Has anyone else been having Gamersgate download access problems recently?

[JasonPratt]

Ever since I bought Leviathan on pre-order, it seems like every game I buy goes into my library to just sit there, unable to download. I can gift the game if I want, I can look at serial keys if I want, but GG gives me no option to download them onto my system.

That makes sense for Leviathan, which won't be released for another couple of days, but Balder's Gate Expanded, and Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion??

Maybe there's a bug in the system and those will be "released" once Leviathan clears??

(Note: I'm not having any trouble at all downloading things I bought before Leviathan. I'm downloading Jagged Alliance: Back In Action right now.)


Updated to add: problem solved by SonofMontfort below. Apparently what is sold is a Steam activation key, not a separate download. (I had bought and downloaded other games from GG with Steam activation but GG downloads. And Steam patching, btw!)

[Longdan]

Hi Jason.  Sometimes when a game is available for more than one OS the button looks different than a windows only release.
I have had a few games there which did not look like they wanted to download but they did when i pushed the button.
They don't all look the same.  I remember being confused couple of times when it did not look the same as the others.
I will have to check my memory banks...(overdrawn as usual).

[Longdan]

Instead of a big blue download button is there a more subtle line of text that says something like  "Download link for both windows and Mac"?

[son_of_montfort]

I did not have that happen, but for a while I was completely unable to download anything from GG. Somehow, on one end or the other, the IP was getting blocked. I would send them a message and see what they say, because the games should show up immediately.

[Longdan]

My experience with their customer service has been very good, unlike Steam.  It will be Monday morning in Sweden late tonight.

[JasonPratt]

SoM, there is no button for downloading. That's the problem. The games show up immediately, but no download button.


Longdan, I'm appending a screensnip below. Fortunately one of the affected programs, the BG remake, is near the top, so I show what it looks like, and also select it and also show what the operational window on the right looks like at the same time.

I thought at first you might have the solution, because on my big 1080 monitor normal font is squinty looking, thus I have Firefox force all fonts to 18pt which creates problems sometimes (including on this screen demonstrably). But I took it back down to 12pt, and I still see not even a subtle indication of download capability. (Note that all other programs nearby have a clear download button.)

[Nefaro]

Are they Steam Activation keys?

Also note that you must click "Show Serial Key" before you can use at as your own.

[son_of_montfort]

Jason, I see your problem.

Baldur's Gate EE must be registered on Steam and downloaded from there. Probably the same thing with SoaSE. You need to look at the fine print in the requirements box of the games on their page to tell.

Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition
Rating: 4.7 (21 votes cast)

Since its initial release in 1998, Baldur's Gate has entertained millions of fans around the globe and has received countless awards. This classic saga of mystery, intrigue, and adventure has set the standard for Dungeons & Dragons™ computer roleplaying games ever since.

Running on an upgraded and improved version of the Infinity Engine, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition™ includes the entire Baldur's Gate adventure, the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack, and never-before-seen content including a new adventure and three new party members: the Calishite monk Rasaad yn Bashir, Neera the wild mage, and Dorn Il-Khan, the evil blackguard.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition contains the following enhancements:

    New Adventure: The Black Pits
    New Character: Dorn Il-Khan
    New Character: Neera the Wild Mage
    New Character: Rasaad yn Bashir
    A new collection of player character voice sets
    Native support for high-resolution widescreen displays
    Over 400 improvements to the original game

Please note: Intel Integrated Graphics are not currently supported.,


© 2012 Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog. © 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, the Forgotten Realms, Baldur's Gate, Wizards of the Coast and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. and are used with permission. © 1998 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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Windows logo

    Platform:PC
    Categories:RPG, Roleplaying Games
    Publisher:Atari
    DRM:Steamworks (Requires a third-party download and account)
    Activation:Must be activated on Steam

System Requirements

        Required System Memory (MB) 512 MB
        Minimum Graphics OpenGL 2.0 compatible (Intel graphics chipsets are NOT supported)
        Processor Speed (GHz) 1 GHZ

So you need to open up that serial number and then go to "Add a Game" in you Steam program and paste the serial number into it. Many of Paradox's new games are utilizing the Steam method, basically selling only the serial number and not a download link.

[son_of_montfort]

I just confirmed Sins of a Solar Empire ALSO requires Steamworks activation.

This page tells you how to do that:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5414-TFBN-1352

Leviathan: Warships will also be on Steam only - so you will only get a code (in fact, you can probably already put that code into Steam and it will unlock when ready).

[JasonPratt]

Are they Steam Activation keys?

Also note that you must click "Show Serial Key" before you can use at as your own.

That has never once been a problem before. In fact I've recently downloaded many new games from my GG library for which I haven't bothered to get the serial key yet (because I haven't bothered to play them yet).


SoM's solution seems reasonable, if obscure. I've downloaded several games from GG recently (including Real Warfare2 if I recall correctly) which actually had a steam activation requirement.

Anyway, I'll try that pronto.

Updated to add: yep, that worked! Fricking fine print... ;)

[JasonPratt]

All hail Son of Montfort!  :D (I forgot to add a thanks above.)

[son_of_montfort]

Err... it isn't really an "obscure solution," it is the only one!  ;D

Be wary about this, because - as I said - Paradox is increasingly using Steam as the distribution platform for its games. They have *claimed* that they will keep the flagship games of Europa Universalis IV, etc. as being Steam free, but I would not hold my breath.

Note also that many non-Paradox titles will sell in the same way. For example, you can buy Dishonored and Borderlands 2 from Gamersgate, but they will result in only a code for Steam (which all copies use).

But some still sell DRM free, which is nice. Just check the requirements panel when you buy.

[JasonPratt]

It's an obscure solution in the sense that GG doesn't make it very clear to buyers what is necessary to download the games. Fine print down in the system specs is not very clear.

[Nefaro]

It's an obscure solution in the sense that GG doesn't make it very clear to buyers what is necessary to download the games. Fine print down in the system specs is not very clear.

I figured they were Steam keys because there was no download link, just a serial (which you hadn't clicked on to activate).  Even if you d/l'd an installer for one, Steam would just d/l the whole damn thing again anyway.  So no sense in having an installer at GG for it.

When you first purchase one that has a Steam key, it'll mention a 10-minute wait period before your key is retrievable.  I suppose some people have found a loophole in the past where they could quickly activate the Steam code, then cancel the new puchase on GG.  Anyway.. that should say something about Steam keys after you purchase, but that message doesn't last very long.

[jomni]

I had some download problems on and off.  Recently, I tried purchasing Graviteam Tactics and the Paypal payment just won't go through.  I'm done with them! At least for now.