Panzer Corps - Allied Corps: install issues

[Eggenberg]

Hi guys,

When I try to install my (newly purchased tonight) Panzer Corps - Allied Corps on to my PC I get to the following series of screens (after input of provided Slitherine key):

PCAC1.PNG (33.58 KiB) Viewed 6901 times

PCAC2.PNG (32.06 KiB) Viewed 6901 times

PCAC3.PNG (60.79 KiB) Viewed 6901 times

Which presents me with a bit of a dilemma:

1. There's no option presented during the initial stages of installation to choose where on my PC the game is installed (I have a separate drive designated for all games installations).

2. It's not going to find a C drive because I have no drive on my PC that's been allocated the letter "C" (quirk on my part - my main drive is designated letter "D" instead of "C").

"OK!" sez I - "let's see if the activation key I received can generate me a Steam key". So, I went here http://www.slitherine.com/my_page/steam_serials , input my game key, received the key for Steam (although I'd rather have the game playing via my desktop with zero Steam interaction required...). Input the Steam key associated with my game key and I'm presented with a screen advising me to activate the original game but I was under the impression that because of the generated Steam key this wasn't required?

So, I'm stuck and looking for help.

All thanks in advance,

Egg

[Tarrak]

The installer actually should offer you an option to chose drive and folder for installation. If it doesn't it's probably because it detects PC:Wehrmacht and/or PC:Afrika Corps installed and in this case it defaults into their installation directory to integrate the expansions into each other. Do you have it installed or is the installer just detecting some leftovers in the registry from a previous installation? If you have it installed just try to de-install it and then reinstall the whole game. If it's the second case and you know your way around the registry you can just clean the registry from all Panzer Corps entries left and try to install AC again. To it follow this:

1. Open the "Run" window and type "regedit" and then press OK; this should open up the registry editior window.
2. Once the registry window has appeared navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Slitherine" and delete the "Panzer Corps" folder.
3. Delete also the Panzer Corps folder in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Slitherine"
4. Close the regedit programm and restart your PC

If you aren't sure about it tho better don't try it as you may damage your windows installation if you delete or change wrong stuff in the registry. VPaulus posted somewhere a script to fix your PC related registry but i can't find it anymore so you will have to wait for him to read the thread.

Regarding your steam problem: Allied Corps is a stand alone expansion if you buy it from Slitherine/Matrix but on Steam for technical reasons it sadly requires the PC:Wehrmacht base game. If you own it already get your Steam key for it as well and register it on Steam. If not i am afraid you will have to buy it if you want to use AC under Steam. If you don't want to use Steam of course you don't have to buy PC:Wehrmacht if you don't want and can play your PC:AC as standalone expansion as soon we managed to fix your installation problem.

[Eggenberg]

Hi Tarrak, thanks for getting back to me.

I did have the PzC-W demo installed but again that was on my N (games) drive. I had an inkling that the issue could be caused by a previous instance of the game so I went rooting about in the registry to find any redundant keys but the only ones there were the demo's values. I've deleted them but I'm still getting the same issue so there's maybe a rogue key kicking about in the registry that I can't pin down.

As to the Steam issue - enlightenment came upon reading a post on the forum and via an email from Paulo in support (thanks for the prompt response there Paulo) so I might have to bite the bullet and buy the core game (assuming I can fly that one in under the radar to avoid my wife questioning more games purchases this month.....)

[Tarrak]

The demo entries can confuse the installer as well so it could have been the cause of the problem but seeing you still can't chose the installation path i guess there are probably some more leftover entries in the registry. You can try to use the search function within the regedit. Try to search for "Panzer Corps" (without the quotation marks) and don't forget to keep searching after you found an occurance because the search will stop as soon it found one. Keep searching until you get the message that the search is done. Considering you do not have any Panzer Corps installations on your computer you should be save to delete all the entries you find.

I hope this solves your problem because else i am afraid i am slowly running out of ideas. Good luck.

[Tarrak]

I just managed to get hold of my old laptop where i had Panzer Corps installed previously and i could reproduce your problem. Until i manually cleared the registry searching for Panzer Corps the installer would not offer me the option to chose the installation folder and was defaulting me to a folder where the game was previously installed. After cleaned the registry it offered me a choice for the installation path. So i am 99.99% sure you have still some old entries in your registry and you should be able to solve the installer problem that way without being forced to buy the main game on Steam ... on the other hand having the main game isn't bad per se but as you stated if you don't want to bother with Steam you may rather prefer to get it from Slitherine directly.

[Eggenberg]

i am slowly running out of ideas.

Same here mate - I've scoured the entire registry for any Panzer Corps or Slitherine entries and there seems to be no more lurking in any folder or sub-folder however the issue in the OP is still there. I'm absolutely stumped.

The bit that's got me head-scratching the most is the reference to the C drive - a non-existent device on my system so I've no idea where the installer got the idea that there was one present.

[Eggenberg]

*Fist pumps air in joy! Loud shouts of "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" resound through house!*

I used RegScanner and found a rogue hidden deep within the bowels of HKEY local machine. Deleted... all good

[Tarrak]

*Fist pumps air in joy! Loud shouts of "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" resound through house!*

I used RegScanner and found a rogue hidden deep within the bowels of HKEY local machine. Deleted... all good

Congratulations. I am really glad you could solve your problem and can now enjoy the game. If some more questions, be it technical or about the game play, arise or if you simply want to chat about the game feel free to come back to the forums. The community here is really nice and helpful and will happily help you out.

[Eggenberg]

Thanks Tarrak - the mystery surrounding why there was a C drive when there isn't will remain just that - a mystery.

I'll certainly be haunting the forums for hints, tips and - of course - links to mods (what can I say? I'm a mod hound). I'm currently looking at the state of my slush-fund (I recently bought a new shotgun - another interest of mine besides playing PC games) so it's maybe a bit empty in there but I'm sure I can scratch together enough for a copy of the core game.

Truth be told I purchased PC Allied Corps in error - it was meant to be a purchase of the core game but I was half asleep when I bought it. No biggy, at least I have access to all the units & equipment the allies had so adding the core game with axis content can't be a bad move, eh?

[rcp225]

A lot of gamers seem to be having the same problem I do. I bought and downloaded PC:AC.
Played it for a couple of days, loved it so much I then purchased PC:Werhmacht. After installing
it, well, that's when all hell broke loose. The stupid setup file ignored the separate folder path that
I typed in, and instead dumped it into the same Panzer Corp folder where AC was located. I knew that wasn't good. Anyway, every time I tried launching Werhmacht, sure enough Allied Corp opens.
I mean, are you kidding me? The developers can make an absolutely great war game, but can't
figure out how to install 2 stand-alone games on the same computer....hard to believe!

I read through the comments here and unless I'm blind I still don't have a definitive answer. Can
these 2 games run on the same machine or not? If so, how? If not, will there be a fix?

In the meantime, I used 'Uninstaller', cleaned out the reg., and reinstalled Allied Corp without a
hitch. But, I'm still out 32 bucks and change. CRAP!

[VPaulus]

The two will have to be installed in the same folder.
After installing Wehrmacht you only need to go to the Campaign/Scenario menu and click on the Wehrmacht cross at your left. This would change to the Whermacht Campaign/Scenarios menu.
To go back to the Allied Corps you need to press on the Allied symbol at your right to change to the Allied Corps Campaigns/Scenarios.

[rcp225]

You are a genius...thanks so much for the help. The only thing I'm wondering is, whether these directions are mentioned somewhere in the manual or a readme file. If so, shame on me for not checking it out first. The only other issues I have (which are really no big deal) are 1.) why are the uninstall files corrupt? 2.) Why did it take me 3 successive installs to finally get Allied Corps running properly. and 3.) Why oh why does the setup file give the gamer the option to install the games in previously created folders, and then ignores it and installs them in the default Slitherine\Panzer Corps folder anyway?
Makes no sense. Anyway, thanks again for the help...I really appreciate it because I love these Panzer Corps games...great war games! I'm almost afraid to try installing Wehrmacht again for fear it may screw things up...I finally got Allied Corp to work and I don't want to lose it again.

[VPaulus]

Allied Corps and Afrika Korps are basically expansions to Panzer Corps Wehrmacht game. However they are also standalone versions, that means that they can be played even if the player don't have the original game Panzer Corps Wehrmacht.
In case there's a copy of Panzer Corps Wehrmacht installed in the player Windows, these expansions will be installed in the same folder as Panzer Corps to work as expansion. The same happens if there's an Afrika Korps or Allied Corps installed and you want to install the original game.

Now that you have bought Panzer Corps Wehrmacht, perhaps it's time to make a clean installation of the game and do the following. Uninstall Panze Corps Wehrmacht (if any) and Allied Corps. Then reinstall them in the following order:
1. Panzer Corps Wehrmacht
2. Allied Corps
Let Allied Corps be installed the same folder as the Panzer Corps Wehrmacht. When you want to switch missions and campaigns between them, just do it the way I told in the previous message.

[rcp225]

Question for ya - is it imperative that I uninstall Allied Corps first before reinstalling Wehrmacht as per your directions? I ask because I've played AC for about a week now and I'm heavily invested into the first campaign...got some awesome units I'd hate to lose. I guess it's no big deal if I had to start over, but is your advice a matter of proper functionality or is it more a matter of just following the procedure intended by the developers.

This is, in fact, a huge question. If the two games work fine (and will always work fine) with Allied Corps being installed first, then I just assume leaves things the way they are. But if its going to cause problems down the road, I'll do as you suggest.

And I'd also like to know three things every Panzer Corps player really needs to know. Why do the uninstall files of both games not work? Both files are corrupt, it's as simple as that. The developers absolutely have to address this, especially considering all the confusion with the install issues. Secondly, ya gotta do something about that setup file routine. You can't tell gamers they can install to a different directory, when it is clear...NO YOU CAN"T!

And finally, most importantly, (and this is a must), every link to the Panzer Corps games and I mean everywhere...the store, support, the forum...etc., there should be a warning or caution clearing stating the install directions such as you forwarded to me. A warning with big black print, and a yellow background, ya know what I mean? How hard would this be?
If the company can happily take our money, then they should gladly take five minutes to print, copy and paste this warning on every page of Panzer Corps. And they can throw a copy of it in every box copy as well. Burying it somewhere in the manual or readme file doesn't cut it.

Panzer Corps is an awesome game. made by awesome developers. It deserves a little extra effort to clear up a few nagging issues. Thanks again for all your help.

[VPaulus]

Question for ya - is it imperative that I uninstall Allied Corps first before reinstalling Wehrmacht as per your directions? I ask because I've played AC for about a week now and I'm heavily invested into the first campaign...got some awesome units I'd hate to lose. I guess it's no big deal if I had to start over, but is your advice a matter of proper functionality or is it more a matter of just following the procedure intended by the developers.

This is, in fact, a huge question. If the two games work fine (and will always work fine) with Allied Corps being installed first, then I just assume leaves things the way they are. But if its going to cause problems down the road, I'll do as you suggest.

If both games are working you certainly don't need to uninstall Allied Corps or Panzer Corps. I thought Panzer Corps Wehrmacht was not installed. You shouldn't expect any future issue.

And I'd also like to know three things every Panzer Corps player really needs to know. Why do the uninstall files of both games not work? Both files are corrupt, it's as simple as that. The developers absolutely have to address this, especially considering all the confusion with the install issues. Secondly, ya gotta do something about that setup file routine. You can't tell gamers they can install to a different directory, when it is clear...NO YOU CAN"T!

I can't say why uninstall is not working on your system, as it should be working. Probably it's related how your system is configured, maybe related with your permissions or security.
The setup files are also working, they don't need to fixed. I really don't know why you have experienced all these issues. Again it's something related with how you Windows is probably configured.