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Because ETW uses Steam for copy protection the game will only become active on Wednesday 4th March. This means it is impossible to install a boxed retail edition of the game before this time - the install will shut down at the point where you validate your CD key with Steam. This is not a fault with the disc or CD key; it is purely a restriction placed on the game by Steam. There is no way around this, unfortunately.
Hi random mod who I have never seen in this section of the forum :2thumbsup:
Yes , CA has stated this many times. You can get the game on the 3rd but you can't play it till the 4th
TosaInu is no 'random mod' sir! He is our lord and master, the highest authority here at the Org! You should bow deeply when you address him, and he may not have you executed. :clown:Quote:
Originally Posted by Polemists
He isn't just posting that the game cannot be played until the activation servers go online, but that it also cannot be installed. I was under the impression I could install it now and valiate it tomorrow, but alas this appears to not be the case.
Is there any way of knowing the exact time they will allow us lowly peasants of the .ORG to start installing?
So maybe i could be the first to fulfil master polemists wishes; But he wants an austrian screen ... nah! :no:
We will see ... Steam says to me approximately 4 hours. :inquisitive: 2 hours left for work, 1 for buying rabbit food
and 1 just looking out of the window, counting trees and birds ... slurping a nice cup of coffee ... :beam:
Marten
I hate you all. :grin2:
I just spent nearly an hour watching a speed run of an old Nintendo 64 game. Ah, memories.
Sir Beane, thats a pretty darn good idea you sent me in that PM.
Well, those of you who have the game at unlock, enjoy it.
wait...im kinda confused....so i cant even play single player campaign today?..i have to wait fo steam?...sry jus confused!:dizzy2:
I got this from the official .com site:
:bow:Quote:
Release dates and activation times
If you have purchased Empire as a digital download...You will be able to activate your digital copy and play Empire on Tuesday 3rd March from 18:00 CET / 09:00 PST.
If you have purchased a boxed copy...You will be able to activate your boxed copy of Empire and play on Wednesday 4th March.
Think of it as a midnight release for a game on a console, like the XBOX or Halo 3.
You might have the boxed copy in your hands, or the digital copy downloaded on your computer, but since your computer has to launch the game through steam (console, from our example) and it requires a one-off connection to the internet to validate your game to your account, no one can play before the release time.
I hope that helps...I dont think it will, ask again if you need a proper clarification :laugh4:
edit: ^*&$^(*#&^)#$)^&!)&@^)#^_^ what is it with all these random cool members from other parts coming in and posting in the same minute I am, but before me. :gah:
Just while you are here Andres, are you the Godfather? :laugh4:
It's a conspiracy pevergreen. We decided to constantly watch your profile and post in the threads you are replying to.Quote:
Originally Posted by pevergreen
Only a registered TinFoilHat (tm) will save you. For a modest fee, I'll send you the required activation code.
No comment :devil:Quote:
Originally Posted by pevergreen
:laugh4: Even if you are, its too late! Beefy is doomed!
I knew it! So thats why Tosa won't promote me :tongue: I'd catch on to the secret pevergreen watching forum.
Oh well, back to the senior members forum and improved Babe Thread. :smoking:
And i got this from SenseiTW (on Yuku):Quote:
Originally Posted by Andres
"Empire will begin loading upon release. There will not be a pre-load due to the staggered release dates throughout the world. We will be activating Empire throughout the world between Tues, March 3 17:00 GMT and Weds March 4 9:00 GMT."
We will see ... :beam:
Marten
Gutted :(.
I go back to work on Thursday as well, boo-hoo.
Oh well, i can go back to get my ass handed to me in Hearts of Iron 2. Anyone know where i can find a good forum with tips on that game? Its damn hard heh.
www.google.com
:grin2:
Ah time zones,
by the time 9:00 pm PST hits it will be mid day wed for me...so it will only be a hour or two i'll have to here other people comment on how much they enjoy playing etw before I play it :)
Oh and I never said you had to play Austria, just I would like to see the Choose a Faction screen with the Austria info.
That's all :)
yeah had a look matey but only really came across cheat codes and the paradox interactive forum that doesnt have a strategy section annoyingly enough :(.Quote:
Originally Posted by pevergreen
Hi Necceh, maybe you should post your question in the Arena where we discuss non TW games.Quote:
Originally Posted by Necceh
If your junior member status would prevent you from posting there, then don't hesitate to drop me a pm and I'll post a thread for you.
:bow:
Theres a hearts of iron 3 thread? https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=113506
:laugh4:
This is exactly what it says in the title. If you have a problem installing Empire post here for advice and guidance. This is an attempt to stem the inevitable tide of Help! Threads which will flood the forum once the game goes live.
I do hope that none of you need to however. :2thumbsup:
EDIT: As pevergreen rightly points out this thread was also his idea :tongue:.
Oh so I get credit for the other thread but not this one? :grin2: Its ok I still love you. ~:pat:
I put my disk in and after I clicked to install it did something few minutes, and then asked for the activation code. So I typed it in, a loading bar came up saying activating for steam or something like that, however nothing happened after that... I can't see anything in Steam and I don't know what to do...:help:
EDIT: Never mind, I just realised I can't install it until tomorrow. I actually read the threads that said that, but for some reason I thought it was Wednesday. :wall:
If you bought a boxed copy (which I presume you did to get the disk) you cannot activate it until tomorrow. Any attempt to do so will crash the install.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhyfelwyr
It sucks, but you will have to wait until an undisclosed time tomorrow where they allow activation for boxed versions of the game.
So..... ETW can be activated and played on the 4th, even though it doesn't come out until the 6th?
It comes out now.
?????
But games always comeout on a Friday.
Don't they? ~:confused:
Nope. The game can be activated tomorrow (weds)
Hello Polemists.
Hes scarily formal isnt he? Almost like a robot. :laugh4:
I imagine him as the Terminator.
Hello!
I just purchased Empire on steam so I thought I would be able to download the game straight away (I believe it states you can download the game from 17:00 GMT time). However each time I click "install game" on the steam menu, the bar begins to load, steam hangs, and then I get a little prompt which states my "Your steam ticket has expired" which asks me to enter my account name and password. After doing that...nothing happens.
Any ideas?
:edit: Seems that the steam servers are a bit overloaded. I changed my server download region to east coast america and I'm now downloading at 700kb/s :)
Just to let u know that ppl are playing it now mate if they have the boxed version... You may be thinking American only?Quote:
Originally Posted by TosaInu
I were able to install my boxed copy this morning??
Been playing all day, it's sweet.. now though, time for food.. :o
Apparently you can install it right now :2thumbsup:.Quote:
Originally Posted by Namarie22
Those who have the game, any comments about the load times and performance compared to the demo would be greatly appreciated!
I doubt any of them will be able to tear themselves away from the game to comment until tomorrow :laugh4:.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rufus
True enough, and that in itself could be a good sign, since they'd be running to the forums to complain if it didn't run well!Quote:
I doubt any of them will be able to tear themselves away from the game to comment until tomorrow.
From what ive heard load screens are alot better here...
For anyone who manages to install from STEAM
http://worldofwarcraft.mmocluster.co...349e2712fb.jpg
I don't get the hate about steam, but this is hardly the right place to diss them
So i have the boxed version of the game, i try to install it says my copy is validated. However it then says 'Steam Servers are too busy, please try again' it has been 2 hours now. I have tried changing servers, i have deleted registery files clientblobs. Nothing doing.
So, Steam servers being busy? Is just lies cause its really that the boxed version isn't activated yet? When is it. 9am GMT?
Its a staggered release throughout the world. Expect it by 4pm in your local timezone. I doubt they could be that slow, but midday should be the likely latest point.
Ok, the solution was, Special Forces, evidently i had to use the code on the back of the manual, and use the special forces key later! Holy crap!
I always read the manuals, and now cause i was so excited i didnt bother and have been sitting here for the last 2 hours going mental about Please Try Again Later!
Yeah, the instructions on the leaflet help, or that other thread where the guy had the same "problem" :grin2:
Problem fixed in other thread.
mine worked yesterday
mine appears to be stuck on Download starting and 0%
is this thing going to work, is it worth waiting?
any help appreciated
Does it give you a speed?
no it just says 0% and theres no activity on my modem
ok sorry it has just strated working
thankyou anyway
Always good to hear it starts working. Especially for a fellow Aussie. :2thumbsup:
I have just received the boxed version. How and where can I change the harddisk-partition for the installation. Steam apparently wants to install everythin on c: :no:
Edit:
Hmm, it seems I shouldn´t have installed Steam on c: in the first place. Uninstalling Steam and re-installing it on d: seems to help.
Nevermind :oops:
"The Steam servers are too busy to handle your request" is the error message I'm getting, just after typing in my activation code. Otherwise the same as Zoring reports above (I have the boxed version, Special Forces, with the Death's Head Hussars special unit).Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoring
This is exactly the sort of crap that using a DRM system puts ordinary innocent customers through. Meanwhile, pirates will already be playing their cracked versions of the game I expect. I want to swear. :furious3:
And every time I select reinstall from the DVD menu, it asks for my product activation code again. I have to type in 25 characters (it won't let me skip this step) and then it tells me I have already registered this code, and I didn't need to type it in again. If a Computing Science undergraduate of mine designed a user-interface like that, I'd fail them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord of the Isles
Try restarting steam, if this fails to solve the problem you can try a hard restart of your system, or delete the clientregistry.blob file in the Steam directory and then restart .Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord of the Isles
clientregistry.blob is effectively, to put it in simple terms, Steam's cookies file. Its the file that steam writes to on your machine that tells it what your account is allowed to have. Deleting it will force Steam to create a new one, and thus "refresh it".
A new file should be generated that has all your details set.
Thanks Monk, I really appreciate the help. I tried removing the .blob file above and rebooting, but no change to the error message about busy servers. I've also googled the Steam error message and that produced some suggestions that some firewall/anti-virus/anti-spyware stuff may be a factor. So I tried a number of things:Quote:
Originally Posted by Monk
1. I uninstalled ETW from the Add/Remove Programs Control panel (even though my install never even got as far as creating a folder in C:\Program Files for ETW, it was listed in the Control Panel). Or at least I tried to: it started up Steam in the My Games section, where no games were listed. So, on to...
2. I uninstalled Steam from the Control Panel. This seemed to work. Then went back to ETW to try to remove: I told me it couldn't find Steam but at least removed itself from the list in the Control Panel. Then I removed the C:\Program Files\Steam folder completely. Then deleted Steam from my Zone ALarm program list, so that it would ask me for permissions next time it ran.
3. Rebooted. Should have a fairly clean system now - though I didn't check/delete anything from my registry so there may have been stuff remaining there.
4. Install ETW. It all seemed to go promisingly at first, including installing Steam from scratch, then asking me my Steam a/c details, then Zone Alarm asking me to give permission for Steam to act as a Server (granted). Then enter the activation code (I have all 25 characters just about memorized now), the usual stuff about it already being registered. Then the usual Steam servers busy please try again later message.
So no further forward. I may try turning off all my security programs and attempting again, but to be honest I doubt they are the issue. And in any case, why the (*"£^% should I need to risk my PC on the Internet w/o any protection just to install a game that I have the DVD for in front of me that I have just legally paid for?
Sigh.
Yup. The explanation, if you wanted it, is that Steam wants all of its games in the steam/steamapps folder.
Fixed, I think.
I was using the 25 character Special Unit activation code, and not the 25 character code that is printed on the back of my manual. I'll take some of the blame for being stupid, but only some. When it asked for the code first time I did look at my DVD case, DVDs, Manual and box as ordered, but didn't see the relevant box. Also, surely the Steam registration process could have figured out what the likely problem was and given an error message more helpful than "Steam servers busy" (by "more helpful", I really mean "not completely wrong"). Also, I looked in the Installation section of the Manual, the STeam Help pages, the Total War official web site about installation/Steam activation and threads here and at the other fan site. At no point I could find did Sega ever mention this activation code system.
Unfortunately Steam's errors are not that descriptive. A common error is "Game is Unavailable, please try again later" Which really just means "Hey, I need you to restart your system!" :sweatdrop:Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord of the Isles
Glad to hear everything is fixed. :yes:
I've installed the game, but when I try to launch it I just get an error report.
What's going on?
From the "its here!!!!!" thread
Yeah...Quote:
"This game is currently unavailable please try again at another time"
...
*Chokes from swearing*
Sat here with "Download starting...." taunting me. I have got my new PC set up, desk tidied etc and just want to play the game now but seems I will have to wait some more, blimey what a overly complicated release.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maleficus
Ha! It turns out I just needed to restart my PC, which I have now done and it appears to be working fine. :oops:
How stupid do I feel now? ~:rolleyes:
Answers on a postcard please......
Well, I installed the game, went to run it, and a steam bar flashes up saying 'preparing to load' or something along those lines. Then it disappears, and I get a message saying an error caused ETW to stop working. :furious3:
EDIT: Gah just had to restart my PC!
Yargh! After installing, an update was automatically downloaded. Now another one is going to be installed, but it's been on "download starting" for half an hour. Could this be because of busy servers, or is there something wrong?
Hey guys I have found a fix to my "stuck at 0% update" issue. Turns out steam doesn't like being put on a portable hard drive. I moved it to the regular hard drive and voila its working like a dream.
I'm at 1% and the approximate time until I can play is 14 hours. Is it really going to take that long? I just want to play the game that I spent $55 to enjoy. This seems like alot of uneeded waiting and sloppy engineering of the whole process.
Not really sure where to post this... Feel free to direct me...
but I've installed the game, but it wont load the campaigns... it gets to halfway and then jitters around and doesn't move.:help:
... I just cannot understand why my computer keeps trying t0 stop me from playing... every fugging time I try to log in to the steaming pile of smeg that I have to call steam it says :"could not connect to steam network"... just after I had gotten the damn thing to update and restarted my pc this came up and I cannot play the damn game.:furious3:
greyblades, just start steam in offline mode.
If that had worked I wouldnt have posted the problem in the first place... It may surprise you but I do not consider this site as the first place to go if i have a problem.
I bought the boxed version, but Steam says it needs to "update" it. Is this just another way of saying installation, or is Steam trying to pull a fast one on me?
Hi guys,
I just picked up a hardcopy (US version) today, and I'm trying to install it now. But hell if I can find my product activation code -- sounds like some people have one of the back of their manuals, but all I have is an add for Space Siege and some other games. There were no other documents in my jewel case, other than the tech tree map. Am I missing where the code is? If it's right in front of my eyes, please let me know.
Thanks.
Seriously, how long did it take you all to d/l the update to play? And what update is it that we are fored to download before playing, is it what actually activates it?
Mine's been going a couple of hours, and it's on 20%Quote:
Originally Posted by MD2020
wow, what a let down. I took the day off today planning to rush over to best buy and purchase it, install and play it. I had it all planned out, the kids are gone today, the wife is at work...it was supposed to be perfect. Instead I've wasted my day off and haven't even got to so much as click play. Oh well, I've waited many months for this to come out, I guess I can wait another day.
HINT: Don't pause it, whatever you do! It sends the update back to the beginning!
CURSE YOU STEAM
CURSE YOU
Lmao been there, done that:wall: I was at 11% but thanks to my temper I'm now back at 3%.
Hi Guys -- Just an update on my CD key woes. I just returned it to Gamestop, and traded it in for a copy that did, in fact, have a CD-key; in my new copy, it's pasted onto the inside back cover of the jewelcase. My new copy also has a flyer advertising an alienware/empire:total war pc, which my previous copy didn't have.
So, long story short, one of two options: either this is a case of petty Gamestop fraud, where they stripped the CD key for their own pleasure (certainly possible), or not all US versions have all the pieces in the box they're supposed to have. Hope it's the former!
I got my copy of Empire: Total War Special Forces Edition today and can't even get it installed. When it asks me to insert disk 2 I do but everything just freezes. If I put the disk in without starting the installation my PC also freezes then. I have the exact same problem with Medieval 2 Kingdoms but these are the only games I have this problem with. My PC is in perfect working order and more than capable of running this game.
UPDATE: Borrowed disk 2 from a friend of mine who also got it today and it does the same thing to. My friend also had the same problem and eventually got it to work but it just isn't happening for me. Not happy.
There was a post-release patch released.
It isn't a conspiracy guys....