Patching GalCiv II w/o an internet connection

from GalCiv2 Forums
I just bought GalCiv II: Dark Avatar, and I'd like to patch it. Problem is, I don't have internet at home, haven't for over six months, due to cost issues. My girlfriend, however, does have internet connectivity. Can I install the game on her system, download the patch, then transfer it to my machine? Does Stardock 'lock' a serial to a particular system, the way Windows XP activation and iTunes music does? I sure hope not, b/c not only is this massively irritating, it would keep me from playing this game in the future when I upgrade my machine.
TIA, frog
5,900 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You can indeed download the latest version on another machine and transfer it, though it'll take a return trip to activate the offline install by email. Here's how to get the download version of the game or the patch for a retail copy up and running on an offline machine (It seems like a lot, but it's basically a couple clicks, wait for download, copy and install once you're registered and have SDC installed):

1) Install SDC on an online machine (keep a copy of the SDC installer handy).

2) Log in on SDC, head to the Games section, right click on the game, and choose Archive Application->Download and Archive. If the game is already installed and updated on this machine you can choose Archive Application->Selected Application to pack it up without redownloading.

3) If the game has modules (GalCiv2 does, for example), you'll be prompted to archive them as well. If the media you'll use to transfer the game isn't large enough, you may need to decline and archive each module sparately; otherwise just say yes.

4) When the archive process finishes, you'll find the .sdc file(s) in C:\Program Files\Stardock\Stardock Central\BACKUP (this path is customizable in SDC's settings so it may vary). Copy the .sdc files along with the SDC installer to the portable media of your choice (CDR, DVDR, USB drive, etc).

5) On the offline computer, install SDC, then double-click the .sdc archive files in explorer to unpack them.

6) Run the game; you'll be prompted to activate. Enter the appropriate information and attempt to proceed; it will fail and offer you an option to activate by email. Copy the subject line and mail body it provides and get them back to the connected machine; email them off as directed, and follow the instructions in the reply to complete the activation process.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks for the quick reply! Bit of a kludgy workaround, but addresses my concerns nicely enough. Very glad to see Stardock, et al. taking a thoughtful approach to game authentication.
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
*bump*

Hilariously, this didn't work. I was prompted to activate, but when I entered my serial, I got an error message stating that the serial was an invalid length. What do I do now?
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
In that case, best contact [email protected] (particularly since your serial apparently already worked to get you the updates, so it should work to activate!).