Hickory405
182046
8022
89
The worst bug in gaming history happened to be in one of your all time favorite games.
We all hold a spot in our hearts for oblivion. However, back when it was in the lime light this game was holding a very nasty secret.
Okay, maybe not Oblivion itself but as soon as you installed The Shivering Isles (which we all did) your game was injected with a crippling bug whether you stepped into the Shivering Isles or not.
This bug became known as the "FormID bug". What made this bug so infuriating is that it didn't start to have its symptoms until around 150 hours into the game for consoles and around 50 on PC before inevitably eating your game from the inside out. Until the patch was released there was absolutely nothing you could do.
How it worked: Everything in Oblivion has its own "FormID" telling the game what it was and how it behaved. Items had a FormID, so did the NPCs, everything basically.
There were 6 individual (now notorious) NPCs who generated a random never used formID every frame of the game. On console they made 180 every second at 30FPS or 360 at 60FPS on PC.
As you could imagine, there were only so many IDs that could be made before it started generating IDs that already existed for something else.
When this finally happened a wide spectrum of strange and bizarre things would happen.
You may have seen this before. This is when the FormID of an object or thing gets overwritten and corrupt. The game can't figure out what it is so it throws up this placeholder image.
It became more and more common over time. If you tried to ignore it the game would start insisting it was there by eventually overwriting your key quest items or corrupting other NPCs
Things get more unbearable as the scripts that connected the dialog to the NPCs disappeared as well.
This is Bendu Olo. He's who your custom character resets to after this FormID bug eats into your character. Granted, it's rare to happen because more often than not the script would eat into your save file first thus corrupting and preventing you from playing again on that save.
NOTE: This has since been patched by Bethesda by letting the created FormIDs recycle after being used. If you haven't played this game yet don't let this scare you as its no longer an issue.
Just a interesting piece of gaming history.
EDIT: This has not been fixed on non GoTY PS3 and 360 copies
UPDATE: Vol. 2 Falador Massacre is up now. http://imgur.com/gallery/aAZsU
WarUnicorn
So the shivering isles basically installed Sheogorath into your game... i wouldnt even be mad
krapmyself
Bug you say? That expansion wasn't about a quest through the daedric realm of madness for nothing.
Somethingswrongintheneighbourhood
Woah, I got one of those exclamation marks months before shivering isles came out. No one ever believed me until the expansion came out
LeBaquette
co8alt8itches
this is actually pretty funny o me since it's dealing with Sheogorath...
co8alt8itches
you know. the guy who literally made flaming dogs fall on a town for fun
Hickory405
lmao!
pocketpython
Have you accepted the Lord Cheesus into your world?
BL8K3
"I have no greeting.". That doesn't make me the think of a creepypasta at all.
Iarry
Before release, there was a bug, or more of a weird occurance due to radiant AI. Basically there would be a quest giver who was in prison 1
Iarry
but would sometimes just be in his cell dead when you got there. The devs looked into it, and realized the problem was that the guards 2/?
Iarry
would run out of food, so they would kill the prisoner for the bread he had. They gave the guards more food to last until it respawned 3/4
Iarry
and it fixed it. No idea of it's true, I think I read it in a GameInformer interview with a dev from like 5 years ago
JesusWasARaptor
Man this would have upset me so much as a kid
OddOod
As a kid, it was SUPER upsetting
turpasauna
I HAVE NO GREETING. Every time a stranger starts talking to me.
L0rdShogun
I HAVE NO GREETING
CassiusFaux
I remember when I had Oblivion GOTY for 360. I got stuck in the Shivering Isles forever, because I couldnt leave an area without crashing.
CassiusFaux
And then when I FINALLY got out without the game crashing. The power died and I was stuck in the same pickle all over again.
kungfucatattack
Sheogorath is pleased. Mania and dementia run rampant.
HardiSMH
But, why are the NPC generating those numbers? What's their purpose?
Emangelo
Falador Massacre. RIP rares that were lost.
justherefortheshitposting
All the people in this comment thread who're spewing false crap. Ain't like there's video footage for those of you who weren't there. ohwait
waytoofoxy
Long live King Durial
CastleIsGreat
This is ACTUALLY my favorite bug, I laughed so hard when I heard what was happening, I was actually playing that day.
Sirrussel5
Never forget. 6-6-06
Olli399
Always nice to find fellow players on occasion.
DuckTapeAl
Fun fact: The Oblivion PC modding community put out a fix long before Bethesda did, by patching the 6 NPCs causing the problem. (1/2)
DuckTapeAl
(2/2) Bethesda fixed the engine by allowing FormID recycling, but didn't actually fix the NPCs.
SpecialProjectY
Fun fact: Same goes for Skyrim, there are "unofficial patches" that fix game braking bugs and yet, Beth remains ignorant and wont 1/2
SpecialProjectY
include them in an official released patches, ever. Why is this game even mentioned as a cult classic or being that popular? 2/2
ThisIsSteel
Honorable mention: Myth II had a bug that, upon uninstalling the game, it would delete everything in your hard drive.
ICanChangeMyUsernameWheneverIWantButIDontBecauseIAmGodDamnLazy
Dammit, I was just about to post that. Ah well, here's how I found out about it: https://youtu.be/OGSb2HRe_OE?t=8m39s @ 8:39.
ThisIsSteel
The bug was caught after production but before shipping. Literally last minute.
Hickory405
Only if you installed the game to your C:/ root folder for some reason. Still a very nasty bug and definitely worth mentioning!
ThisIsSteel
Hello there, knowledgeable bungie fan!
Wingshark
Oh, wow, that's a nasty one.
boneh3ad
That explains how I got those dumb placeholder yellow things. I never knew.
ColonelCasual
Wait. They didn't stop the NPCs from generating a new FormID every frame? Are they supposed to do that? Sounds like a waste of memory.
brknsoul
The Best Bug was World of Warcraft's Corrupted Blood incident. Basically, CB lasted outside the dungeon you get, infecting others. /1
TheIvoryCrane
Also when Doom Lord Kazzak was released in the BC prelaunch event was pulled to major cities. So. Many. Skeletons.
brknsoul
That was fun.
CocktailGaming
I was looking for this. The corrupted blood plague was infamous.
kungfucatattack
I remember totally avoiding cities when it was rumored. I entered on randomly and immediately fled. Hundreds of dead.
brknsoul
People would get it, then teleport back to major cities and start infecting others, who would infect more. /2
brknsoul
(Yes, I know about how you had to get it onto your pet, etc) 3/3
brknsoul
Read more here; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Blood_incident
Fishworshipper
I seriously wonder how the devs couldn't fix that bug. Like, really. Maybe I'm just not a programmer, but I can think of several solutions.
brknsoul
They did. But they tried to put in some quick fixes first, in order to not have to take down the servers.
Fishworshipper
"it lasted until a combination of patches and resets of the virtual world finally controlled the epidemic" Pretty sure I could do it in one.
SovietRusalka
Can you do more of these game bug type posts? I love this one!
Hickory405
Definitely! I'm glad you liked it!
mrgrynch
.
Rawrihazshotgun
Definitely do the Faladore Massacre and the blood plague.
goatslikeme
I agree! I went down to the comments to make sure someone requested more! Look forward to your future bug posts.
Hickory405
Thank you! The wheels are already turning.
WhiteTrashTiger
Bendu Olo should be a meme for video game bugs
MrRandom314159
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO ME! GOD I was so pissed. I'd been working on completing EVERY quest in the game, and I only had 5-6 left, +Nirnroot.
zmbb
Shaegorath' work!! Chaosss
sparkie101
This happened to me. Didn't have any issue with the game itself, rather just random textures and stuff would change bright yellow.
SirVashtaNerada
I don't know about worst, the blood plague in WoW was really, really, really bad.
Tanishh
Yeah, no. Maybe it depended on server but on mine it was out for like not even a day before it was fixed. At most a few days of avoiding
Tanishh
cities or just not being a low level / crappy character vs. weeks/months of literally being unable to play? No comparison. Actually right up
Tanishh
there with this bug would be the FO:NV one that corrupted save files. I had to put the game down for months until they (FINALLY) fixed it.
kungfucatattack
The blood plague is actually super fascinating from a sociological and medical standpoint. It was so NEW. No one was safe.
Automatvapen
I remember that. So many bodies in Orgrimmar...
kungfucatattack
I remember going into the dwarf city and turning around and running away before I got all the way inside. There was a trail of dead.
Threewisemen
That's not even the worst bug in wow. https://letitbethebeatles.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/fullscreen-capture-5202014-102305-pm.jpg
MFJones31
Kinda wish they'd do that again as an April fool's prank...
TheSteenalizer
Not game breaking though
SpikeTheGoat
Yeah, more of an inconvenience to players who often played it daily. Not even as bad as times the servers had to revert and you lost stuff
SirVashtaNerada
I mean, players could pretty much not play the game until it was fixed, so I mean you could technically play as a corpse.
rolin
Yeah, but it wouldn't corrupt your game, so once it was fixed, there were no consequences.
chrisharddick
Please explain
YourWaifuIsTrash
A boss in WoW had an effect called Blood Plague, which would infect players hit with its attacks and spread to others in the fight. >
YourWaifuIsTrash
Through a combination of rapid healing, massive hp, and teleportation, some were able to get out of the boss arena while infected, >
Zodi
It was actually none of those things. It was a pet that carried it over to the rest of the game.
YourWaifuIsTrash
Thanks for the correction– it appears the source I had heard about it from was faulty.
YourWaifuIsTrash
and then spread it to other players all over Azeroth. It eventually moved far enough that no place in the game was safe anymore, >
YourWaifuIsTrash
despite the moderators' best efforts to quarantine certain cities and insta-ban anyone infected approaching the gates. For a few days, >
ellert0
That wasn't even a bug. It was an event that was working as intended.
Barrum
That was not an event. Mods were handing out bans to try and get it under control until they finally had a fix for it.
FinValkyria
It was not intentional. The debuff would be dispelled upon killing the boss, but non-active pets were not dispelled of it. Thus, a bug.
ViveLaBalloonAnimals
I saw "bug" and thought you were gonna sing the praises of the duplication bug. Never knew about the FormID thing but it's neat
smashpro1
I love Fallout 4's duplication bug.
TheOneGuyWithAReallyLongUsernameThatSeemsToJustGoOnAndOn
Tell me about it
SpecimenSpiff
Wasn't the paintbrush bug in Oblivion? I remember that one.
Squossifrage
You mean using paintbrushes to build ladders in thin air?
ViveLaBalloonAnimals
That's it! I got to the top of White-Gold Tower with it.
ArtistFormerlyKnownAsCorgi
Last time I checked this wasnt fixed on consoles. If you owned the ps3 version of shivering isles on disc (And not the goty) the bug
jessicadaver
I recently got a used version of the Game Of The Year edition for 360, with expansions already in place. Am I at risk? D:
ArtistFormerlyKnownAsCorgi
Nope not at all for that bug
jessicadaver
Bitchin! I was not expecting a response that fast thank you ♡♡
ArtistFormerlyKnownAsCorgi
still happened. Was the only reason i got the game on pc
timenters89
Mine doesnt start up anymore. Scratchfree disk. Does the bug have anything to do with that?
hoeya
No, it shouldn't. The bug affects savefiles, because it is assigning names to characters as the game plays, not while the disk is inactive.
timenters89
Thanks for thay
hoeya
Check to see if the disk is heat damaged. Hold it up to the light, and see if it's discoulored. If not scratched, that's usually the issue.
namelessfish
I'm so glad I didnt get it for console then haha thanks for the heads up (I'm behind on times so I'm still looking into Oblivion)
DoorbyTheHouseShelf
Play the shit out of morrowind. Oblivion is just as big, and the Shivering Isles DLC Is a blast.
namelessfish
Ok :) thank you!
Hickory405
Yep it checks out. Thank you. I'll be sure to edit that in. +1
JacobKreutzfeldt
They must have fixed it. I bought the GOTY edition with all the dlc included for ps3 and it worked fine after hundreds of hours.
ArtistFormerlyKnownAsCorgi
They released an update for it. However the update was never released for the base game, the goty has the update on disc.
Zaayl
goty PS3 still has other game breaking bugs, and lacks DLC the other consoles got, as it was never updated past GOTY's release.
Zaayl
Most notably, the curing vampirism quest cannot be completed.
canigetaBAMson
GOTY version has the vampire bug though
StubbornViking
What bug is this?
lordhenthai
.
canigetaBAMson
There's a quest where you intentionally get vampirism, and the woman that is supposed to cure you at the end of the quest ignores you.
GoogleKnowsTooMuchAboutMe
What? Nooo I never said I would cure you. You vampire scum.
HighSlayerRalton
Bugs, in a Bethesda game? Whaa-
[deleted]
[deleted]
Xenda
They are FEaTuRes!
NateintheNorth
It's just Sheogorath having some fun!
Alighierian
CHEESE! FOR EVERYONE! No scratch that, bugs for everyone.
GetOffMyLawnYa
I learned this lesson in Daggarfall. I never could finish the main quest.
giganticroboticpenguin
+1 because I had the same problem. Got about 50% done and it would crash. Tried replaying it 2x. It's why I only buy BethSuck games for PC.
thekreat
I consider myself lucky because i've never met that much bugs and I've put thousands of hours on fallout series alone (1-4)
Alrightyouwin
I call lies!!!!!
SpyrusCogwheel
Today Hancock from Goodneighbor sang me the Nuka-Cola song.
ThatGuyWhoThinksEveryoneIsAPineapple
That's a bug?
Xenda
If it's an actual song, yeah. But not if he goes a Capella.
APieceOfBread154
http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Fry-Im-Shocked-Futurama.gif
VolkGamingHD
Believe it or not, Bethesda games are actually riddled with bugs. However, they are so minute that us players don't notice; way it's made.
NotSari
uh huh. sure thing buddy
HowlingDysphoria
In Skyrim I just kept stumbling into one bug after another with my luck, until my character became a walking disaster
OldIronsides
Story time!
Tralinlu
Considering how open Bethesda games tend to be, and the routes and orders of completion, I've always been amazed there aren't more bugs.
ttprog
Nah, studio has poor qc practices. I'm always amazed bethesda gets as many free passes as it does for stuff like this. Lots of industrycomps
DarkUranium
It's a Bethesda thing. You have a shitload of other games proving that you can make a large-world RPG without these bugs. (1/2)
DarkUranium
E.g. Dragon Age, Witcher, or Dragon's Dogma series. (2/2)
DarkUranium
(correction: I phrased this poorly, of course they'll have bugs [most software does], but not *NEARLY* as many!)