We have the grog, the eyepatches and all yet what this game of pirates needs are smoking pipes to complete the picture. It can be a cool prop and for those who don't like tobacco smoke can be a pipe that make colorful bubbles. Just to give an idea of how cool this will look on a pirate character just google up pirate pipe and you will have a better idea.
Pirate pipes
@galactic-geek If you use that logic it means that grog promotes alcohol drinking and I don't see how drinking is better than smoking (both time accurate activities for pirates)
@galactic-geek Really a non-argument here. I've said it before on these forums and ill say it again: Sea of thieves already has the teen esrb rating. Adding pipes wont raise the rating to 18+. The game already includes, according to esrb: crude humor, use of alcohol, violence.
If Rare didnt want to promote smoking, why would they want to "promote" drinking. They dont promote it because drinking doesnt give you any buffs. Smoking wouldn't either.
Rare is already hinting towards parlor games with some of the character cosmetics. Even if they added this (with the possibility of earning money through gambling!), this would fall under "simulated gambling" instead of gambling. Which means no real currency is used. This STILL falls under the teen rating of esrb.
Source sea of thieves rating:
ESRB Ratings | Entertainment Software Rating Board
Check ESRB ratings for video games and apps, including age ratings, content descriptors and interactive elements.
Source simulated gambling & teen rating conditions:
ESRB Ratings Guides, Categories, Content Descriptors
Use the ESRB video game ratings guide to understand how the rating system works and how to use it to select appropriate video games and apps for your family
@galactic-geek Actually, the smoking pipes are most likely going to be added to the game. There's quite a few concept arts of somking pipes in the official artbook
Plus I can remember that one of the devs (either Mike or Joe) tweeted that they will be added to the game. And given that Madam Olivia was smoking a very nice looking pipe during the end of Cursed Rouge tall tale we can assume that they are teasing us with upcoming type of cosmetics.
@crimsonraziel If that was the case then Madam Olivia wouldn't be smoking one during Cursed Rouge's conclusion.
@ardent-hallern No because there is no rule of all or nothing. It matters how often, how prominent and in which manner something is depicted and also whether the player can do it himself or not. In the end it's still judged by real people and therefore subject to opinion to some degree.
And in this specific case, can you imagine there could be a slight difference between a NPC smoking in a particular scene at the end of a particular quest which authorities most likely never saw and didn't even know about and a DLC with "Cigars & pipes for everyone" on its feature list?
Sidenote: They are teasing the banjo since release, so if we can draw parallels I wouldn't expect pipes before 2021.
@crimsonraziel Have you even checked the pegi guidelines?
Sea of thieves already has alcohol in it (pegi 16). Alcohol and tobacco are in the same tier.
@davidbarlow said in Pirate pipes:
@crimsonraziel Have you even checked the pegi guidelines?
Sea of thieves already has alcohol in it (pegi 16). Alcohol and tobacco are in the same tier.
Sea of Thieves is rated PEGI 12. That's a fact.
Microsoft Store UKI already explained that it does matter how often, how prominent and in which manner alcohol and/or smoking is depicted. And not every country treats alcohol the same as tobacco.
I fact you showed yourself why adding pipes could be an issue because it might be the detail that's necessary to push the rating towards PEGI 16. There might be a reason why publishers want to avoid that.
More instances of something may actually raise the rating. For example, drinking is okay, but drinking AND smoking? Maybe not. That said, I do like the arguments regarding the artbook and the NPC. My counter to those however is that a) there's a lot that's in the artbook that's not (yet) in the game, and b) there's a difference between an NPC being seen doing something and a player ACTIVELY doing it.
@crimsonraziel I know it's pegi 12. It doesnt matter what country you're in. Pegi = pegi. If you check my source and search for sea of thieves you see pegi 12. It's 12 overal. Not just your country. So why should Rare hesitate to add tobacco?
But let's assume your theory is correct for a second. This would mean Rare doesnt care about countries with stricter alcohol policies.
@galactic-geek said in Pirate pipes:
More instances of something may actually raise the rating. For example, drinking is okay, but drinking AND smoking? Maybe not. That said, I do like the arguments regarding the artbook and the NPC. My counter to those however is that a) there's a lot that's in the artbook that's not (yet) in the game, and b) there's a difference between an NPC being seen doing something and a player ACTIVELY doing it.
Not true at all. If a game has something that deserves x-rating, it get's that rating.
@davidbarlow said in Pirate pipes:
@galactic-geek said in Pirate pipes:
More instances of something may actually raise the rating. For example, drinking is okay, but drinking AND smoking? Maybe not. That said, I do like the arguments regarding the artbook and the NPC. My counter to those however is that a) there's a lot that's in the artbook that's not (yet) in the game, and b) there's a difference between an NPC being seen doing something and a player ACTIVELY doing it.
Not true at all. If a game has something that deserves x-rating, it get's that rating.
I have seen films with nudity that have varying ratings because some openly show a woman, but those that show a man openly usually get much higher ratings. Why do you think that is? I can't imagine it's much more different than that in regards to video games.
@Crimsonraziel is right - no matter what, it's inherently biased 'cause it's censorship.
@davidbarlow said in Pirate pipes:
@crimsonraziel I know it's pegi 12. It doesnt matter what country you're in. Pegi = pegi. If you check my source and search for sea of thieves you see pegi 12. It's 12 overal. Not just your country. So why should Rare hesitate to add tobacco?
How often do I need to repeat myself, alcohol and tobacco is not an all or nothing topic. There are PEGI 7 games with people drinking wine. Obviously there must be a line when it becomes too much, too explicit, too frequent or what ever and the games get into the next higher category. SoT, again obviously, hasn't crossed that line for PEGI 12. Adding more of this might change that and publisher might want to avoid PEGI 16 because 14-year-olds could be part of the target audience. Is it clear enough this time?
And of course there is only one PEGI rating. What I unsuccessfully tried to point out is that different nations have different rating criteria and labels which may lead to different age ratings. There is more than just ESRB and PEGI. Yes, those ratings usually tend to be in the same ball park but that's not always the case.
Just for example two games with the same ESRB rating: SoT and Apex Legends
Sea of Thieves: ESRB:T | PEGI 12 | USK 12
Apex Legends: ESRB:T | PEGI 16 | USK 18(USK is the German rating)
But let's assume your theory is correct for a second. This would mean Rare doesnt care about countries with stricter alcohol policies.
Nope, that conclusion doesn't automatically follow.
@crimsonraziel I never heard anyone to get arrested because he/she was under the influence of tobacco. Something to think about in your own.
@crimsonraziel In Germany kids can't purchase toy guns since WWII. Would you say on the same argument RARE is pushing it with all this shooting and sword slicing?!
@jack3ast RP? Hello! Is a fantasy world of pirates, most of the settings that creates the atmosphere is cosmetics. From that point of view you should get rid of all different skins of clothing etc as "they are just for RP"
@m3tal-daz3 sagte in Pirate pipes:
@crimsonraziel In Germany kids can't purchase toy guns since WWII. Would you say on the same argument RARE is pushing it with all this shooting and sword slicing?!
What?
Never heard of...
Kids can buy toy guns here, i am a singleparent of an 13 yo.Greetings from Germany :-)
@jack3ast sagte in Pirate pipes:
Imitate thought was; no way this will never happen due to policies. but then there is the alcohol...
I guess it could happend. I'm not too excited for it though, another cosmetic without other function than RP?I think RP is an important factor of the social experience you should have.
People rp'ing aproach it far more playful and less serious and eSportive.
I read some of the RPG book Rare is going to release and their vision of how we play the RPG and SoT is idealistic, but a great vision.
Unfortunately many gamers dont behave like this and take it all too serious, too competetive, too much performanced focussed instead of fun orientated, too busy progressing than to relax and having fun in the first line.@bugaboo-bill Regarding German law on toy guns:
Airsoft guns under 0.5 joules are deemed to be toy guns and can be used by all people above the age of 14. Some shops do still require a legal guardian to be in attendance and give permission when buying a <0.5 joule airsoft gun, however most shops sell these toy guns to anybody above the age of 14. In addition, they must not be worn in public as they can be authentic looking weapons. If the muzzle energy is between 0.5 and 7.5 joules, Airsoft guns are no longer seen as toy guns. In that case, they are treated as air rifles, the minimum age for purchasing and / or using an airsoft gun is 18 years.
@jack3ast Calm down, with your pill dispersing attitude you can get in trouble. Say what you mean next time.
@closinghare208 How about grog? Not just in mugs but in barrels of seemingly infinite supply, shouldn't that change the rating?
@archangel-timmy Would you say as disgusting as drinking and puking? Or as disgusting as firing cannons upon people?
@m3tal-daz3 Aside from the Grog, those are in completely different categories and not comparable.
Nobody is going to look at the puking and decide it will be a good idea to run around vomiting into a bucket and throw it at somebody.
Nobody is going to find or build a cannon and indiscriminately fire it at people.
Grog is already in the game, and I am not going to argue for its removal. Would be a different story if it were an addition people wanted. Given that, I will argue against the addition of smoking.
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