How can I download the game I purchased???

[carlr03]

I purchased the Defense Grid Gold game from Stardock. I didn't know this at the time but they force you to install this impluse app which controls where the game is installed. How can I get the game I purchased without having to use Stardock or their Impulse app? I want to install the game on a different drive than my C drive but this impulse app controls where I can install it. I either want to have the game file where I can control it or get a refund. I contacted Stardock and they mentioned I needed to get the refund through you.

How do I proceed?

[jeff]

Hi,

Unfortunately, I'm sure they didn't mention that you need to get the refund through us, since we don't have any control of Stardock's business or have anything to do with their purchasing. We license the game to Stardock, and they sell it to consumers and each channel has its app or process that is their own way of doing the selling. Our game doesn't have anything to do with that.

You'll need to talk with Impulse about your purchase and the method of delivery.

I can tell you that if you want the game offline without DRM, the only channel that offers that is a boxed product through Amazon.com.* That said, that version of the game doesn't have the expansion packs (like the Impulse Gold product does).

I hope they take care of you, we do value you as a Defense Grid customer, but we have no involvement in the different channels and how our game is distributed through them.*

I'm sorry about that.

Jeff

[fluke]

It is unlikely that Stardock said that Hidden Path would issue a refund. Rather, their refund policy[1] requires you to contact Hidden Path to request approval before Stardock refunds you. This gives Impulse game publishers a chance to try to address technical support issues with their game before approving the refund. If the game publisher decides there is a technical failing of the game that can't be addressed then they can approve a refund but that still comes from Stardock. Also, the Stardock refund policy is that the refund "will be for Impulse store credit only."

Where Impulse installs the game is not a failing of the game itself so Hidden Path should not have needed to get involve. You should have been asking Stardock/Impulse support on how to install to a different drive. If the problem is that you just don't like the Impulse software then getting approval for a Impulse store credit from Hidden Path will not really help you. To take advantage of the store credit, you will still be stuck using the Impulse software.

While Impulse does have a default install location which is going to commonly be to the C: drive, it does support installing to other locations. Impulse should automatically update itself, but just in case, please check to make sure you have Impulse version 3.29.627 (build 1986) or higher. You can check the version by going to the upper-right corner of Impulse and selecting the blue ? circle and go to "About Impulse." Once you confirm that your Impulse software is up to date, go to the upper-left corner of Impulse and select the drop down menu to the left of Explore and select "Impulse Settings..." Choose from the left pane under Advanced Settings the option of "Folders." The right pane should now have "Install Locations" which can then be changed along with a check box for "Prompt for install directory."

If you contacted Impulse support about how to choose a different drive for installing games, they should have given you the details that I just did. I am surprised a simple technical guidance issue jumped to discussing refunds. It might be possible that Gamestop's buy-out of Impulse has already had a negative effect but the Stardock FAQ about the sale[2] claims that should not currently impact support. If you are just assuming that the software did not support a different locations and never contacted support then it should be noted that Stardock reserves the right to only issue a 75% refund.

As a side note, the on-going drive letter hell issue is really Microsoft fault. It made sense with the limited computer resources of 1967 when CP/M did it. But for Microsoft to keep with the conventions of their CP/M clone (MS-DOS) has kept them from entering the modern age of OS design. By the 1970's, other operating systems where already mounting additional volumes by directory based mount points instead of drive letters. With XP, Microsoft provides a work-around to try to give the illusion of mount-point support via the subst command [3]. Finally with Windows 7, Microsoft has now caught up to 1970's OS design by providing true mount-point support in the disk manager [4]. How a company with the resources of Microsoft can be nearly four decades behind technically but still be a leader in the industry will probably always be a mystery to me.

[1] https://store.stardock.com/policy.aspx
[2] http://www.stardock.com/about/newsitem.asp?id=2558
[3] http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/subst.mspx?mfr=true
[4] http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753321.aspx