Q: I want to purchase the game at Stardock and download immediately but I still want the box. Can I do this?

A: YES. If you purchase the second option (CD purchase) you still get a serial # to download the game. That serial # is temporary (i.e. will expire) but will let you play the game until the box arrives.

Q: If I bought the game for download only, can I still get the box/CD later?

A: Yes. Just requires shipping and handling.

Q: If I pre-order at

A: In North America, as far as we know, ALL pre-orders are being fulfilled with the Collector's Edition. Walmart, EB, and Gamestop explicitly mention it on their sites for instance.

Bear in mind: We don't control retail.  So here's some help on knowing which the store is getting you:

Collector's Edition SKU:
708192010332

Standard Edition SKU:  
708192010325

That said if you pre-order the game at reatil and they still get you the standard edition, Stardock will do what it can to help you out by getting you access to the additional content (because we know which serial #s were in the first batch to go to retail and can use that to give access to players in a pinch).  So if a store messes up, please avoid returning it. It's not easy for indies to get into retail to begin with, so if a bunch of people start returning the game, the store isn't going to think it's because they messed up but because it's a bad game.

The best route is to keep an eye on the SKU. Many stores are taking pre-orders but are using the regular SKU.  Like I said, we will make sure you get the extra downloadable goodies. 

Q: If I buy it at retail can I still download the entire game directly?

A: YES. Using Stardock Central you can enter in your retail serial # regardles of where you bought it and download the full game.

Q: I heard the retail boxed version has no copy protection. Is this true?

A: Yes. The retail version has no copy protection whatesover. You don't even have to enter in the serial # if you don't want during the install (people lose serial #'s anyway). You will need the serial # to get updates however.

Q: I don't want to use Stardock Central to get updates. Do I have to use it?

A: NO. You will also be able to get updates via the website using the traditional "patch" method other games use. You will still need your serial # though.

Q: I live in Europe, how do I get the game?

A: Our friends at Paradox are handling GalCiv II in Europe. They will be mirroring our release and have a collector's edition box and have the same sorts of goodies in there we think (should talk to Paradox for specifics).  Users who purchase in Europe can also still use Stardock Central to download updates.

Q: What about Australia/New Zealand?

A: Auran is handling it down under.

Q: What about foreign language support?

A: Paradox is in the process of translating files now.  We will also be putting up our translation kit here so people can translate it however they want.

Q: Do I have to pre-order to get the collector's edition?

A: Somewhat.  Direct CD orders will be fulfilled with the collector's edition until we run out of stock which should last for a couple months at least.

Q: Should I buy at retail or direct from you? Which is best for you guys?

A: Whatever is best for you, the customer is best for us.