Need some help from German-speakers

[spelunking]

I hope it's not a problem I'm speaking English, but I need help from people who can read German and what better place to find them?

What I am looking for is a reputable source (i.e. not forum posts or a blog) that confirms what is said here: that the German version of The Orange Box has a low violence mode. Specifically, I am looking to confirm:

• German edition Team Fortress 2 has no blood

• German edition Team Fortress 2 substitutes gibs (exploded guts) with humourous things like coils, hamburgers, rubber duckies, etc. (i.e. so that when you blow someone up, instead of bones and matter flying everywhere, you get hamburgers and coils and things like that flying everywhere.)

• German Edition Half Life 2: Episode Two has opponents disappearing/fading away after they've been killed rather than the bodies staying in place.

• Any details mentioned about the Low Violence mode and that it is employed in the German version.

It's difficult for me because English-language sites don't carry this info and to look through German reviews and previews for confirmation because I don't know what sites are popular and running the German-language articles through automatic translators is onerous and it doesn't always make sense when it comes out. I started with www.gamezone.de and found this passage: "der BD befindet sich die geschnittene deutsche Version" and don't understand. Also, it has a longer review that may mention something about the dead bodies fading away in Episode Two.

So, if you could look at your favourite, popular German video game sites for previews and reviews or news about "The Orange Box" or "Team Fortress 2" (they might list it separately but it was included in "The Orange Box") and see if they say stuff confirming those things in their (p)reviews or news updates, I would be eternally grateful. Thanks!

[GoranAgar]

Editing violent games has a long tradition in Germany. You can probably compare it to the nipple phobia in the US.

There is a website for exactly this sort of censorship and they have a short article about the Orange Box.

http://www.schnittberichte.com/schni...ht.php?ID=4539
http://www.onlinegamesdatenbank.de/i...e&gameid=18145

-Blutspritzer wurden durch reduzierte schwarze Spritzer und Funken ersetzt.
- Einschusswunden werden nicht mehr als Blutfleck, sondern als Dellen und Beulen dargestellt.
- Statt Körperteile fliegen bei Granatenbeschuss Federn, Zahnräder, Hamburger, Quietsche-Entchen etc. durch die Gegend.
- Diese Gibs hinterlassen in der zensierten Version keine (Blut)kleckse mehr an Wänden und am Boden.

Which roughly translates into:

-blood spatter has been reduced and colored grey/black
-entry wounds are no longer blood stains but dents and bulges
-Instead of body parts after a grenade attack you have feathers, hamburger, rubber ducks and cog wheels flying around
-The "Gibs" (haven't actually played the game, so I have no clue what that is) no longer leave blood stains on walls and floors.

I hope this helps.

[spelunking]

Absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much, GoranAgar. That is perfect—exactly what I was looking for, plus a ton of picture documentation! And thank you for the translation of the second site.

If someone has the time, I would very much appreciate a translation of the text from the first site. Here is the text:

Blutspritzer
Die hellroten beziehungsweise fast orangefarbenen Blutspritzer, die zu sehen sind wenn Gegner mit Schusswaffen verletzt werden, sind in der deutschen Version durch Funken und schwarze Spritzer ersetzt worden. Dieser schwarze Ersatz ist in der Menge deutlich reduziert im Gegensatz zu den schwallartigen Bluteffekten, die man in der unzensierten Version zu sehen bekommt.

Schadenstexturen
Schüsse hinterlassen in der US-Version bei noch lebendigen Gegnern eine Bluttextur an der getroffenen Stelle. Ist der Spieler bereits tot, lassen sich keine weiteren Flecken mehr erzeugen. In der deutschen Version verformt sich nach einem Treffer die Haut an dieser Stelle zu einer Delle, so als wäre die Spielfigur aus Metall.


Blutkleckse
Wird eine Spielfigur vor einer Wand stehend getroffen, so bildet sich nur in der unzensierten Version hinter ihr ein Blutklecks an der Wand. Die Oberflächen bleiben bei der zensierten Variante stets sauber.

Wenn Gegner zum Zerplatzen gebracht werden, hinterlassen die Körperteile beim Abprallen von Wänden, beziehungsweise beim Auftreffen auf dem Boden teilweise große Mengen an Blutklecksen, vor allem wenn sie noch eine Zeitlang die schrägen Wege hinunter kullern. Diese Kleckse verschwinden erst nach einigen Minuten. Die Level der deutschen Fassung bleiben stets unbefleckt.

Splattereffekte
Wenn ein Gegner beispielsweise mit einem Granaten- oder Raketenwerfer zum Zerplatzen gebracht wird, so sieht man in der zensierten Version keine Körperteile begleitet von Bluteffekten durch die Luft fliegen. Der Kopf, die Arme, Hände, Beine, Ober- und Unterkörper und teilweise unidentifizierbare Bröckchen wurden durch 14 verschiedene Gegenstände ausgetauscht: Hamburger, Klappergebiss zum Aufziehen, gelbe Gummiente, Wecker, Metallfeder, Fischskelett, eine Art Deckel, Nummernschild, Schraube, Zahnrad, Hund geformt aus einem Luftballon, Einrad, Schuh, Spinatdose. In beiden Versionen verschwinden diese Überreste nach ca. 9 Sekunden.

Jeder der 9 spielbaren Charaktere zerfällt immer auf die gleiche, jedoch individuelle Weise. So sind beispielsweise beim Zerplatzen des Heavy in der zensierten Version grundsätzlich 9 Hamburger, jedoch nie ein Nummernschild zu sehen. Wird ein Spielfigur getroffen, sind für einen Bruchteil einer Sekunde die einzelnen Gibs erkennbar und erst dann folgt eine Explosion, die diese Überreste im hohen Bogen durch die Luft schleudert. Es folgt also nun erst ein Bild der intakten Spielfigur, dann der Zustand des Zerfallens und die anschließende Explosion, um ungefähr zu dokumentieren welcher Körperteil durch welchen Gegenstand ersetzt wurde. Da die Zahnräder, Hamburger etc. immer identisch aussehen, werden sie jetzt nur aufgezählt, die unzensierten Körperteile der Spielfigur folgen in 6 Bildern.

Additionally, can I get translations of these words/phrases:
• Dose Spinat (a can of spinach??)
• Klappergebiss (is this dentures/false teeth?)
• Deckel

And here, it's basically saying that red blood is greyed (except for blood already on the character) and all enemies killed fade away, right?
Thanks so much.

[Cochrane]

The bodies in Episode 2 do vanish, first of all. I wasn't aware that this was a german-only thing, to be honest.

Now, translations:

Blood splatter
The ligth red or orange blood splatters that were visible when opponents were injured with firearms, have been replaced by sparks and black splatter in the german version. This black replacement is very reduced in amounts compared to the high amount of blood effect in the uncensored version.

Damage textures
In the US-version shots at still alive opponents leave a blood texture at the hit point. If the player is already dead it is not possible to create additional stains. In the german version the skin bends to a small dent, as if the player character was made out of metal.

Blood stains
When a player character standing in front of a wall is hit, in the uncensored version a blood stain appears on the wall behind it. The surfaces of the censored version stay clean all the time.

When opponents blow up, the body parts leave huge amounts of blood when hitting the ground or bouncing off walls, especially if they roll down a gradient. Those stains disappear only after a few minutes. The levels of the german version stay clean all the time.

Splatter effects
When an opponent is brought to explosion with a grenade- or rocket launcher, one does not see any body parts accompanied by blood flying in the censored version. The head, arms, legs, torso parts and partly small parts that cannot be identified are replaced by 14 distinct objects: Hamburger, fake set of teeth, yellow rubber duck, alarm clock, metal coil, fish skeleton, some sort of lid, license plate, screw, cog wheel, dog formed out of balloons, monocycle, shoe, spinach can. In both versions these remains disappear after about 9 seconds.

Each of the 9 playable characters dissolves in the same but individual manner. For example, when a Heavy explodes one will always see nine hamburgers but never a license plate. When a player character is hit, a for a fraction of a second the individual gibs are visible and only then does the explosion follow which throws these remains in a high arc. What follows is first an image of a player character, then the state of dissolving, and the final explosion to document what body part were replaced by what object. As the cog wheel, hamburger etc. always look the same, they will only be enumerated, the uncensored body parts of the player character follow in six images.


The word translations:
Dose Spinat = can of spinach, exactly.
Klappergebiss = I translated it as fake set of teeth, but there's got to be something better. What is meant is a joke set of teeth that can be wound up and will shake a lot.
Deckel = Lid or cap.

[GoranAgar]

Originally Posted by spelunking

And here, it's basically saying that red blood is greyed (except for blood already on the character) and all enemies killed fade away, right?
Thanks so much.[/COLOR]

Yes it is saying that the blood is greyed and the bodies fade away.

[spelunking]

Thank you so much, you two. That was a very professional translation, Cochrane. And I honestly did not expect such a quick response. You guys have been so helpful and I cannot say thank you enough times!

What is meant is a joke set of teeth that can be wound up and will shake a lot.

Ah! What we call that is wind-up chattering teeth.

As for can of spinach... I have never seen such a product in my grocery store. How can you keep spinach in a can? It will rot!

[GoranAgar]

It comes in cans:



BTW, where are you making fun of us Germans now?

[krycekuva]

i actually have a few game, like mortal kombat shaolin monks where each and every single fatality is censured by a black screen,.. and when sub zero takes the skull out of that warrior at the beginning, the whole skull is pixelated...