LAN with one CD? » Forum Post by Chovy152

Red Alert 3 and Dawn of War 2 don't allow LAN co-op unless you have more than 1 copy.

But most other games that I know of allow it (although I'm not sure if it's technically legal).

Battle for middle earth 2 had working lan with one copy from what I remember.

Anyways, kudos to Stardock.

This is, without a doubt, excellent. I've read the entire thread, but I cannot seem to find answers to a few of the questions asked.

I've purchased Demigod and want to share it with 9 other people at a LAN event. I'm in no way interested in having anyone besides me able to utilize the key for online play.

How do I manage this? Since the game can be started from outside of Impulse, my Impulse account cannot be what ties up the key.

To make it short: Can I just copy my game directory to other computers and not worry about my account being used? Would LAN just work out-of-the-box, where it's a simple matter of starting the copied game and choosing LAN?

nope no slowdown for me, or any bugs for that matter :O

can't wait for MP to sort itself out tho.. but for now im happy with my Hamachi

Well i've the same problem.

User's manual, page 15 says:

LAN Games
Players can also play on their local area network (LAN). Demigod has no
restriction on licensed copies on the LAN so go ahead and have fun!

So the idea was to bring the game to our DoTA Lan and see if ppl like it. But if you copy the game (Download only version) to another computer it needs to be activated. Is it save/allowed to use my own key to activate them?

Seems the EULA, Manual and "NoCopyProtectionPolicy" seem to have a different opinion on that.

*Bump*

Is it possible to lend out your registered "copy" of Demigod without the risk of misuse of your account? Or is the "knock yourself out with LAN copies" solely meant as a household thing?, only for people, who you trust?

Or did I simply not comprehend how "LAN copies" function?

No one can misuse your account if they don't know what it is. Installing Demigod for LAN purposes does not require anyone to log into your account to play, so as long as you don't give away your account info LAN/SP is the only thing they would be able to play.

BubbleCow

reply 4

Well i've the same problem.
So the idea was to bring the game to our DoTA Lan and see if ppl like it. But if you copy the game (Download only version) to another computer it needs to be activated. Is it save/allowed to use my own key to activate them?

Try using Impulse to archive the game, copy it to a DVD, make sure Impulse is on the other PCs, then unarchive/install the game from the DVD. My guess is if you do it that way you won't need your serial/cd key at all.

-HM

Try using Impulse to archive the game, copy it to a DVD, make sure Impulse is on the other PCs, then unarchive/install the game from the DVD. My guess is if you do it that way you won't need your serial/cd key at all.

Exaclty true.

So the idea was to bring the game to our DoTA Lan and see if ppl like it. But if you copy the game (Download only version) to another computer it needs to be activated. Is it save/allowed to use my own key to activate them?

Yes. Go ahead.

Please note that we do track activations and at some point if you share it with many people it will prompt you to contact Stardock support.

We want people to share. We want people to buy. We do not want to get in the way. We do not want to be abused.

I find it rather amusing that some of the responses in this thread are like "Really? I can really install and play it on a LAN? That's not doing something wrong?"

People have been abused by software developers for so long that when one comes along that treats you the way you should be treated you just can't believe it's real.

I've got a small LAN party that's looking into doing Demigod as our next game.

Just to be clear on licensing:

I generally have five people and machines at a typical LAN party.

If I wanted five people to play on LAN, I would need three licenses of the game?

And....

If I wanted all five to be able to play online together, I would need five licenses of the game? (1 Impulse online account per license to bind them to?)

I think an authoritative sticky in the forums explaining the license policy for Demigod and other Impulse games might be a good idea, there's quite a bit of confusion going around about this.

Yes, Lan play redemed this game for me. It's GREAT fun. And it was easy; no hassles. Three games so far, all went smooth with no dysinks or bugs. Sadly (shockingly) no replays, so you better enjoy the game "while" it's happening, cause you can't watch the movie to see "what happened" during play. Tip: Use the "Adjust Speed" option before you start a game, and then you can use the - & + keys to slow the game to a crawl when you need to tool-tip all the skills/spells/items (or explain the rules to new players).

If I wanted five people to play on LAN, I would need three licenses of the game?

No. Your one license will handle all the players. Make sure they uninstall after the party.

If I wanted all five to be able to play online together, I would need five licenses of the game?

Yes.

Just wanted to express my gratitude to you, Stardock, for this kind of behaviour! The small LAN (10 people) I attended this saturday consisted mostly of FPS players, but after playing DG over LAN using my copy, 4 people installed Impulse and bought the game the same night, while 2 more would consider buying it later.

I know, I know; 4 people isn't alot, but it at least shows that the "openness" works.

Thanks for an excellent product and an even better way of distributing it. I used to make all my purchases through Steam, but if this is the approach you tend to work towards, I'd be sure to check, whether or not the game is available through Impulse first.

<3 from a very satisfied customer

Thanks for the clear answers. I'll pick up my copy tonight....then we'll try it on LAN this weekend. ^_^

Woo, sweet! Demigod just got added to this weekend's lan party agenda!

It's nice to hear that LAN play from one copy is officially supported. Something that would facilitate that greatly would be having the patches downloadable as a standalone .exe, rather than having to use Impulse to do it.

Are these available somewhere? If not, I can understand since that would make the pirate's life even easier, which is something that we don't want to do.

No, the patches are not available separately. But anyone who owns Demigod can download up to date install files from Impulse Anywhere:

http://anywhere.impulsedriven.com/

-HM

Hi there,

I'm looking to introduce my roommates to DG via Lan. I read that you can just copy your DG folder to their computer and go from there. When we try to run the game on their PC it requires activation. This post indicates that it's ok to use my serial to get the games going, but my question is.... How do I find my serial??

Thanks

Replied in the thread you made.

Istari

reply 4

The game is very very LAN friendly. 1 copy could take care of a LAN.

This feature was actually meant for pirates.

And they all thank you.

This feature was actually meant for pirates.

There is a smartass every where you go. [e digicons][/e]

P.15 of the manual;

LAN Games

Players can also play on their local area network (LAN). Demigod has no restrictions on licensed copies on the LAN so ga ahead and have fun!