No internet=no play

from GalCiv2 Forums
I bought the game via digital download and everything is fine, this post isn't about me so bear with me a sec.

A friend of mine bought the European box but has no internet connection, which means that I download the patch for him and stick it on a disc. When he installs it however the dreaded activation page pops up and he can't play the game. The various steps on these boards don't work so he is stuck with A) playing the original release version, unpatched with all the crashes and bugs or B) not playing at all.

There are people out there that buy this game and have no access to the internet whatsoever, some I am sure even rely on the bad old days of contacting the publisher to get a patch on disk. Even those like my friend who know someone with internet access and can get the patch that way are being shafted grand style by this activation routine.

I would like to know if Stardock have a working solution to this or if they are at the very least going to release a working patch that will function on these machines, forget the extra content etc. all that is needed is a downloadable patch to fix the bugs that will work. An answer from Stardock would be appreciated.
/rant off
11,991 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The various steps on these boards don't work

Why aren't they working? I was under impression that there was a way with e-mail exchange to make it working.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I believe that if you contact Stardock some kind of arrangement could be done to provide a disk with the patches to those players who have bought the game and are in that kind of situation,. but we so many new updates and upgrades maybe will take a while and monet s/h burning the CD, etc. Maybe if the friend who has the computer will burn a copy the problem will be solved.
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
This is my only disappointment with the game. I too bought the electronic version and when I tried to install it on an internetless computer, no way to make it work. The activation procedure seemed quite long, because you need to write to stardock then follow instructions and send them another email with all the data from the computer that does not have internet, then they'll write to you again. So in the middle of the procedure I gave up and ordered another copy, this time on cd.
Had I known that even for that one I'll would not be able to install the patches because of no internet for activation is a bit (very much actually) disappointing again and I would not have bought the game AGAIN.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
My game pc is not connected to the internet (and it never will be).

I have been able to install and run the game and install all patches with no problem. When you installed the game, did you type in the serial-number? They say it's optional, but I wondered if not doing it would affect patching, so I put in the serial-number when I installed.

???

-MB
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Email activation is quite simple. Just copy and paste the code it tells you to email into Notepad and save it on a floppy or usb fob, take it to a connected PC, and send the appropriate email off. When you get the reply back, just do as it says and take the data it gives you back to the other PC. I did it once during the gamma, and it should be automated now so it's even quicker and easier.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
woah, people are making assumptions here!

It is -entirely- possible to update without having an internet connection, stop saying it isn't
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Unfortunately it seems like more companies are going with the internet activation route that Microsoft made so widely popular via Windows XP. I always hated that because you are forcing people to have an internet connection. Although more and more people do have internet connection, I wish they wouldnt relying on this technology to do things.

It was the only reason I didn't buy Half Life 2 (even though I loved Half Life 1), nor did I go with any of the premium module from Bioware Neverwinter Nights.

Ironically, one of the reason I brought GalCiv2 was because that it didn't have to have the CD to play due to not having any copy protection (as well as hearing it was a great 4X game), but I was still dissapointed that it needed an internet connection for activation.

Edit: It is possible to update as long as you have a serial number, which you will have if you brought the game.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I was just about to say, if you use the serial number it doesnt seem to have any issue with updating. At least mine didnt, I tried disconnecting my laptop after downloading the patch and it seems to have updated fine.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yeah there are steps to use Stardock Central and archive it that allow you to put it on the internetless computer.. You will need to install Stardock Central on both, Archive it on the computer with the internet, either burn that archive to a cd for transfer or use another means (USB/ Flashdrive etc. ) Unarchive with Stardock Central on the internetless computer. Voila GC2 on your computer that didnt have internet.
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
Yeah there are steps to use Stardock Central and archive it that allow you to put it on the internetless computer.. You will need to install Stardock Central on both, Archive it on the computer with the internet, either burn that archive to a cd for transfer or use another means (USB/ Flashdrive etc. ) Unarchive with Stardock Central on the internetless computer. Voila GC2 on your computer that didnt have internet.


Well, this is what I tried to do (and it worked in the days of galciv1as far as I can remember) and stardock in computer nb2 (without internet) asked for an internet connecttion. Maybe it was because I bhad galciv2 through totalgaming.net. My understanding was that with the cd version there is no such problem. (but since the upgrade through stardock was the same price as buying it here -taking into account h/s - I just bought it again).