@evil-i: Seconded without hesitation. Bethesda's track record for buggy games and lack of support isn't good. I mean, ceasing support for Oblivion when over 1000 bugs still existed was just complete disinterest and totally dismissive of the loyal fan base who've HELPED them succeed as a business.
If it wasn't for the tireless modders (and I SALUTE you) who've done their best to FIX Bethesda's quality assurance goofs, I've have binned the game years ago. I shelved Oblivion for over 2 years because it ran like a one-legged dog on my old video card when other games like Doom 3 performed WELL. I'm ONLY playing it NOW because of essential mods that make it at least halfway tolerable. I consider myself lucky I chose a PC as a gaming platform, and feel TRULY sorry for the console owners who've bought a bucket without a BOTTOM and the welder's decided to retire! At least the PC is a "DIY welding kit" because of the Construction Set.
This time round, I ain't playing the donkey blindly trotting after a carrot on a stick and going over a cliff. I don't care HOW much they tart Skyrim up to look good. I ain't dipping my hand in Bethesda's bin again until I'm ASSURED that what they've thrown out is gourmet smoked salmon fillet, not stinky fish tails! The "Oblivion fiasco" is why I gave Fallout 3 (same game engine) a miss and, if they follow a similar pattern with Skyrim, it's doomed to go down without a trace like a ship they forgot to weld the hull plates onto.
Like you, I'm gonna wait and see, possibly until Skyrim ends up in the bargain bin (no profit for Bethesda) and the modders who are our REAL support team have had some time to work out the kinks. Until then, I'll stay aboard the SS Oblivion which has taken me 5 years to weld the hull into a tolerable state of repair where it doesn't leak like a sieve and can actually sail for a few hours without sinking.
Don't get me wrong. I love RPG's. I love the Elder Scrolls series because of it's Lore and depth. I love admiring Oblivion's beautiful landscapes. I love spending hours dungeon delving, etc, despite the sameness of the dungeons. I love helping other Oblivion players avoid the 5 years of technical frustrations I've had getting this game to run halfway stable and enjoyable. But I trust Bethesda to write stable bug-free software about as much as I could fart an 8 on the Richter scale and knock their office building off its foundations. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.
