Help with expansion packs on steam

from Sins Forums

Several years ago I bought a physical copy Medieval 2 total war. Because of the current steam sale I would like to buy the kingdoms expansion on steam. The problem is that steam won't let me buy kingdoms unless i have the basic game. So my question is: How do i persuade steam i have medieval 2 total war.

 

BTW will a steam version of the expansion work with a physical version of the original game. (If not then the original question is moot).

 

BTW 2 i looked on this link https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7480-WUSF-3601 and medieval 2 total war did not seem to be on the list. Does this mean I am stuck?

34,867 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Generally speaking, all the DD platforms get their own set of keys, and retail keys (unless the game uses Steamworks or Goo) and especially for old games, aren't recognized by the DD clients. So, basically, you can't convince Steam that you have the game because you can't get it to recognize the key.

On top of that, Steam uses its own directories for games, sometimes has separate Steam-only patches, and in a few occasions mods for games have not worked with a Steam version of the game. Considering that Medieval 2: Total War is a fairly old game, I would guess the chances are not insignificant that if you did get Steam to recognize it, the expansion and the original retail copy wouldn't mix.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

I thought as much. Amazon it is then.

 

Thanks for the reply

Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Annatar11, reply 1
Generally speaking, all the DD platforms get their own set of keys, and retail keys (unless the game uses Steamworks or Goo) and especially for old games, aren't recognized by the DD clients. So, basically, you can't convince Steam that you have the game because you can't get it to recognize the key.

On top of that, Steam uses its own directories for games, sometimes has separate Steam-only patches, and in a few occasions mods for games have not worked with a Steam version of the game. Considering that Medieval 2: Total War is a fairly old game, I would guess the chances are not insignificant that if you did get Steam to recognize it, the expansion and the original retail copy wouldn't mix.

Do you have experience with Impulse and this issue? I realize Steam is pretty not compatible with anything that is not Steam, but I got the impression Impulse works since Impulse installs to the actual directory yes?

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Nesrie, reply 3

Quoting Annatar11, reply 1Generally speaking, all the DD platforms get their own set of keys, and retail keys (unless the game uses Steamworks or Goo) and especially for old games, aren't recognized by the DD clients. So, basically, you can't convince Steam that you have the game because you can't get it to recognize the key.

On top of that, Steam uses its own directories for games, sometimes has separate Steam-only patches, and in a few occasions mods for games have not worked with a Steam version of the game. Considering that Medieval 2: Total War is a fairly old game, I would guess the chances are not insignificant that if you did get Steam to recognize it, the expansion and the original retail copy wouldn't mix.


Do you have experience with Impulse and this issue? I realize Steam is pretty not compatible with anything that is not Steam, but I got the impression Impulse works since Impulse installs to the actual directory yes?

I had problems with retail Sims 3 and DD Sims 3 expansion. I ended up registering the key with EA downloader and had it do the install instead.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Nesrie, reply 3


Do you have experience with Impulse and this issue? I realize Steam is pretty not compatible with anything that is not Steam, but I got the impression Impulse works since Impulse installs to the actual directory yes?

Nope, sorry, I don't have any experience with Impulse and this situation. Impulse can be set to ask where you want to install the game/app so in theory this should not be an issue (except apparently Sims 3 and its expansion). But retail keys generally don't work on Impulse either, unless it's a Stardock game or it uses GOO/Impulse::Reactor (still not sure on what name they want to settle on). GOO can cause problems with mods, like most recently with Oblivion. GOO/Reactor modify the game executable, but the OBSE (script extender, necessary for many Oblivion mods) was written for an un-modified one. So, basically, any mod that needs OBSE can't work with the Impulse version of the game, unless they found a workaround or a fix by now.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Do you have experience with Impulse and this issue? I realize Steam is pretty not compatible with anything that is not Steam, but I got the impression Impulse works since Impulse installs to the actual directory yes?

Retail/download expansion compatibility varies. You can contact support to be certain before making a purchase.