Steam woes

[Markman]

Well I was just browsing the net when I noticed that Steam had Earth 2160 for download, so I thought it must be as easy as Stardock Central or GamersGate to download and play.
So I got the Sci-fi pack for 30$(well 37+ with taxes) that had Earth, Darwinia and SE IV. While Darwinia and Space Empires work as it should be, E2160 the game I was going after, wont.
It installed fine, and after its done it tells me that is not installed, I should reinstall it.
I reinstalled it, and now it tells me its not available.
This is the part that I dont get...I paid for the game, downloaded it(so its on my harddrive), tried to run it through Steam...and its not available??
What the fuck?

 

[DarkUnderlord]

QUESTIONS ON INSTALLATION

Q: At installation start, a message appears: ..."Setup.exe is not a valid Win32 application". What can I do?
A: When this error message is displayed, close all active programs running in the background. Press CTRL-ALT-DEL simultaneously to get a list of currently running programs. Now close each individual program, apart from SYSTRAY and Explorer. Start the installation again.

Q: During the installation of Earth 2160, problems may occur at times. Installation isn't carried out properly.
A: If you have an anti-virus program installed, deactivate it before installation. Active virus scanners can negatively affect an installation procedure.

Q: The installation program always stops when it reaches a certain percentage. Why?
A: There are three possible reasons for this:
1. You haven't enough storage space on your hard drive. Delete any unnecessary programs to free up more space - now re-install Earth 2160.
2. Files are being written to a damaged sector of your hard drive. If this is the case, run Scandisk, using the Intensive option. When Scandisk has done its work and displayed a message saying that the disk is OK, install Earth 2160 again.
3. Maybe the DVD is soiled by stains or fingerprints. Is the DVD dirty? If so, clean it with a soft, dry, clean, lint-free cloth, using inward-outward movements

No?

 

[Markman]

Hah, no..but thanks for trying.

I found out that Im not the only one with this problem.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/f ... forumid=66

It seems that the game cant be run in offline mode, every time i start the game it has to connect to the zuzzex servers, and steam wont connect me.
I can't remember last game that gave me this much trouble, hell , even when Stardock central cant connect it still lets me play the shit I bought.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

Oh so you have to connect even to play games that aren't Valve's? Man, that's gay.

 

[ad hominem]

Oh so you have to connect even to play games that aren't Valve's? Man, that's gay.

yes......yes it is.

 

[Markman]

Still cant play it, when i click to start it, it tells me that "the game is currently unavailable". grr

This was the first and last time I'm using Steam. What a POS.

 

[YourConscience]

Well, given your description, this obviously is not steams fault, but zuccezes.

I'll be glad once zuxxezz successfully goes belly up.

 

[Elwro]

Earth 2160 had some really strange copy protection that required you to register by phone or via internet, and only then the game would become playable. That's what I heard, as I don't have the game myself (although I liked Earth 2140 and I'm considering buying the Earth series MegaUberpack for $15 that I've seen 2 days ago).

I found some remarks on the registration here:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/ear ... 1-26774087

although nothing substantial. Are you sure it doesn't say anywhere that you have to call a specific number to register the game?

 

[Markman]

From what I read on Steam forums, Steam should authenticate the game for me and I should skip all that bullshit process cause the game is not playable if I'm not logged in to Steam.

I just redownloaded it for the 3rd time and now the fucker wont even react on my clicks.
It just goes--Logging in...Starting Earth 2160...and nothing. Hmm