Invalid serial number question with a twist

I've just been stung by the "invalid serial number" problem as my son gave me a second-hand copy of GC2 DL for Christmas. We are now in contact with the seller to try to get their Stardock account.

However, I'm wondering if I can resolve this another way. I'm interested in getting the Dark Avatar expansion, so my question is: if I buy and install the expansion, will it allow me to patch up the entire game, even if the original serial number is reused?

Note, I'm not trying to do anything underhand here. The copy I have is genuine (though I am aware that the seller could continue to use the game without the CDs). It is just that I would rather not have to make a return because of the unusual copy protection Stardock uses.

(BTW, I understand the logic of the use of SN, and like that the CDs are not needed for play. But the resell of computer games is so popular these days, I think you need to write the no-transfer clause in 36pt at the top of the EULA.)

Regards

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kryo

Join Date 05/2003

+458

if I buy and install the expansion, will it allow me to patch up the entire game, even if the original serial number is reused?

Sort of. If you order a CD, it should have the 1.5 DL patch with it as part of the DA installation. However, you'll only have what's on *that* disc then. You'd still need valid serials for BOTH DL and DA to get updates for DA beyond the initial release on the disc.

So if you're lacking a valid DL serial and want DA, your simplest option is to just go with the Gold Edition instead, which has both.

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Thanks for the quick reply. Looks as though I might need to do a return of the second-hand copy then.

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I just purchased the GalCivII expansion pack 2, and installed it (and registered both games, though the second apparently isn't available yet). When I tried to add the updates on the web (to Gal Civ II itself), I could not install them because of an invalid serial number. The serial number exactly matches the serial number on the CD. I tried clicking on download serial numbers. The resulting email did not give me any serial number for GalCivII, but it did sent two completely new serial numbers for the expansion pack (differing from the email sent earlier). Thus, I now have one # for the basic game (which your computer doesn't accept), and two numbers each for Dark Avatar and Twilight of the Arnor. Which numbers do I use, and how do I get the updates?

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kryo

Join Date 05/2003

+458

The resulting email did not give me any serial number for GalCivII, but it did sent two completely new serial numbers for the expansion pack

Regnerating the numbers on request is normal; they'll be treated as the same by the system. If there is no serial listed, it means you haven't yet registered that game (of course, since that's what you're trying to do!).

In order to update DL or download DA/TA (TA is in beta and is only available if you check the 'show prerelease versions' box in SDC as well), you do need to have DL registered. If you have a DL serial beginning with GC2-, see the registration issues FAQ for likely solutions. A DL serial should be 28 characters long with no dashes and only 0-9 and A-F in it.

If the page I linked doesn't cover your issue, you'll need to contact support for further help. The office is closed for the holidays though, so they won't be able to answer until Wednesday at the earliest.

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Thank you for the fast reply.
Unfortunately, I only have the one GC2 code.
Is there a way to, using the GC2 code, get a new 28 character code?
I'll contact support.

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Sorry...
I didn't scroll down to the bottom.
I have the needed code.
Thanks.

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