves, and I believe I have around 15 characters with 25 hours or more. I don't really have any issues, but I also don't have any DLCs installed yet, legendary edition comes in Friday.

That new save every time thing Bethesda suggested is crazy. I think I would have thousands of saves, wouldn't that cause just as many problems?

I'm doing the DLCs with new characters, but I made them already, got them "twinked" out at the level I want to start the DLCs at. I wanted to remake the characters with things I didn't like about my main characters that I modeled them after, like only using 1 trade skill instead of 2 or all three, not using any leveling tricks/tips that make leveling faster. etc. I enjoy playing new characters more than old ones anyway.

I think the 'new save everytime' method is suggesting that you would be deleting your older saves along the way - at least that's what i assumed and what makes the most sense to me.

You're right that having thousands of saves could probably cause even more issues than overwriting does.

And I agree that starting new characters is awesome. Seriously everytime I create a character that I think perfectly defines my 'main' character ideal - I end up realizing things I would have rather done differently.

 

[LotusEater]

I think the 'new save everytime' method is suggesting that you would be deleting your older saves along the way - at least that's what i assumed and what makes the most sense to me.

You're right that having thousands of saves could probably cause even more issues than overwriting does.

And I agree that starting new characters is awesome. Seriously everytime I create a character that I think perfectly defines my 'main' character ideal - I end up realizing things I would have rather done differently.

I came so close to that ideal this time... so very, very close. But alas, I must reroll.

 

[Vidarr]

I think the 'new save everytime' method is suggesting that you would be deleting your older saves along the way - at least that's what i assumed and what makes the most sense to me.

You're right that having thousands of saves could probably cause even more issues than overwriting does.

And I agree that starting new characters is awesome. Seriously everytime I create a character that I think perfectly defines my 'main' character ideal - I end up realizing things I would have rather done differently.

I came so close to that ideal this time... so very, very close. But alas, I must reroll.

Good to know we're in the same boat

Here's a question to anyone who might know the answer:
Clearing the 'game' cache ---- is this even necessary if the game is installed to the Hard drive?

It occurred to me that it may not be, but I'm not sure.
I'm trying to cover every base before starting fresh to ensure a smooth experience.
(Clearing the 'game' cache is holding LB+RB+X while the game loads up from the dashboard)