chinese crackdown on Civ4??

[kazapp]

When I updated I got three errors (when starting up the game).

Turns out the xml files contain
CHINESE_LEADER instead of MAO_ZEDONG,
BUILDING_GREAT_PALACE instead of BUILDING_FORBIDDEN_PALACE,
and
BUILDING_GREAT_DAM instead of BUILDING_THREEGORGESDAM.

If I search'n'replace every instance of CHINESE_LEADER with MAO_ZEDONG etc. the game loads without a hitch.

I did update even though I knew I had modded the original xml files, kind of hoping the patch would simply overwrite rather than edit the files. But I still kind of expected that the patch would fail.

But I didn't expect it to work - but with some sort of chinese censorship built in!

What's with this? I can't believe my patch fails only for these three cases - all chinese... What's the political message here?

 

[kazapp]

*bump*

/Kazapp

 

[MrCynical]

What's with this? I can't believe my patch fails only for these three cases - all chinese... What's the political message here?

I would guess that Firaxis would like to be able to sell the game to the Chinese market, and so has edited out anything that won't go through the censors. Unfortunatly this seems to mean that they have to alter everyone's games, not just the Chinese version, so that the XML is compatible. I doubt multiplayer would work properly if one player had a Chinese version otherwise.

This isn't a decision I approve of on either political or practical grounds. I don't like to see pandering to censorship, and as has been clear on the forums, this change has been the cause of a number of technical problems.

 

[Depravo]

The PRC also banned Hearts of Iron I and in all likelihood II also because of their politically incorrect treatment of China. Apparently merely having the KMT and warlords in charge of most of China and representing Manchukuo and Tibet as independent states was enough. Ridiculous, yet scary.