Unable to access alpha with pre-order? MERGED

TmH · July 2010

So I just received a NS2 pre-order Special Edition key in my mailbox, I entered it with the add a game menu through steam, downloaded the game and tried starting it. When I tried starting it I got the following message: "Natural Selection is currently only available to people who pre-oredered the Special Edition."

Now I've been reading a couple of topics and I keep reading stuff about needing two keys, however, when I use the key retrieval function, I get the same key I got in my first e-mail.

So my question is, am I missing something? Should I have received another key, or have I somehow received a non SE edition key?

<i><span style="color:red">EDIT BY AHNTEIS</span></i>
Please note <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=110548&view=findpost&p=1788161" target="_blank">THIS POST</a> with details of which email you should find the correct key in.

PepeNZ · July 2010

Yeah you need to activate the black armor key in steam in order to play the alpha
if youre not sure what that is but you do have the SE
<a href="http://unknownworlds.com/ns2/retrieve" target="_blank">http://unknownworlds.com/ns2/retrieve</a>
that will email you both the alpha key AND the black armor key
just be aware that there have been reports of it taking a substantial time for that email to be sent so if you don't get it instantly, unfortunately you will have to wait.

TmH · July 2010

When I use the retrieval function, I only get one key send to me.. so I guess my e-mail addres hasn't been added to the database yet or so. I'll check again tomorrow. Thanks for the reply.

inveigle · July 2010

I posted this in the NS tech Help section but was asked to post in the correct forum.
I ordered the NS2 Pre-order 39.95 edition but only received my NS2 Key. I have not received my Black armor or Alpha key yet. Even when I go to the key retrieval page I only get the NS2 key in my email. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I do have all emails and PayPal Receipts if you need them for verification. One odd aspect to note, although I purchased this on Sunday, 07/25/10, I didn't recieve my confirmation reciept or NS2 Key till this afternoon when I looked in my email.

Anarchy409 · July 2010

Activate the Key they emailed you. It should activate as Black Armor DLC. And you should get access

inveigle · July 2010

In steam I went to games, activate product on Steam, and entered my key I was sent. This only gave me NS2 in the Games library and when I downloaded and installed it It says I do not have Alpha status even though I purchased the $39.95 special edition.

JediYoshi · July 2010

So you go to the retrieval page and the email they send only gives you back 1 key?
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/retrieve" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/retrieve</a>
Is this recent?

inveigle · July 2010

Yes I did that, but I just tried again. here is what I receive in my email.
Find your NS2 game key(s) listed below:

NS2 pre-order Special Edition: <span style="color:#FF0000">CENSORED</span> registered to Adam Salinas

For more help, please visit our FAQ (http://www.naturalselection2.com/faq) or write to us at community@unknownworlds.com.

*****************************************************
I'll be more than happy to provide all emails and receipts to verify this, please help.

PepeNZ · July 2010

Sounds like you need to enter your black armor code (the second key in your email from <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/retrieve" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/retrieve</a> )
The alpha requires you to activate that in order to play it.

As long as your receipt says you have purchased the special edition (which your post shows) you will get a black armor key as well

Summary

Alpha Key: Used to DOWNLOAD the game
Black Armor Key: Required to be entered as well in order to PLAY the game

Bear in mind that yesterday people were waiting a considerable amount of time to receive the correct email from the retrieve system so you may be falling victim to that if it continues.

inveigle · July 2010

Yes, I am only receiving the NS2 Key. I have yet to receive the black armor key. I'll be patient until tomorrow and post back then If I still have not received it. Thank you for the information that others are waiting as well.

RobB · July 2010

All the keys should have been send out. I ordered two spares for "later" five hours before deadline, and received their keys five hours after the first which I ordered like last august.

Just realized the coincidence of five hours, lol.
another entry for the alpha lols list.

inveigle · July 2010

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RobB @ Jul 28 2010, 05:24 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1788065"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>All the keys should have been send out.</div>
Alright, now I am getting worried, who do I need to contact to fix this issue and get my Black Armor key?

PepeNZ · July 2010

Currently the only place to get replies is the feedback forum
i would try there if you are really worried
have a good look through though as im sure your topic has already been covered and you may find better answers there that have been replied too by UW
<a href="http://getsatisfaction.com/unknownworlds" target="_blank">http://getsatisfaction.com/unknownworlds</a>

kokoj2 · July 2010

no black armor key? comprox is the head honcho in charge of this shoot him a PM/Email or catch him in IRC
your email may not have made it in time but if you paid the 40$ you should be cool if not wait for your 5$/20$ refund

TmH · July 2010

I've send an e-mail to UWE, asking about the problem. I got an e-mail giving solutions to the most common issues, not solving my issue and apparently UWE is no longer responding to e-mails because they are overwhelmed.

So I'm trying the forums again.. Like I said, the key retrieval function only sends me one key and I've never received a second key either.

Any ideas?

ShuffleKing · July 2010

Everytime I've tried playing NS2, this is the error I get. Even when I try to start my own game regardless if it's LAN or not.

I have purchased the Special Edition, and I have input my Black Armor code.

I've waited a couple of days to see if it was a steam side issue, but it clearly isn't. What is happening?

GDWhite · July 2010

Same here.

cmc5788 · July 2010

Trying logging into and out of Steam. This doesn't just mean exiting the program, it actually means actually going to Steam -> Change User -> Logout and then logging in again. Sometimes this issue happens with games, especially if you have the same Steam account accessible from multiple computers.

ShuffleKing · July 2010

Still Fails.

GDWhite · July 2010

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ShuffleKing @ Jul 28 2010, 04:35 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1788141"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Still Fails.</div>
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/bobdole7/thekey.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Same here.

The_Ranger · July 2010

The E-mail in your SS looks to be the wrong one. Looks more like the one they send when you buy it.

If you bought the SE, you should have got an E-mail in the last 2 days that looks more like (not taking the time to SS and load it, but pasting some info):

Hi <span style="color:#2E8B57">NAME</span>,

Thank you for your pre-order of the Special Edition of Natural Selection 2!
The support of players like yourself has made a huge difference for our
company and has allowed us to develop Natural Selection 2 completely
independently.

Today we're releasing the Alpha of Natural Selection 2. Access to the alpha
is limited to those people who pre-ordered the Special Edition. In order to
play, you will need to activate your ownership of the Special Edition on
Steam. You can do this with the following key:

<span style="color:#2E8B57">The Key Was Here</span>

This key has been generated for you and only need to enter it once to activate
the Special Edition on your Steam account. To activate the game, select
"Games/Activate a Product on Steam..." from the main menu in Steam and
enter in the key.

If you don't have Steam installed, you can download it from Valve's site at:
<a href="http://store.steampowered.com/about/" target="_blank">http://store.steampowered.com/about/</a>

Once Natural Selection 2 is activated, it should appear in your list of
available games and if you right click on it, you should see "Black Armor"
listed under the DLC tab.

Thanks again for your support!

Unknown Worlds Entertainment

GDWhite · July 2010

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The_Ranger @ Jul 28 2010, 04:55 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1788161"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>The E-mail in your SS looks to be the wrong one. Looks more like the one they send when you buy it.</div>
I love you oh, so much.
I keep different emails on different services for spam, professional, and miscellaneous. It was in the professional one, heh.
------

<span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:100%">Several months ago I added that initial cdkey to my steam list. Might there be a problem? Do I pretty much have standard and SE keys, both on one steam account?

I hope not.</span></span>

Herp derp, I got it now.

Slavak · July 2010

Unfortunately all you can do is be patient. Make sure you check your spam folder and such. Otherwise if they havent sent it after a day or two just email them again. You won't get much help from the forums probably. Too many threads.

Ahnteis · July 2010

Are you sure you pre-ordered the special edition rather than the regular edition? ($40)

Other than that, just email them and wait. =( Sorry, there's nothing we can do here to help.

Ahnteis · July 2010

<span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="color:red">Pinning this temporarily.
Please note <i>The_Ranger</i>'s detailed reply.</span></span>

inveigle · July 2010

I emailed Charlie and he fixed the problem, just like that! Thanks again Charlie.

Charlie Cleveland to me
show details 3:02 PM (1 hour ago)

Sorry about that, you should be all set now. Your Black Armor key is on its way to you. Enter that into Steam and you're good to go.

-Charlie

Game Director
Unknown Worlds Entertainment
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com</a>

TmH · July 2010

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (inveigle @ Jul 29 2010, 03:22 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1788185"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>I emailed Charlie and he fixed the problem, just like that! Thanks again Charlie.

Charlie Cleveland to me
show details 3:02 PM (1 hour ago)

Sorry about that, you should be all set now. Your Black Armor key is on its way to you. Enter that into Steam and you're good to go.

-Charlie

Game Director
Unknown Worlds Entertainment
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com</a></div>

Got mine as well now.

Thank you Charlie, for taking the time to solve this problem even though you guys are very busy!

Unable to access alpha with pre-order? MERGED

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