VN Ren'Py Summer's Gone [S1 Steam + DLC] [Oceanlab]

[BobTheDuck]

I'm back for this confusing Topic.
It's about the description a Game gets - not alone the USK Rating in Germany.
I tried to get Leap of Faith back in last Year as I started my journey in VNs... and because I liked it that much I tried to buy it on Steam (And also GOG - as Drifty announced it's release in February on these Platforms)
I can't even open the Games Pages on these Platforms and they are not "shown listed" in Germany.
I can search on Google and all I get is and error Page on Steam for LoF (GOG doesn't show anything related to LoF)
Under the search-result on Google I can read:

"This game is intended for adults only and contains visual representations of sexual content in form of images and animations (vaginal, anal and oral sexual acts)..."

So to clear things up a bit... it's not the Game itself that gets "Banned" - it's the kind of content it is been listed as.
In Germany a Page that want's to sell " sexual Adult Content" of any kind need to have a proper Age-Verification System - not just a Check-Box saying "I'm over 18" or "I'm of legal Age". But as Steam (and also Valve) doesn't offer this "official" kind of Verification System (By checking the Passport or any other Legal Document as proof) - they are not allowed to sell these Games - hence no VN's in Germany from Valve/Steam... and most the Time also not from GOG.
So it's not just the USK Rating... it's the "sex" in a Game.
I hope that clears it up a bit more for you Guys here

I've just been browsing steam, not logged in via a VPN.

The weird thing is, there are plenty of games with sexual content that are USK 18 that only require the checkbox to view. And comparitively, they have more actual sexual content in those than SG has right now.

So I'm going to assume that once Ocean does the checkbox, they will rate it and it might actually be available. The fact I can access the game on Epic via a German IP address would mean steam is losing tothe competition there, especially as they rate it the same way.

It seems to me haphazard the way they've implemented things. Some USK 18 games with sexual content didn't even have an age checkbox (I wasn't logged in, so just browsing) and I did searck for some of the popular AVN's here, which doesn't show, so it was definitely a german IP.

 

[WolverineCTX]

I've just been browsing steam, not logged in via a VPN.

The weird thing is, there are plenty of games with sexual content that are USK 18 that only require the checkbox to view (the Witcher, Cyberpunk). And comparitively, they have more actual sexual content in those than SG has right now.

So I'm going to assume that once Ocean does the checkbox, they will rate it and it might actually be available. The fact I can access the game on Epic via a German IP address would mean steam is losing tothe competition there, especially as they rate it the same way.

It seems to me haphazard the way they've implemented things. Some USK 18 games with sexual content didn't even have an age checkbox (I wasn't logged in, so just browsing) and I did searck for BADIK, which doesn't show, so it was definitely a german IP.

Yes, I seen your example about

You must be registered to see the links

and it says:
Mature Content Description
The developers describe the content like this:

Blood and gore
Sexual themes
Use of alcohol
Violence

-----
So it might be a thing on "how" it is described on Steam - here it says just "Sexual themes" - that might be enough to "convince" the German Authorities that it's not "that bad" for us Germans to buy on Steam - LOL
As said - I have tried multiple other VNs to get over on Steam... the don't show up at all
Here the LoF Steam Page for me as German:


It can well be that depending on what Ocean has to set the Game up with, that it'll show for us - but most likely it will not as so many others of this Genre of VNs - I don't have much hope for it on Steam anyways - LOL

 

[AlexFXR]

General rules of Steam, where the percentage of nudity is required by a certain tag.

Can you tell me what percentage is needed to block? I searched everywhere, but didn't find this rule.

 

[Don Sucio]

So, Nami's going to be decent and wear her bra?

I hope not At least on Patreon version, that´s where i´m going to buy it.

So, i just finished to read around 6 pages in the thread and the resume is basically that SG will be 18+ in the end, what a shame ,not for me, for poor Ocean, so hard work and time waiting and now even all the changes he has done can´t get the game a 16+...
Is sad because we would had the game weeks ago and without so much censorship, but well, it is what it is and we are closeee now

View attachment 3579791

This #2 Charlie Simp has his own priorities

8 year olds shouldn't be allowed to buy anything other than food to start with.

For me 8 years old shouldn´t buy even food, i mean, parents should do that

 

[Dessolos]

I hope not At least on Patreon version, that´s where i´m going to buy it.

So, i just finished to read around 6 pages in the thread and the resume is basically that SG will be 18+ in the end, what a shame ,not for me, for poor Ocean, so hard work and time waiting and now even all the changes he has done can´t get the game a 16+...
Is sad because we would had the game weeks ago and without so much censorship, but well, it is what it is and we are closeee now

Did I miss understand I thought I read a post back some pages that it was still 16+ expect for certain countries like Germany.

 

[jllkfsdj]

I'm pretty sure this parent would help his son finish the game if he buy a bloody horror FPS... And after they finish it, they sue Steam... What message is that? You can end how many lives you desire but how to create life is taboo?!

Welcome to western stupidity and double standards where action/horror movies with shooting and killing (even explicit scenes) are broadcast all day, but movies with a nipple revealed are delegated to past-midnight time slots and discretion warnings, lmao. No wonder birth rates are falling across Europe and US.

 

[Hahn1900]

So this is what i know...

The game is rated 16+ for now... but Ocean assumes that the rating might get up to 18+ overall because of the "frequent nudity" content. Overall that doesnt matter that much anymore, cause the goal was to get it out global with 16+ that was out of the window anyways already.

No Steam-Release in Germany.

Epic and GoG will have it released in Germany as it looks now... the rating is still 16+ but as i said, Ocean thinks that will go up but that is not for sure... but again, doesnt really matter that much anymore cause his ultimate goal is missed anyway.

Its likely that the Steam release can happen next week cause there isnt really something left holding that back, Steam has just to give the thumbs up now. Steam release is still Number 1 priority cause there are the most customers in reach. Epic and Gog will follow suit.

The uncut Patreon/Subscribestar Season 1 release will be a little later. Of course Oceans interest to sell as many copies as possible in the lets say first 2 weeks is reasonable and thats the reason why the Patreon/SS release has to wait. Nothing to complain here, would Ocean deal with this different he would shoot himself in the foot, people who cant understand that... well, cant help them.

After all this is done... The Season 2 chapter releases will just go on like before, each chapter will be released at patreon and subscribestar until the last chapter of the season is done. Than Ocean has to decide if he wants to release Season 2 on Steam/Epic/GoG, it would be a surprise if not of course... this time the whole jumping through hoops for a rating will not happen though, cause it will be rated 18+ anyways. Season 2 will have lewd content no matter what.

Ocean confirmed nothing yet... but if you ask me, 2-3 weeks after the Steam release the patreon/SS release will happen, not much later... so end of may or first week june for Patreon and SS, but that is just a guess, but a reasonable guess.

I dont have interest in the 16+ version... i want the full package, even if the changes only mean a handful of renders. Iam a sub at patreon anyways, so i wait for it... and its cheaper too.

 

[Maviarab]

and its cheaper too.

Won't be once released on Steam. Part of the Steam contract, it cannot be sold or distrubuted anywhere cheaper than it is on Steam.

Minimum subscriber tier on Patreon/Subscribestar to get the VN will become the same price as Steam/GoG/Epic.

 

[Don Sucio]

Won't be once released on Steam. Part of the Steam contract, it cannot be sold or distrubuted anywhere cheaper than it is on Steam.

Minimum subscriber tier on Patreon/Subscribestar to get the VN will become the same price as Steam/GoG/Epic.

So, if i buy a patreon membership now, when the game release i won´t need to pay more? Like if i get now the 5$ tier then i will have the game for that price, or i will be forced to pay the Steam price? (I´m going to buy it anyway but just asking)
Just a doubt, could be a trick

 

[Hahn1900]

So, if i buy a patreon membership now, when the game release i won´t need to pay more? Like if i get now the 5$ tier then i will have the game for that price, or i will be forced to pay the Steam price? (I´m going to buy it anyway but just asking)
Just a doubt, could be a trick

with the 5$ you will get the chapter 5 on patreon. for 15$ you will get WiaB and SG on subscribestar.

for 15$-20$ youll get the whole Season 1 SG on Steam or wherever.

And no you will not have to pay again via patreon or SS.

What Maviarab said is just not true (there are tons of examples of games where that is just not the case... lets just take a look at one popular one like being a dik... 5$ and you have access to the newest episode, on steam you can buy season 1 and 2 for a price way above that). And there is a difference paying for a whole season or making a monthly subscription for updates.

 

[Old Man Al]

View attachment 3580804
It was an example Age on how useless these current Age Check Systems in place on Steam and some other Sellers are... even an 8 Year old could just go and buy things not appropriate for there real Age... just by clicking "Yes, I'm of legal Age" or "Yes, I'm 18 Years or older" - like so many Pages just ask you.

Well I don't know how other countries handle it, but in Germany only 18 years and older are "fully capable of doing business". You can from the age of 7+ buy stuff worth "pocket money", but especially buying something online "parents must consent" or "consent after the deal" meaning you could always go to court if someone just sells your kid stuff more worth than pocket money. On the other hand it is the parents job to keep an eye on what their kids are doing online.

But enough off-topic.

 

[Neio69]

Just when the girl's wants to get laid. The guy can't even get his dick up

 

[Deleted member 6168082]

Then will nothing change, Ocean can still make a living out of the income Patreon/SS generates.

Steam is more or less a tool to get a nice money pillow for additionally safety in the short term, and in the long term to pull more audience to Patreon/SS.

We have to consider that the game is a one time sale, then Ocean again relies on the income from Patreon/SS. To be fully independent from Patreon/SS, well more from that moronic Patreon, is a hard peace of work.

So, he's just using Steam/Steam users as tools... and piggy banks, of course. Doesn't give a fuck about the users but only about their money, is what you are saying, right? why would anyone want to support that? get a censored/edited w/e version of Season 1 and that's all they get?

Oh, if they want the original untouched version of Season 1 + Season 2 and beyond, become a Patreon/SS!

 

[imzahai]

Just when the girl's wants to get laid. The guy can't even get his dick up

um yeah, its said from the beginning of the story he has ISSUES...
why would anyone care if he is emo/whinny/angry in an AVN if he is getting some?

 

[John972]

To summarize... it is what it is. I was sceptical if it would even be worth a try, but ocean wanted it so bad... he tried, jumped a lot of hoops for it... but to no avail... Its kind of a huge blow for him, it is obvious to see when you read his reactions to this in the discord.

Everybody has just to swallow it... no SG on steam, thats it, even with a 18+ rating it will not show up on steam in germany.

I am so far removed from all of this that I struggle to comprehend the reason why a German release is so, so important to Ocean from a purely business POV (as opposed to a personal or sentimental POV).

I have no information about the metrics of the German game market relative to, say, the rest of Europe (let alone the rest of the world), so I can't see why the loss of the German market would be so disastrous overall.

Are there potential German business subsidies or tax breaks at play here?

PS - This post is a ripe target for know-it-all, achieve-nothing Ocean haters to reply with low-rent, low-effort barbs at Ocean. I will happily block every user who replies with no clear intent to respond like an adult and add knowledge to the debate, or who makes potentially slanderous remarks. To any low-rent replies, I will say in advance to those users: " From your mouth to God's ears..."

 

[dluser]

PS - " From your mouth to God's ears..."

 

[Hahn1900]

I am so far removed from all of this that I struggle to comprehend the reason why a German release is so, so important to Ocean from a purely business POV (as opposed to a personal or sentimental POV).

I have no information about the metrics of the German game market relative to, say, the rest of Europe (let alone the rest of the world), so I can't see why the loss of the German market would be so disastrous overall.

Are there potential German business subsidies or tax breaks at play here?

PS - This post is a ripe target for know-it-all, achieve-nothing Ocean haters to reply with low-rent, low-effort barbs at Ocean. I will happily block every user who replies with no clear intent to respond like an adult or who makes potentially slanderous remarks.

The most obvious reason ever... Ocean is german and lives in germany. No better reason to try a release in germany right?

But you are missing something here... its not about a german release only, we are talking about GLOBAL release. Most AVNs around here with a steam release arent released global. And it would make a huge difference if SG is available global with a 16+ rating instead of 18+

And just a small look around the discord gives a little idea that Ocean has gathered a fairly large fellowship from german players already... so yeah selling SG to german people is kind of a big deal in this case.

*edit* oh yeah and i forgot mention... there will be a german version too. And just to clarify that... for many many many german players its kind of essential that a game is available in german language. I dont have a problem with english versions at all. But you wouldnt believe how much heat Rockstar gets for the fact that there is no german audio language in their games like GTA and RDR and so on... And i have to say, we germans a kinda spoiled with german-synchronisation for movies and games. No other country makes so much effort in that regard.

So many german players look for games on steam with german language, if the games dont provide german language it is for many people here a no go... so releasing a german AVN in germany could be a door opener too...

Well yeah, enough of that, there are plenty of good reasons for Ocean to go for a german release and to be really upset about it that its not gonna happen.

 

[John972]

The most obvious reason ever... Ocean is german and lives in germany. No better reason to try a release in germany right?

But you are missing something here... its not about a german release only, we are talking about GLOBAL release. Most AVNs around here with a steam release arent released global. And it would make a huge difference if SG is available global with a 16+ rating instead of 18+

And just a small look around the discord gives a little idea that Ocean has gathered a fairly large fellowship from german players already... so yeah selling SG to german people is kind of a big deal in this case.

Thank you for adding perspective. To be honest, in the age of machine translation, it's hard to gauge the nationality of users/fans/players, unless they say something to give that information away.

I certainly generally understand the GLOBAL implications of the rating (16+ versus 18+) - more reach, without knowing which countries would be affected by the higher rating (SG shows up on Steam in my country, regardless of the rating). In any event, what would be the point of gaining a sizeable Steam following with a 16+ game if subsequent seasons are unavailable to those players because of an 18+ rating? EDIT: this would obviously affect a German-language edition aimed solely at the German market.

PS - I see the block feature is still working as advertised : )

 

[Hahn1900]

Thank you for adding perspective. To be honest, in the age of machine translation, it's hard to gauge the nationality of users/fans/players, unless they say something to give that information away.

I certainly generally understand the GLOBAL implications of the rating (16+ versus 18+) - more reach, without knowing which countries would be affected by the higher rating (SG shows up on Steam in my country, regardless of the rating). In any event, what would be the point of gaining a sizeable Steam following with a 16+ game if subsequent seasons are unavailable to those players because of an 18+ rating?

That is quite obvious too. Lets say... you buy a game on steam, play it, liked it... but its released in episodes. Just like Summers Gone. to continue you need the next episode. but the next episode will NOT be released on steam. Only a complete season. So... ingame there is the big huge patreon/subscribestar button. What will you do? Take a look. And than you might get hooked. Many AVNs skyrocketed after they got released on steam... many customers subscribed on Patreon. Which is a way better income for the DEVs cause it comes monthly, not only once.

Patreon or Subscribestar are available anywhere in the world. They dont have the same restrictions like steam.

Someone said Steam is more like a "tool" to get things running. And that is true. Initially ocean might get a nice little income boost selling the Season 1 there, but the main-income will be Patreon/Subscribestar in the longer run. So Steam/Epic/Gog is like a fishnet in the sea... and with a lower rating the fishnet becomes larger, so more fish, and the more fish he can catch, the more of the fish will go to Patreon/Subscribestar cause they want to play the next episode and dont want to wait until the next season is complete.

*edit* oh yeah and once you are at patreon/SS... the rating doesnt matter anymore. On top of that, the patreon/SS version is uncensored while the steam version will be changed just a tiny little bit. So another reason for many to just go to Patreon/SS too if they just learned about the game via steam...

 

[BobTheDuck]

Thank you for adding perspective. To be honest, in the age of machine translation, it's hard to gauge the nationality of users/fans/players, unless they say something to give that information away.

I certainly generally understand the GLOBAL implications of the rating (16+ versus 18+) - more reach, without knowing which countries would be affected by the higher rating (SG shows up on Steam in my country, regardless of the rating). In any event, what would be the point of gaining a sizeable Steam following with a 16+ game if subsequent seasons are unavailable to those players because of an 18+ rating?

Being completely honest, anyone 16+ who gets season one will be 18 by the time a full season 2 is released. So no issue for the next release. If people have to wait to be old enough to play season 2 in 2 years time, that's the same as waiting to play some 18+ CDprojecktred release (or not).

The issues with 18+ are pretty unclear. I can access plenty of USK 18+ pages from a German IP without being signed in or submitting an age check, but any AVN with DAZ models is shadow banned. I almost feel steam have identified the engine as synonymous with porn ...and for the most part they're not wrong.

THe thing that really irks me is that if it retains a 16+ rating even with the frequent sexual content tag, but still gets shadow banned, it's very clear that Steam are not following the ratings system. That would also put them at risk of some form of lawsuit, or class action surely? THe fact that large studios put out 18+ games in Germany that aren't shadow banned says a lot, but considering they can still advertise if there is no 18+ content in the advertising, I can see how they get around that. Ocean could consider re-rendering Sonya's (?) semi nude from the intro cinematic, I think that the only thing that might trigger 16+ on the store page.

I think the rating isn't as important as steam's efforts to shadow ban regionally, considering they don't restrict USK 18 behind account walls/shadowbans. Think of the first season as the best way Ocean can build awareness in the non adult gaming community.

THe other issue is to prevent the rating from voiding the music contracts. That's something that could cause the rights holders to issue takedown notices. Season 2 will have separate contracts to Season 1, so S2 definitely being 18+ doesn't affect the licenses for S1.

The other thing is until it's got it's rating stamp, because it's triggered 16+ concerns, it has to be treated as shadowbanned until it's been resolved. So once steam opens for business on Monday, if SG retains 16+, I imagine they'll attach the rating to the page and set the permissions then, but while the game is unverified but flagged as a potential problem, it'll be hidden.

At least that's how I'm reading the situation.