Hahaha, I won't post the obvious jokes about trolling, or the fact that every game made now has it's own download manager, or a variation of one that may or may not be incorporated into the game's gui but is still taking up more hard drive space regardless, or the fact that I have an install manager from Blizzard themselves (gasp)...
But I will say that updating GalCiv is ridiculously easy for me, and should be for most. If you're registered, just open stardock central and it'll tell you what's available and if you want to download it. Simple as 3 clicks. Maybe 5, I didn't count, but it's a simple, convenient way to do business and I appreciate it.
The fact that they use the serial numbers is also smart business. The no copy protection means the game is cheaper to produce (so theoretically it's cheaper for us.
) (and copy protection is always cracked anyway, always). It also helps them keep track of their products. If you bought the game second hand, and couldn't update it, it's actually the original owners fault who's screwed you. They're going to be playing their game forever, updating it as needed, and even installing it free via SDC on new computers without the game disc that you bought 2nd hand..... It's not SDC's fault that they're taking better measures to prevent piracy. If you were to successfully install and update the game, you would (albeit unknowingly) be pirating the game. It may be a myriad of other's faults, but acting like a jerk to one of the better game companies around is a
joke. It's just like yelling at a cashier because your bananas rang up wrong at check out. They don't have control over that. Stardock doesn't have control over second hand sales, and it would be a shame to be ripped off, but they're preventing pirating in their own way, even if you got tricked into pirating the game, it's not SD's or their system's fault. GC2DL and DA are great games from a great company, with a simple update system, imho. The few Mb on my HDD aren't a problem for most, as it's ridiculous how many Gbs are left on my drives. (at least for my leisure computer), and it would be a shame to have a bad experience jade your view of them, as there are many other retailers and games to be fearful of that actually do take part in malicious or customer-screwing policies. The amount that this team has given us post-release for absolutely FREE is beyond measure. It's ridiculous to be honest, and I'll be buying all of their games until they give me a reason to otherwise, or I run out of money.
I'm sorry that you're having a problem, and I'm glad that others are trying to help you, but it is immeasurably childish to complain without any positive criticism. If you state your problem, then others will help you, if you complain about your problem, most won't, and you ruin your credibility. I don't believe that all complaints are idiotic, but there is definitely a difference between an asinine complaint and a legitimate one. You've stated some of both, but they all still sound like one kind. I won't say which though.
And so this is half-way on topic, it seems to me that the terms of sale and user agreements are very clear. If the 2nd hand retailer failed to mention that and the original buyer is just ripping everyone else off, then SDC is miles away from who should be held responsible in the perfect world. And I hope you've now successfully downloaded the patch and got the game running so you can realize how much fun the game is. Since you don't have a manual, I'd recommend downloading the Pdf version as well, just to give it a read over. There's lots of stuff in there that could help you out. If you've got the DA too, then have fun with that. I love virus bombing the jagged knife and those other breakaway's into submission as penalty for fleeing my empire...
