New customer, patch question

there are stand alone patches that can be found on this site but the easiest way to keep the game up to date, is by registering your copy and downloading stardock central.
stardock central will download and install all the newest patches for you.

No they aren't. The only way to get the patches is to go through Stardock Central.

Re your other question.

Yes, there is a mechanism on the SDC site to archive the patch DLs, so you can apply them to future installs/re-installs.

drrider

Thanks for the replies so far.

I have now downloaded and installed Stardock Central and want to register the game.
Are there any instructions on how to use this program. I may be easy for some but I have never used anything like it before and do not want to make any mistake and loose my serial.

As far as I can see after loading the program I go to Tools\Register Products
then select games on the left then pick your game from the list. This is where my first problem comes in. The list only has either "Galactic Civilisation II" or "Dark Avatar Expansion", not the "Gold Edition" with both. I am afraid that if I register the wrong product I will loose my serial and be out of luck.

Also I have to play on a non web connected PC so I would like details on how to download the patches and transfer them, then activate and archive them for future use.

I have looked through the forum and can not see these instructions. I suppose they must be there or there would be more posts like mine.

Could someone point me to the instructions on how the process works. I have had a look at the Stardock Central help but it only says select your game from the list no instructions on how to transfer patches to another PC or archive them.

I know this must be easier than it looks to me at this stage but I am stumped. Especially since my game version is not listed on the game list.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers MarkL

P.S. How do you add post to the watch list, it looks like a good feature but not sure how it works yet.

Simply register the same serial you have for both items (Gold is just a bundle of the two, after all).




To get the download version of the game (or the patch for a retail copy) up and running on an offline machine:

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.

Click the Tools button at the top, then Watch Post. Since it's your own thread though, you can already easily get back to it via the My Posts link at the top.

Thanks,

I will give that a try.

Cheers MarkL

Sorry but I am still having problems.

I registered both with the same serial number and received an registered ok confirmation. Now when I go into Star Dock Central and click on game option on the left the flashlight comes up but nothing shows. When I go into register products again all I get is the first selection "Game subscription" nothing else.

On the left if I click on some of the options like free stuff a few things come up so something is working.

Any suggestions?

Cheers MarkL

That's the first item in the list, so it shows by default. If you pull it down and pick GC2/DA from the list, does it show your serial in the serial box?

Also, when you go to the Games section on the main screen, does it just continue to search or does it stop and not show your games under Purchased Products?

Well it looks like patience is paying off.
For some reason I now get the game lists. Maybe there is a period after you register before they show up again.

Anyway I started downloading, but at my speed it will be another day before the patch is on my PC. I hope SDC has resume built in.

To get all the extra tutorials etc will take me about one week.

Definately looking better now.

Thanks for the replies.
I would have responded sooner but I was hopeing to announce a successful patch operation. But I did not look at the download size when it started.


Cheers MarkL

Well I finally have the patch installed and activated.

I found the process of starting SDC on a non web connected PC quiet hard and the instructions were not really correct.

What I did do though was make a Word document with screen shots to show how it is really done as the instructions are way off the mark for the non web connected PC part of instructions.

I have emailed support to see if they will host the doc as I am sure others will have similar problems on non web PC's.

If anyone wants it send me a PM, I guess you can send them here and I will send a copy. It is about 1.5 meg zipped.

Cheers MarkL