[et:qw]: International Version + german (censored) version?

(nUllSkillZ) #1

Hi,

are there any info’s about two versions of ET:QW?
An international version and a special censored german version (as Q4)?

In germany games get rated according to the violence within the game.
And unfortunately the rating is influenced also by the name of the game.
It seems games with a “quake” in the name are more easier to rate “over 18” because q1 has been rated “over 18” and so on.
The “international” version of Q4 has been rated “over 18”.
So it isn’t available in the big electronic stores which also sale games.
But it’s available via small game stores or online stores for players over 18.

The german version has been rated “over 16”.
(Normally the german versions contain green blood and human opponents are replaced by robots etc. to obtain an “over 16” rating).
But it is incompatible with the international version.

And as far as I remember a flamethrower within a game is a reason to rate it automatically “over 18” (Flame Thrower in ETQW).

Some additional notes according to nazi symbols in games and rating:
Games with nazi symbols in games are totally forbidden in germany.
So if the german version of a game (like RTCW) gets a rating “over 18” it’s not available at all in germany anymore.
The german version isn’t available and the international version isn’t allowed.

On the other hand:
Nudism in games isn’t a problem at all in germany.

Some other remarks:
BF2 and CS:Source are rated “over 16”.
W:ET hasn’t been rated at all (i think because it isn’t available on media).

(Zyklon) #2

The name of a game doesn’t make it more likely to get on the index. It is so that the successor (I don’t know about spin-offs) of an indexed games can get on the index without having to be evaluated. Also, it doesn’t only depend on the degree of violence, also the way violence is depicted (if it’s being glorified or shown as the only method to solve conflicts).

And Q4 was put on the index because of all the gore. The intro has heavily mutilated soldiers floating in space, there aer “human pumps” and “human computers” on the walls of the corridors, you get to be transformed into a strogg yourself (with your legs being sawn off), you have marines being vivisected (I wonder why they kept their underpants on though :E) etc.

And there are still games with red blood and human enemies that aren’t indexed. That was some time ago when there had to be green blood and robots instead of humans.

As long as there are no dismemberments and no gibbing in ET:QW, it is likely to be rated “over 16”.

(Ragnar_40k) #3

I wonder if sd will make a special version of ET:QW for the U.S. market, where all girls are fully dressed you can’t see any bare boobs or butts …

(nUllSkillZ) #4

Hmm, makes me think you are in the wrong forum for the wrong game at the moment.
Or did I miss something …

(Ragnar_40k) #5

What, no babes in ET:QW!?

But Ok - my point is that games get banned/rated for different reasons in different countries: in Germany for glorification of violence and/or the use of national socialist symbols. And in the U.S. for the intimation of sex or nudity (see the discussion about the “Hot coffee mod” for GTA as an example).

Personally I prefer the original version of a game - no special “skinpacks” or silly translations. When a game gets rated 18 it can’t be advertised or selled public in shops in Germany. This usually leads to bad sales figures, but you can still order it at your local game shop when you 18+ years old or you simply buy it online, e.g. in Austria.

(B0rsuk) #6

Calm down. There’s most probably no flamethrower in ET:QW. Sad, but true. It would only make sense if it was mounted on vehicles, and Splash Damage aren’t imaginative enough (or out of tapirs, anyway) .it would be too niche weapon otherwise. Maps are too open. Be happy that there’s even a shotgun, and seemingly a quake’ish/doom’ish one (slow and powerful, q1 crapstick/sniper rifle(!!) doesn’t count)

What interests me, will all the versions be fully compatible ? I know Q4 had some kind of version checking which prevented german and other versions from working together. It’s important because, if given a choice, I’d prefer an english version instead of localised polish one. It would be great if Splash Damage could comment on this one.

(Joe999) #7

US? i always thought that this would apply to england?

(petameta) #8

Who cares … The serial works for all versions. So what I do is I buy the german version and download the US version of the game. Then I install the US version, and enter the key from the german version, works without problems.

(bandit5k) #9

Hmm…Wouldn’t that be considered illegal? You payed for the censored version, not the un-censored version. Thus, downloading and installing an un-censored version = bad?

(Bravo) #10

I have seen this about 5 times just today on different forums, it’s doing my head in.

It is ‘paid’ and not bloody ‘payed’

Thank you. Please continue

(Joe999) #11

if you wouldn’t have “UK” standing next to your location i would have sworn you are an american :smiley:

(McAfee) #12

After checking qxmon.net, there aren’t many players using the German version of Quake 4. There are usually less than 3 servers. In addition, It seems the game hasn’t seen the benefit of a Point Release.

If things take the same route for the german version of ETQW, then you are pretty much screwed. Being isolated doesn’t give you much of a community. I don’t know the german laws. But I know the game will contain blood, gore and lots of violence :banana:
As for symbols, I don’t think there will be any to worry about.

As of late, most Online FPS games are being rated M for Mature:
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.

This is not only for the game content, but for the variance of the online experience. You never know when another player can induce “High Rated” content. However, some games still manage to keep the Teen Rating.

(Nail) #13

afaik, you can get a “Teen” rating if the blood and gore can be turned off in game

(petameta) #14

Again: Who cares ? Laws in germany are awfully complicated. I don’t think there’s a day when you don’t do something not allowed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against laws and try to keep them as long as they are sane. For example, it’s quite funny to read this article about germany being very open about sex-related topics, and on the other hand we have the world’s craziest laws to protect the youth from youth-harming content (like violence and pornography). I think germany’s pr0n-industry has a very hard time putting their content on websites. Of course, porn from other countries is just a click away, so this law is rather pointless.

This leads to not taking those laws as serious. There are so many laws here which I can only laugh about, and I don’t consider them serious. It’s of course a controversial situation when I start choosing which laws are serious and which not.

But anyway coming back to downloading games: I don’t think the censored version is any cheaper, and I’m too lazy to get the uncensored version (not easy, because of mentioned laws to protect youth. I’m 27, but proving this to an online shop isn’t that easy here). So I just skip this law. I think it’s OK, I’m paying the developers.

Could some of the SD-team comment, I’d curious about your opinion as game-developers about this.

(Nail) #15

I 'd think that was a question for the publishers rather than the developers, imo

(Sauron|EFG) #16

AFAIK the German version of Q4 isn’t compatible with the English version, so the ones who got the German version can only play on German servers (no international league play for them), and the ones who bought the English version can’t play with the other Germans. :banghead:

I really hope they don’t go down this route with ET:QW.

(Isabel Lucas) #17

QUOTE: “…know the game will contain blood, gore and lots of violence” - Great Battleifled was so boring in that context.

As for a German version, I’m all for it if it allows the rest of us to have an un-nerfed version.

As for no nudity in games, I think the US laws can’t be that strict, here’s a screencapture from Far Cry 2:

OK she’s got a bikini but still quite a bit of flesh, got to love those skin tones. :clap:

(Black_Forky) #18

lmao she has man arms/hands

(Hakuryu) #19

The US has some stupid laws too.

All of our local parks are ‘closed’ at dark. Seems nature shuts down for the night I guess, but it makes for some fun running from park rangers. I’m a night person myself, and hiking in the dark is interesting.

I feel for you in Germany though. I bet you can see blood on TV there though right? It makes me laugh when someone blames games for violence when probably 50% of all TV channels are showing some sort of violence right now. Is the media reaching 10% of the population (games) the cause of its ills or the media reaching 90% (TV)?

(Zyklon) #20

Not quite as hard as this, but some very brutal scenes (think dismemberments and the like) are still often cut out of films.This is not because it is forbidden, but because the filmmakers want the film to get a low-as-possible age ranking.