Right click it in SDC and choose Archive Application. Then you can copy the .sdc archives from C:\Program Files\Stardock\Stardock Central\BACKUP to a DVD, etc., along with the SDC installer.

How did you pull this off, your profile says you're 24 years old?

I think the box issue is trivial.

The only thing that concerns me about ToA is the bugs.

It crashes a lot on Vista. It would be nice to have a promise of ongoing bug-fixes for ToA from Stardock ...

Also, the bugs are the only thing that would deter me about the fantasy game. Can we have a promise around that?

Are you sure it's not something in your system causing the crashes? I use Vista 64 and have been playing ToA since the beta's and besides the Tech price bug i have had no real issues, certainly no crashing. And i play in windowed mode on a dual screen setup. Check your video drivers etc....

The only time ToA crashes for me (Vista 32, dual monitor, windowed) is when alt-tabbing in a very narrow timeframe while creating the galaxy, before the main play windows comes up... Which of course is no help to you.

If you get one of these crashes, it would be best to send the debug.err to Stardock so they can have a look at the cause. Or, better yet, install SmartException and send THAT log to Stardock.

precisely. call the wahmbulance!!
jeez... seriously...



Dude! you bought a Dell???
Ever seen the Mac and PC commercials? I'll bet three hundred dollars that PC's first name is Dell

Let's keep it simple. There was a misunderstanding and you apologise for it.
I have also expected a box, but not because you could see one on the picture, no because I never had a game without one ...

That Stardock never shipped a expansion without a box was totally unknown to me. I never had GCI and I bought the Gold Edition Box of GC2 directly ...

BTW: Thanks, for the answer.

It's the deliberate misleading that upsets people. These guys know that a lovely looking box helps sell the product. They know this so well that they paid a guy to draw a fake one!

The order site clearly and intentionally shows a sweet-ass looking box as they know it would entice people to buy that product. The exact logic that is used in the design of a box intended for retail stores. Most people who play the game do not post or visit these forums and would have no clue that all one gets is a CD in a sleeve like some resource CD when buying a new computer. Most of us expect a box and some sort of short manual. I bought the Gold Edition that had DA from retail and still read the hand-sized 90 pg manual even though I know every line in it.

So if whining over a box and manual is pathetic and childish then so is deliberately creating a fake box to mislead people into thinking they are getting one.

FTR I dont care about the box, just a manual. I enjoy the extras in the manuals. Short little 8inch by 6inch or so 90 page manuals like the one I have on the desk right next to me with the words Galactic Civilizations II Dread Lords Gold Edition Includes Dark Avatar Expansion Manual.

Why, just last week I saw this cool-looking box and I bought it. God knows what's inside, I just like looking at the box... it's... oh god it's so hot. Oh baby.

A few topics have been brought up here that I need to comment on, I'd like to thank Bruce for starting this specific thread. Thanks to FrogBoy & Kryo for repeatedly throwing some official coinage into the pot, & hopefully continue to do so. Last but not least, thanks to everyone for replying, both to bring attention to the matter, as well as in serving to educate all those 'not in the know' whether a member or not. Same goes on the boatloads of other threads/topics I've sifted through.

For starters, I don't know everything about burning images into the monitor/TVs, outside of what little I've come across. I haven't researched it due to the results I've gotten from sticking to CRTs instead of LCDs whenever gaming. That cardinal rule has delivered as promised. Plus, it's easy to adhere to with all the reviews regarding CRTs reacting across the board better to what games bring to the table, vs LCDs. Also, the ridiculous $$$ of LCDs until recently, has pushed me towards prefering 2-4 CRTs instead of that 1 LCD. Only my laptop is LCD, as I obviously had no options. It is also plagued by Vista, another apparent no-no for any task. I guess I'm looking to suggest lean toward a CRT for all your gaming needs, & evade the issue altogether.
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I must say, several issues are certainly afoot here. Bruce is absolutely correct about taking offense to no box WHEN PAYING FOR SHIPPING & HANDLING. Which is usually attributed to not cracking the box in half, or using it for a wiffleball upon delivery. Though the same can technically be said about the little CD, it's not the same. No extra space is taken than any other sort of mail, for a ho-hum Cd in sleeve to require ANY shipping or handling fees. It is no more alluring to be used as a frisbee than any other piece of mail save for its weight, which is nominal & less than my weekly grocery flyer.
What irks me to no end is the issue apparently missed by all. The same smoke & mirrors crap that can be seen almost everywhere, EXCEPT, Stardock is being showered with praise for NOT doing such things, or 'playing such games' with their customers. So it needs to be said, & so it has been here, & on other threads. What's pertinent of that behavior here is: regular retail price + no box + no manual + shipping fees = (WTF)BS).
*** THERE ARE NO SAVINGS FROM NOT MAKING THE BOX !! IS ANYONE ELSE AWAKE ? ***
I bought my GC2 Gold Edition(Lord/Avatar) at the retail chain CC, for $25 on sale from $40, in Feb08. So have a lot of people. Everyone has experienced this, & yet people are backing up the bull about how having no box produces savings for the buyers,sellers,& most importantly nature. I say again, IS ANYONE ELSE AWAKE!? I'm losing my mind over this kind of incoherent malaise no matter the subject!! HELP. How does one even respond legibly to such brutally pervasive myths? Perhaps by purchasing another Meshuggah album, for 1/3rd the price. (in-box w/banned artwork w/o s&h)
We all know that a new $40 PC game can be found on sale around $30 in 4-6 months after release. It stays at $40 except while on sale, for about a year, THEN it depends on the game if it drops to the bargain bin, stays at $40, or falls to $15-30. One store may put it up to $10 off twice over 10 months, but between all the competitors, a single game may be on sale for around $30, 5-6 times over the first year after release. (Black Friday,Christmas,etc,etc,to boot.) NO shipping fees, WITH the box, WITH the manual. This myth about saving cash for preordering & getting nothing but a download or naked CD is ridiculously insane, & obscene. It's NOT as if the price is $10 for just the download, $20 for the naked CD, & $40 for the in-store full-box! I say again, It's NOT like this, which would at least show effort.
So I paid $25 for GC2 Gold Edition in 2/08, & $30 for Sins on 6/1/08, at 2 different chains. I drove to a real store & payed with real money, for a real item in a real sealed box. Where did I LOSE money, other than the possibility that the distance to the store multiplied by the current price of gas reaches above the S&H value. I haven't lost a cent. I'm not buying this crap about savings just b/c it sounds good & feels good, It's simply not accurate. The whole aspect of saving the Earth due to 'Twilight of the Arnor' not being sold in a box or with a paper manual, is High-Grade kindergarten cukoo right there. Wake up. Read that again. This shouldn't be where I, or anyone needs to list off the hundreds of everyday apathetic actions we all play a part in, & CAN change for FREE. Not giving us a box that has already been designed, for a video game that costs $35-40, IS NOT one of them. (I can't stand reading that garbage!) Stardock already paid somebody to design the box we all see/saw, NO man-hour salary savings there for Stardock either. Granted ink costs, the machines to print it etc,etc, & those that operate them, plus the price of the cardboard. However, I point you back to the beginning of this paragraph. If we need to play fruit loop games let's at least make some sense as a side bar. Stardock didn't lose money b/c I paid a total of $55 for both GC2 Gold,& Sins (in-box) - ALSO I DID NOT pay S&H on a flippin item that should NOT charge it. (Or perhaps they did lose money since Stardock wants to charge us $45 PLUS S&H on this site for what I payed $25 no shipping for. We all know they didn't lose anything.)
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As far as 'false advertisement' goes, besides the picture of the gorgeous fake box(with 'false shadowing'!?), or the pic where it is 'standing' in tilted unison with its predecessors, how about the juicy big fat banner ad that reads: EB Games, BestBuy, Circuit City, GameStop. I suppose it's also a sillygoose case of assumption that this banner ad is meant to read all these games 'Can be found at...' or 'Sold by...' the following retail chains. I would not be surprised to find the truth is even richer than yes/no, & something similar to,'No, it's not false adv., it's meant to infer that every surrounding title listed with ToA can be purchased at those stores except ToA. That ToA is bunched together with, or perceived as being a part of the group available for purchase at those retailers, is simply an unfortunate mistake.' (that's not a REAL quote, but might be in the future)
For all those 'NOT in the know' this is called being a sleazy piece of poo, even without a probable quote. We all know it, only it hurts to accept when it sprouts up where we don't want it to exist. This whole issue is sleazy. Playing word games by not clarifying what is going on is retarded. There are obvious differences between what has been sold online & in the real world! It should not be such an outragious request to get a box for $40-50 bucks, or to request that you sell it in regular stores that are listed as carrying the games on the game's site! Let's not waste our lives playing ticky-tac word games of sophistry.
*** If ToA's so damn All-Time Great of an Historic Expansion, 5 of 5 stars here, 9 of 10 stars there, let everyone FIND it by putting it in the store in a box. ***
It's not as if Stardock can't afford it after selling 300,000 copies of GC2. Fix the bugs, put in in a box, THEN toot your own horn. As of now, this is an aloof & stupid stance by Stardock. I'm all for ToA basking in glory, but enough with the BS. Put it in a box, & where we all can buy it in person.
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For the record, not that anyone asked for mine, but as much as I love Galactic Civ; I would NEVER have bought GC2 Gold for $55 + NO box. I CAN & DID buy it for $25, no S&H, no tax, WITH a box & manual. If Stardock wants to rape me instead of reward me for my loyalty & attention, I simply will do other things, & spend my money elsewhere. It's not the end of the world for a lot of GC fans b/c we have been forced to wait this long without the games. ToA took forever to release for anyone NOT paying for whisps of betas. Suddenly it's get robbed, we're ready now? Joke's not on me that's for sure. ToA doesn't exist if it doesn't exist, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sure if I somehow need it bad enough, it will unexpectedly appear for free from a friend's copy or online as a freebee. Not the 1st or last time it will happen, as it's a really big universe outside of this pc shell. One thing that won't be happening, is me being one of Stardock's suckers if this is how it plays. I've been eagerly awaiting this release since December (besides when it was announced, long before that), finally 4 months later, this is the underhanded horse manure provided by someone raking in millions? Nice to take care of your own.
Is this thing on?

All 4x games and expansions ship with a truckload of bugs and oversights. It's a symptom of making games that have so much content and so many different systems and variable details. Can't avoid that, not even with extensive beta testing. The best you can do is be quick about fixing the bugs reported on your forum, which apparently Stardock is pretty good at.

The fantasy game will ship with a bunch of bugs that make the game shit, but the really bad ones will be fixed quickly and then the game will be good. The more minor bugs will be fixed more slowly. Count on it.

First of all, Creation of an Image for a box is in no way anything like creating a box. Just because one was done does not mean that the other was/should be done. Hiring a marketing single person to mock up a virtual box is an extremely small investment and maybe a couple of hours on a computer at most. Putting that box into some kind of production is a HUGE thing. It costs money. Not just the ink and the cardboard. But paying a printer to build the prototype, run it by legal department and the production company (plus revisions for both departments). Then the product needs to be productionalized by having the printing company configuring their hardware to the desired specs and for mass production. Then comes pressing out and construction of the final product. Then comes paying someone to package the CD and it’s sundry materials. This all doesn’t include mocking up a manual. If you have any illusions that this is a “Cheap” project, you can kill them right now. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, any mass production is going to scale the cost per box downward. The more the sales, the more this initial investment gets spread over the number of units sold. But it is not a cheap endeavor to start off with, and as evidenced by Stardock and other companies, it isn’t always necessary.

This always assumes that the production company wishes to make the initial investment. In this case Stardock chose not too, in keeping with their operational business practices for the last several years and generations of games. And personally, I would rather have them spend that extra coin to make a good game (which Gal Civ2 is IMHO) than on frilly boxes.

Secondly, showing a “Box” on the website and charging for “Shipping” are two totally different things. You may, as a consumer, assume that one means the inclusion of the other. But that is in no way the fault of the production company. What is it that they say about people who “Assume”? Admittedly, in this instance, there is nothing in BIG BOLD LETTERS (for the literary impaired) stating “This product does not come with the nice shiny box shown above” but it is more reasonable to take the manufacturers side in that they have never provided boxes EVER for expansion (Gold editions not withstanding), then to say “You charged for Shipping, so there had better be a bright shiny box”.

Thirdly, you should learn some economics of the industry. Just because a game that has been out for X months is less than at launch, this does not in any way mean that the company was trying to “Rip the customers off” by charging more at launch. Any such development requires a significant cash investment to create. This investment is in no way insured that it will produce any kind of a profit and usually well (Years) in advance of the launch. So a company sets the “Sale” price for launch in an attempt to recoup that investment and show a profit “At (or close too) Launch”. Any “Pre-orders” are simply proof of demand for the company and as such, are paid for with a slightly lower price. It is like good faith money. I know I need to sell X units at launch. If I can guarantee I am selling X – 100 units, I am willing to pay a premium for it.

Also, once I make a certain number of units with the intent of distributing it to stores all over the world, I am guessing how many there will be a demand for. I know that, if I don’t have enough boxes on the shelf to cover the immediate demand plus some left over for casual purchases I am going to miss out on sales opportunities. So I usually go a bit high on my estimates. Keep in mind that often (though not necessarily always) the initial number of units is set by the production company as they need to make those sales in order to make their profit margin. Anywho, so I, as the production company, produce X units. Hopefully they fly off the shelf in the right amount and frequency to only leave a few extant copies to linger and make after market sales and to increase demand for my next project.

Now it is a known fact that ANY product value will decrease exponentially over time after launch. So I have only a limited window to sell all of my initial product. If I overshoot, I have to store those copies. Now not only do I have to pay for the production and marketing of the product, but also storage. Over time, this storage gets expensive and erodes my profit per box. Finally there comes a point of diminishing return where I might say I can under-cut the initial price (and cut my profit margin) to a point where I just break even. It is either that or I have to pay more to store it. Then comes the point where I might even undercut my total production cost just to recoup some of the loss. This is why you see game costs go down. THIS IS NOT AN INDICATION THAT THE COMPANY IS TRYING TO RIP YOU OFF. Simply that the economics of the industry is such that, the longer a game is out, the more a company needs to evaluate their costs to sell of remaining stock.

I am not saying any of this in defense of Stardock. Personally I think they can and have said more than enough on their own behalf but I just wanted to set the record straight for anyone who seems to think they are awake and are actually in their own dream world.

I agree with you mate.



I have made this point before as has Kryo, but it is really of little concern when you can easily just download the cover art(once Brad, Kryo...whoever, uploads it) and print yourself off your own jewel case cover.

There problem solved, meatier game and a box on the shelf!!!