diff --git a/include/QF/sys.h b/include/QF/sys.h
index ede903389..c2a6cd30b 100644
--- a/include/QF/sys.h
+++ b/include/QF/sys.h
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ extern int sys_sleep;
 
 extern int developer;
 
-
+extern bool sys_quake_encoding;
 extern const char sys_char_map[256];
 
 typedef struct date_s {
diff --git a/libs/util/sys.c b/libs/util/sys.c
index 2ae275748..cc0dc45ff 100644
--- a/libs/util/sys.c
+++ b/libs/util/sys.c
@@ -164,6 +164,7 @@ bool        stdin_ready;
 #endif
 
 /* The translation table between the graphical font and plain ASCII  --KB */
+VISIBLE bool sys_quake_encoding;
 VISIBLE const char sys_char_map[256] = {
       0, '#', '#', '#', '#', '.', '#', '#',
 	'#',   9,  10, '#', ' ',  13, '.', '.',
@@ -200,9 +201,6 @@ VISIBLE const char sys_char_map[256] = {
 	'x', 'y', 'z', '{', '|', '}', '~', '<'
 };
 
-#define MAXPRINTMSG 4096
-
-
 #ifndef USE_INTEL_ASM
 void
 Sys_MaskFPUExceptions (void)
@@ -319,9 +317,13 @@ Sys_Print (FILE *stream, const char *fmt, va_list args)
 		fputs ("Fatal Error: ", stream);
 	}
 
-	/* translate to ASCII instead of printing [xx]  --KB */
-	for (p = (unsigned char *) sys_print_msg->str; *p; p++)
-		putc (sys_char_map[*p], stream);
+	if (sys_quake_encoding) {
+		/* translate to ASCII instead of printing [xx]  --KB */
+		for (p = (unsigned char *) sys_print_msg->str; *p; p++)
+			putc (sys_char_map[*p], stream);
+	} else {
+		fputs (sys_print_msg->str, stream);
+	}
 
 	if (stream == stderr) {
 		fputs ("\n", stream);
diff --git a/nq/source/host.c b/nq/source/host.c
index f155d2699..1ddbc04b3 100644
--- a/nq/source/host.c
+++ b/nq/source/host.c
@@ -904,6 +904,7 @@ Host_ExecConfig (cbuf_t *cbuf, int skip_quakerc)
 void
 Host_Init (void)
 {
+	sys_quake_encoding = true;
 	Sys_RegisterShutdown (Host_Shutdown, 0);
 	Sys_Printf ("Host_Init\n");
 
diff --git a/qw/source/cl_main.c b/qw/source/cl_main.c
index d5f8a049c..d1212bada 100644
--- a/qw/source/cl_main.c
+++ b/qw/source/cl_main.c
@@ -2052,6 +2052,7 @@ Host_Init (void)
 	cl_cbuf = Cbuf_New (&id_interp);
 	cl_stbuf = Cbuf_New (&id_interp);
 
+	sys_quake_encoding = true;
 	Sys_Init ();
 	GIB_Init (true);
 	GIB_Key_Init ();
diff --git a/qw/source/sv_main.c b/qw/source/sv_main.c
index 5b43bfbad..5753c094a 100644
--- a/qw/source/sv_main.c
+++ b/qw/source/sv_main.c
@@ -2663,6 +2663,7 @@ SV_Init (void)
 	sv_cbuf = Cbuf_New (&id_interp);
 	sv_args = Cbuf_ArgsNew ();
 
+	sys_quake_encoding = true;
 	Sys_RegisterShutdown (SV_Shutdown, 0);
 
 	Sys_Init ();
diff --git a/tools/qfcc/source/qfprogs.c b/tools/qfcc/source/qfprogs.c
index 3b8a62581..b9d9e2dbe 100644
--- a/tools/qfcc/source/qfprogs.c
+++ b/tools/qfcc/source/qfprogs.c
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ static const struct option long_options[] = {
 	{"modules", no_argument, 0, 'M'},
 	{"numeric", no_argument, 0, 'n'},
 	{"path", required_argument, 0, 'P'},
+	{"quake", no_argument, 0, 'Q'},
 	{"relocs", no_argument, 0, 'r'},
 	{"strings", no_argument, 0, 's'},
 	{"types", no_argument, 0, 't'},
@@ -119,6 +120,7 @@ static const char *short_options =
 	"M"		// modules
 	"n"		// numeric
 	"P:"	// path
+	"Q"		// quake
 	"r"		// relocs
 	"s"		// strings
 	"t"		// types
@@ -150,6 +152,7 @@ usage (int status)
 "    -M, --modules       Dump Objective-QuakeC data.\n"
 "    -n, --numeric       Sort globals by address.\n"
 "    -P, --path DIR      Source path.\n"
+"    -Q, --quake         Expect quake encoding instead of utf-8.\n"
 "    -r, --relocs        Dump reloc information.\n"
 "    -s, --strings       Dump static strings.\n"
 "    -t, --types         Dump type encodings.\n"
@@ -354,6 +357,9 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
 			case 'P':
 				source_path = strdup (optarg);
 				break;
+			case 'Q':
+				sys_quake_encoding = true;
+				break;
 			case 'r':
 				func = &operations[7];
 				break;