Its pretty hard to judge the state of Creation Engine since you only see the improvements when the next Elder Scrolls or Fallout game is released. We saw the GI and material systems change radically between Skyrim and FO4. Things like cloth simulation have been modded in. Every element being interactive is a Bethesda…
I've heard a big part of it could be related to the fact that everything you move in the game world has to be remembered; if you drop a sword and it lands a certain way, it'll stay there forever, barring you or someone else moving it. Not sure if this is overplayed, or if it's true, but I remember back when Skyrim first…