I find this to be a pervasive problem with Bethesda games starting a few years after The Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind was released. They pack an insane amount of complexity into their games then provide utterly feeble tools to manage it or refuse to invest time into them as that complexity grows from game to game (especially their inventory system which hasn't changed much since Oblivion). Nothing demonstrates this better than Fallout 4's base building mechanic which is leagues better (and more complicated) than in any other game I've played. You can literally build a downtown Sanctuary with a dozen 10 story tall skyscrapers with farmland and electrical infrastructure but doing so using the Workshop as it is now (months before the release of the official game editor) is absolutely maddening and down right impractical. No 2d map or overhead camera, no alignment with complex terrain like building foundations, no templating, zero interface to manage the settlers (the current community concensus is to give each settler a different hat or outfit for each available job!), and it's just down right Unintuitive in every way. The mechanic overall feels like it was part of the game design from day 1 but the interface they give you to use it was made in a weekend.
Bethesda knows their games are bought for replayability and community mods so it seems that they make a lot of sacrifices no other gaming company would, knowing that the more annoying it is the faster some modder will totally replace it with far superior execution. To be fair though, no other company cranks out fantastic open world games that are as good as Bethesda's on such a regular basis. All of this pays off when a five year old game has graphics as good as a newly released one except with half a decade of damn near professional effort by thousands of modders.
The only actual improvement they've made to the inventory system is that in FO4 you can now take items from containers without opening a separate dialog, which is a _very_ welcome improvement IMO.
the last bit ain't true - from my experience last month. had a off-gaming period for last 5 years and didn't play Skyrim when it was launched. sat to it 2 months ago, with all datadiscs, patches, put all interesting (not only) graphic mods, which had years to gain maturity and compatibility. So I thought I will have the best possible version of the game, better than creators ever aimed for.
The game looked meh on all maxed, but that isn't a dealbreaker for me (after all, I still sometimes run old Deux Ex 1, probably the best game ever in its genre). it was boring like hell, and the whole game screamed quantity-over quality. FYI - I played all previous TES games vigorously, starting properly with Daggerfall (didn't have good enough rig for Arena back in those days, but I played it too a bit). This was just nothing-special experience, and I uninstalled it after few hours of gaming.
2 weeks ago installed Witcher 3, and those games are uncomparable. 21st century meets 80's arcade gaming (heck, not even). Visual side is one aspect, but this game is simply better in every possible way.
Had an off-gaming period of 5 years as well, and trying to get back into it. Just built a nice rig, to max out these new games. Is there a texture pack I can get for the original Deus Ex (1) or something? I played Deus Ex HR two years ago and I was blown away by it. Had a talk with a friend of mine who is also a Deus Ex fan and he told me that Deus Ex 1 is better than HR in every conceivable aspect. Of course I can't wait for Mankind Divided to come out, but I'd very much like to play Deus Ex 1 (for historical reasons) without my eyes smarting. If not I just might get Deus Ex HR Director's Cut off of Steam.
Bethesda knows their games are bought for replayability and community mods so it seems that they make a lot of sacrifices no other gaming company would, knowing that the more annoying it is the faster some modder will totally replace it with far superior execution. To be fair though, no other company cranks out fantastic open world games that are as good as Bethesda's on such a regular basis. All of this pays off when a five year old game has graphics as good as a newly released one except with half a decade of damn near professional effort by thousands of modders.