Red Alert 3

For those of us struggling to connect online due to invalid serial numbers, Apoc (RA3 community manager) has posted an explanation and when we can expect it to be fixed.

"Hey everyone,

Too many multiple threads for me to reply in, so here is the official word on BOTH serial key issues right now.

SERIAL KEY ISSUE #1 - My key says it is invalid and I cannot get online

There were a small amount of keys in the early distribution which were not pre-loaded in to our backend, thus that is why it's tell you it is invalid. This is a similar issue we experienced during the Beta Test. This will be resolved by the end of day TODAY. By tonight, or at latest tomorrow morning, anyone experiencing this particular issue should be able to get online without a problem. Many of you may not even experience this.

SERIAL KEY ISSUE #2 - My manual has 19 digits instead of 20 for the serial key

To our misfortune, another small set of the first run of manuals misprinted the serial keys, leaving one digit off. Our Customer Support team will be posting a simple FAQ proces at help.commandandconquer.com where you can contact them and they will quickly help you fix your key.

However, there is a quick workaround if you do not want to go through that process.

The last digit of your serial key will either be a number from 0 - 9 or a letter from A - Z. Using a quick proces of elimination, simply type a number or letter at the end of the serial key until it activates. There is a maximum of 36 possible entries, so it's likely you'll hit the correct number or letter before then. It's not the most glamorous workaround, but its quick and painless and will save you some time from contacting Customer Support if you don't wish to do that.

We apologize for these two serial key issues. Both were absolutely out of our hands and while seemingly unacceptable, we hope you can understand. For most of you, this should not be an issue by tomorrow, especially when everyone starts getting online. Any more updates on critical issues or any of the above, i'll keep you posted.

-APOC"

A self-respecting company would remove the locks until they sorted it out.. then boot anyone online illegally once they fix it.

This is classic EA thou.. when there's a problem.. we'll fix it in a while, just hang tight.

Sif it was that easy .

Most people haven't even been able to purchase the game (I am getting it tonight as it just came in stock). A response this fast from APOC is a good sign I think.

Agreed. As long as not TOO many people got the 19 digit keys and have to do the 36 digit thing or contact tech support, it should be fine.

This post has been edited by Zair14: Oct 29 2008, 20:40 PM

I'm impressed by how quickly EA got their mistake under control. I personally don't mind the mistake since they are trying to fix it. I can only hope their support for RA3 remains.

I love the 36 combination fix . It makes sense, and whilst it would be annoying if you have to type it 36 times (as 'sods law' says it will be Z ) it still means you will play the game within 10 mins .

Gotta love the quality of the manual printers .

Darky

Mine only came with 19 characters, but i got it on the 9th try (on the #9.) Still though, shotty quality off the bat, not a good sign. Human error FTL!

I would think it would be relatively easy (from a programming standpoint) to make a lock-free server.

Add in one line of code at the very beginning that reads something like this:

Checkserial: No (I don't know what language they're using, but you get the idea )

fixed.

I don't mind the mistake. But, "Both were absolutely out of our hands" is total BS. Actually, it was totally in their hands. But, if they experienced the same problems during beta, it was even more in their hands.

It's just a bug. Why not own up to it like a respectable business instead of just blaming it on some unknown pair of hands. Makes me wonder about the image of the 'tight ship gaming company' that all the big names try to present.

Son of a.... I have an invalid key!

Grrr...


Just curious, if one were to enter it in wrong, how would you change it?

not really to possible... From my viewpoint of what i understand i may be wrong, but the Validation of CD keys is done by Gamespy not EA, EA sends them the keys and gamespy checks them with their online service for legit play. basically its a beg gamespy to remove the lock, while any form of coder on the EA end cant do anything about that.

but yeah i am surprised that mine was fixed tonight though, as Generally when apoc lists off 3 different times.....

This post has been edited by KiF1rE: Oct 30 2008, 09:09 AM

EA sucks so HARD

The funny thing is that EALA obviously can't release a single game without massive MP problems on day 1 .

Right. It's quite frustrating.

On a slight different note, when I search AM it usually works fine the first match. Then second game I can sit for ages without anything happening. Only when I go to "Main menu" and back to online interface can I find opponents again.
Anyone with same impression?

Reinstall?

I've got a question about the 19 digit one.

Is it possible there's more than 1 right key and that the invalid serial key becomes an additional problem after playing pick the letter? Also, isn't it possible for you to pick someone else's serial key?

Probably not. I think the serial keys are a hash made from a smaller code. It would probably be impossible to create a hash with 19 digits, then have the twentieth be variable.

I had a 19 digit key printed on mine. I didn't guess. I called EA and got another one within 10 minutes. That one still doesn't work, even though APOC said it would all be fixed today. So lame...

Yeah, I actually had a problem with this myself. I searched a bit on the internet for an answer, but had no such luck. I ended up returning the game to Best Buy, exchanging it for a new one, and the new CD Key worked fine.

Can someone please help me, just got my copy of RA3, with 20 digit key and try to get online and says invalid, from what I've read on posts going back to Oct this was meant to be fixed!! I'm well pissed off at EA, can anyone tell me has a fix been made, or what to do about it, its totally unacceptable! Any help would be much appreciated!!