BFC: A way to please the European customers

[BlackZed]

First: Well done, BFC! CMBB is a superb game.

Unfortunately, CDV has decided to cut the manual and was forced to "censor" the SS troops.

I am a victim of this myself.... :mad:

Great idea to offer the complete manual to your European customers via internet and credit card! I am forced to do that...

Here my solution:

Why not offer the original CMBB.EXE for download?

Is there any technical incompatibility to the European bmps and wmvs?

Another example of this solution is the game "Mafia" from Illusion Software. In Germany the game is cut (mainly blood and violence), but many gameservers offer the UK/US Game.exe for download. These are no warez-sites!! The publisher "allows" this, so no problem there...

So please, BFC, allow your European customers to have the game like your other customers! Anyone still needs the rest of the files to play the game, so do not worry about piracy. Remember, patches of CMBO all consisted of a few bmps and the game.exe!

[Seanachai]

[ September 28, 2002, 01:46 PM: Message edited by: Seanachai ]

[Panzer Leader]

Originally posted by Seanachai:

[QB][/QB]

What did he say? WHAT DID HE SAY????

[Seanachai]

Originally posted by Seanachai:

[QB][/QB]

Whoa! That post went away big time when I tried to edit.

Interesting freeze up that time.

In any case, might this not make CDV somewhat nervous about seeming to 'get around' the restrictions of the German Software Review Board, bringing the whole arrangement under 'prepared to be irritated' scrutiny?

Also, I can't help but feel that providing a downloadable .exe of the game is just asking for massive pirating.

Although this does seem to get around some of the issues, I'm not sure that both BFC and CDV wouldn't have serious concerns about such a 'solution'.

[flamingknives]

No doubt BFC will be along in a minute, but in the meantime, here are some summaries of previous statements from them.

CDV did not 'decide' to cut the manual, this was forced on them by retailers insisting that the game came in a DVD box.

Just why is it that people feel that the ommission of a few pieces of Nazi iconography and names ruins the game? Please, someone explain this.

[Sirocco]

Originally posted by flamingknives:

CDV did not 'decide' to cut the manual, this was forced on them by retailers insisting that the game came in a DVD box.

I've seen games in DVD boxes in Virgin Megastore, and I've seen games in other packaging, so I don't think retailers "insist" on that. CDV made the decision to do it like that, which is fair enough as it's their decision to make.

[ParaBellum]

Flamingknives, well spoken. I'm currently playing a PBEM and am using the dreaded 'Waffengrenadiere'. Does it ruin the game for me?

No.

To tell the truth, I'm hardly noticing it. I really can't understand all the fuss about this topic. We are talking about two damn' letters in a game that is so huge I hardly scratched the surface in a week.

And BlackZed, I don't think BFC will offer a patch/a download for the US exe. Why? They have stated several times they wouldn't do it.

Must be something about 'contracts', 'laws', 'business' and that stuff.

[Schrullenhaft]

The CMBB executable for CDV is different from the CMBB executable for the BFC distributed version. As others have said that means that BFC would have to distribute the CDV executable which may be a violation of their agreement with CDV. Not to mention (as others have said) that making an officially available version that doesn't conform to German censorship standards could endanger CDV's distribution of CMBB (it only takes a couple of complaints to the appropriate authorities and the whole business deal could be endangered).

So, as far as I can fathom, you'll never see an uncensored version of the CDV executable while the distribution deal remains in place.

[Sirocco]

I would think someone will come up with a fix for the censorship, somehow, so it shouldn't be a huge problem, the problem is really with CDV's laid-back attitude to release dates. I just wish BFC had a clause in the contract to sell it mail order to European countries should CDV delay the release by, say, four weeks...

[Bruno Weiss]

We could invade Normandy again...

[jeffsmith]

OK as long as we can avoid going to France

[Onnel]

Then again, for those of us with the CDV version, it might be able to work if some friendly soul was simply to zip up the original .exe for a non-CDV version.

I'm not advocating piracy, but if we've already bought the game, it seems reasonable that we should be able to choose which .exe we'd like to use.

If anyone wants to volunteer to send it to me via email/ftp/http, I'd be glad to test whether the battlefront .exe works with the CDV version...

Onnel

[ September 28, 2002, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: Onnel ]

[Hertston]

The Waffen SS thing is an issue (it's not a huge one) because of the kind of game CMBB is. In something like Castle Wolfenstein or Battlefield 1942 nobody gives a toss, but CM is supposed to be a realistic wargame, not a kiddie shooter. In a realistic wargame you expect the unit names to be right, just as you expect place names to be right. It's the same sort of irritation you feel when, say, you have just finished a plastic model of a Spitfire to a very high standard after weeks of work on it, only to find that the decals it shipped with and you have applied were 1942 pattern rather than 1940 pattern....

I don't see how offering the original .exe file (and necessary data files) would encourage piracy.. it's useless without the other files. Why are Euros more likely to "pirate" than Americans ? - it's the same file. Several other software companies have done this when this sort of mess cropped up.

Regardless, I'm sure the US .exe will show up for download somewhere - I for one will feel no guilt at downloading and using it, "official" or not.

[DougieB]

Hi All

Regarding the US exe file of CMBB. Ipreviously posted on this subject. I have CDV Vers of CMBO and my son has US vers. We switched the files and attempted to load CMBO (CDV Vers) using the US exe file (No cd detected was the answer). I have to assume that CMBB would be the same. So therefore just substituting the US exe file for the CDV would not work .

Douglas (aka DougieB)

Belfast

NI UK

[Onnel]

But using a "cd-cracked" version of the .exe might work. Unfortunately, those are mostly used by pirates, but they have good uses for situations like this as well. My guess is that once a cd-cracked US .exe is released by the pirates, we'll be able to use it as well.

Piracy sucks, but in this case we can at least make use of the useful byproduct.

Onnel

[dd]

Originally posted by flamingknives:

[QB]

CDV did not 'decide' to cut the manual, this was forced on them by retailers insisting that the game came in a DVD box.

[QB]

Not true - there's an oversized DVD standard that accepts deeper documentation. UBi-Soft and other majors all use it. ITs still DVD sized just deeper... CVD's "excuse" is pure fluff.

[Doodlebug]

Originally posted by flamingknives:

Just why is it that people feel that the ommission of a few pieces of Nazi iconography and names ruins the game? Please, someone explain this.

Ruin is too strong a word. Since CMBO came along and set new standards we've all been awaiting the release of CMBB and the fresh standards that it in turn will set. We are all looking for a truly realistic game and I think that's why many players in Europe want the best they can get, in other words the unadulterated US version. I appreciate the domestic requirements of German legislation but living in the UK it doesn't apply here and I'm pretty annoyed that it's being imposed continent wide. Country specific release versions would maybe have been more appreciated and probably a good deal less contentious to the greater number of dedicated CM fans. The delays and other release date problems haven't helped but that's another isssue.

[Lou2000]

Originally posted by Schrullenhaft:

doesn't conform to German censorship standards could endanger CDV's distribution of CMBB.

There are a few issues raised by this thread ....

Just because im quoting him ... Im not having a go at Schrullenhaft here ... infact massive respect to him for all his input on the tech forum.

I dont need another .exe file to download ... when I first got CMBO I didnt even notice the difference until I saw it on this fourm ... I was too busy enjoying the game !

What bothers me is not the issue of 'Waffen' or 'SS' ... I really couldnt care. But it does annoy me that UK customers and those in the rest of Europe are being subject to German censorship rules.

If one country want to ban symbology associated with far right extremism then fine ..... I fully support their right to do so, However I'm not German, nor do I live in Germany and have no wish to succumb to German legislation !

They can produce a version with a German manual ... why not a sanitised, politically correct German version and let the rest of us get on with an historically accurate game.

On the subject of endangering CDV's distribution of CMBB .....well the less said about CDV the better ..... IMHO BFC shouldnt even consider CDV for any further releases :mad:

Lou2000