Moon

Downloads are just that - downloads. This has nothing to do with your license key or game that you purchased. There is no charge after 365 days, the key you purchased does not expire. We are not forcing you to be online to play or download anything to play. If you pre-order (or if you order "Mail delivery" or "Download&Mail Delivery" after release), then you get the CD, and therefore can re-install from CD at any time, even if your download period expired. The download period is just for convenience. We recommend strongly that users (who do not buy the physical goods) make a backup of the setup file they download (e.g. burn to disc, thumb drive, or even upload to an online storage website ). That way really you do not ever need to download more than once anyway. Martin

Could be, but then this ratio was the same even before Peng. If anything, I find some of the regular threads (and users) scarier then the Peng threads

If with "give back" you mean "unlicense/relicense", then the answer is yes. Once activated, a key remains activated on your PC (until you basically reformat or make MAJOR modifications). Our new activation system currently is only used in games released after Jan 1, 2011, i.e. Strategic Command WW1 The Great War, Theatre of War 3 Korea and will be used in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy. Anything else uses eLicense. We do plan to release a patch in the future for selected games that will convert a game from eLicense to our new system. Using it will be optional. There are however fewer compatibility problems in the new system with anti-virus software, security systems, UAC, DEP etc. (actually, so far there are no problems at all, except virtualization, but that's on purpose). Martin

Heh... that would be more like "multiply by 10". Only a tiny portion of people who order from us seem to even register on the forums for some reason, let alone participate. It's always been this way, who knows why.

Hi guys, the main thing holding back Mac pre-orders is not the game itself (the Mac beta is pretty much up to date with the PC version), but a few infrastructural things in the background that need to happen for content delivery, purchases etc. We rely on a third party to finish coding these, and as soon as it is, we will be able to launch Mac pre-orders. Hopefully not too long anymore (the original target date was the end of this month, although it's already clear that we won't make that). Martin

No, sorry. We only accept Visa, Mastercard or Paypal. Paypal in turn has a number of funding options, even if you don't have a Paypal account (e.g. you can choose Paypal as payment method in our store, and then can use an Amex or Discover card; there may be other options, too). Martin

If you missed something depends on what change you have in mind. Because the change is from 2 per license to (theoretically) 5 per license (although our EULA still only allows you two, though). The total of 5 is a sum of 2 base activations you always get, 2 "overflow" activations (if you have a problem, such as a HD failure), and then you get 1 additional activation per year, no questions asked. First of all, you should not have bought more than one copy. If your machine dies, we can reset your key for you. There is no need to buy more than one copy, except perhaps if you have total HD failures every week. The only difference really between eLicense and our new system, as far as the user is concerned is twofold: - no more unlicensing. This has the advantage of never being able to forget to unlicense - you can automatically add activations yourself at www.battlefront.com/activate should you ever run out. No need to contact our support for a reset anymore. This is limited to 1 per year, for obvious reasons I guess. So, in your specific example, if you have an HD failure: - you get 2 base activations to start with - if you used those already, you get 2 overflow activations - if you used those also already, then you can go to www.battlefront.com/activate and add one more activation to your key (unless you did that within the past 365 days already) And if really everything fails, and you have a legitimate reason for an extra activation within the 365 day period, you can always go to www.battlefront.com/helpdesk and explain why. We won't grant every request (especially not if you make them every week ) but at the end of the day the licensing system is not there to deny paying customers their activations (even if they may sneak out a few more than they should), but to prevent uncontrolled widespread distribution of our intellectual property... and that isn't undermined by being flexible on the rules, if need be. Martin

Points go to Elmar for the most complete correct answer Except that with our new activation system there is no licensing file to transfer (as is the case for eLicense), only an easy to remember 20 digit code. Other than the one-time activation, you don't need the internet to play at all (ever), nor do you need a disc to play in drive. This is in fact a major advantage (one of several) of our system vs. many big company DRMs out there that require a "call back" - either constantly or more or less frequently - in order to work (during which they exchange all sorts of info that you are not aware of). Martin

I may be wrong, but I seem to remember historical accounts from tankers that tried just this approach in real life. North Africa I think? Anyway, that doesn't prove that it was effective, of course (in fact, Andrew H's points above all seem perfectly plausible to me), just that perhaps they were thinking along the same lines as Wrath of Dragon

If you need two copies, you simply change the quantity you want to order on the order page itself. The default is 1, but you can enter more than that. If you forget initially, then you can also change the quantity in your cart during checkout. Not ours There is no difference between the game on CD and the game you download. It's the same exact game. The CD is only the medium to get it to you. You do not need the CD in order to play, only to install the game. After installation, both CD and download versions behave identically, and need to be activated with a valid license key. You only need to download once. You can then copy the setup files you downloaded as often as you wish. They are not copy protected. You do not have to download anew each time you want to install, the same setup files will work as often as you need. This is one of the many advantages of our system over a DRM that is purely online activated/run. In fact, copying the installation files is strongly RECOMMENDED. Your download will expire after 365 days after the first time you download, so having a backup is the only way to ensure that you can reinstall after that time. Your license key never expires, but your download does. If you have pre-ordered, btw, then you don't need a backup, since the physical goods are part of your order automatically, and ship via mail. (After pre-orders are over, you can choose Download&Hardgoods Delivery to achieve the same thing, although it will be $5 more expensive). If you go "Download Only", then you should backup to a thumb drive, or external HD, or you can even upload the setup file to an online storage site (there is a number of free ones out there), for a poor man's Steam version of unlimited downloads (boy, my cheak hurts) You do not need to register your game. The only thing you need is the license key. You don't need anything else and your game is not tied to your Battlefront account or any other personal information. That, too, is a major advantage over purely online based systems. You can in fact even sell your game later on to someone else. As long as you include a valid key, that person will be able to play the game. Martin

Rosseau, where does it not list XP? It should list it, but maybe we missed a spot. Martin

Hi Knokke, actually, neither the game nor our new activation system should require administrator rights to play. If you run the Hotfix posted at www.battlefront.com/helpdesk, then you will be able to remove the Run as admin flags, and the game will still work as intended. By the way: We have just enabled download only, mail only, and download & mail purchases (aka "official release") ar www.battlefront.com/store. The full version download installer on the cloud network has been updated to already include the hotfix, so there is no need to run it separately if you are only purchasing/downloading now (when you install you will notice that it runs as the last step of the game installation). Martin

Run Options.exe and adjust your screen resolution. You are probably using a widescreen monitor but didn't adjust your resolution settings.

OK, we have released a Hotfix that will solve this issue. Even if you have the workaround in place right now, you should download the hotfix if you had problems with licensing, and rung it. After that you can remove the "Run as admin" flags. Download here: http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_versions&Itemid=317#Theatre of War 3 Korea Details here: http://www.battlefront.com/helpdesk/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=203

No, we are not affiliated in any way with Steam. There is no download only option yet because we're trying to first get rid of that activation bug in the installer in the pre-order version. There is a simple workaround, so people can play without issues already, but we want to make sure that we can avoid having you to jump through hoops if we can avoid it. We already have a hotfix which solves the problem for anyone who already has the game, and that will be going up shortly, but preparing and testing a completely new installer for the 1.3 GB full version takes more time. Martin

Hi guys, alright, we have been able to identify the problem. It has to do with the unusual behavior of the installer, which is launching the game activation while the installer is still running. This has created an unexpected permissions conflict. The solution is as explained above for now to simply make sure that after installation, you set the corresponding exe files to Run as admin. The procedure is explained in our Knowledgebase: http://www.battlefront.com/helpdesk/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=203 You do not need to activate more than once, either. Simply make the correct file settings after the initial install, and you won't be prompted for activation a second time. This workaround will get you guys up and running. We are now preparing a patch to fix this behavior, and also update the full installers. Sorry about this. This is an unusual error related to the specifics of the installer which somehow wasn't caught during testing and must have crept in at last second :-( Martin

Oh, ok... yeah, you have to set the Run as admin flag on the exe and not just the dekstop shortcut.

That's good to hear, mrsoul. What did you do to get it working?

I understand, and thanks for that! I'm just trying to clarify that the problem is with the installer and UAC, not the game. Looks like some last minute bug in the installer, we'll fix it, and Run as admin nor other UAC issues will be a thing of the past.

The problem you and Nevada ran into is probably a bug in the installer which isn't setting all the correct permissions during installation. This creates a problem for storing your license state. I am not sure if mrsoul has the same issue, or something else entirely.

mrsoul, please go to www.battlefront.com/helpdesk and click on Submit Ticket. Please describe what problem you have exactly, if you get any errors, and what you have done during and after installation, as well as your system specs.

mrsoul, there are free zip tools out there, you don't have to buy anything. In fact, I think that Windows comes with Winzip included already.

Nevada, please submit a ticket at www.battlefront.com/helpdesk in order to recoup activations. Did you use the hotfix I attached above? Martin

PS. Running as admin should not be required to make this work. Unlike our previous eLicense system, the new activation system does not need "Run as admin" privileges, usually. And I don't think that TOW3 requires it, either. Martin

That's weird because D:/Games (where you said you had it installed) isn't a UAC protected folder usually, so the admin setting shouldn't really be relevant at all.