My problem seems different than most in this thread, but it seems better to post here than start a new 'activation problem' thread.
I bought the Gold (2013) version using IndieGameStudio. They offer steam activation or direct download. I chose direct download, thinking it would be less likely to be problematic (apparently not). They gave me 3 files to download one by one. I saved them with the filenames they supplied:
EIC_Setup.exe
EIC_Setup_1a.bin
EIC_Setup_1b.bin
I ran the exe, it asked for the first disk, I pointed it at the folder with the files, and it said it couldn't find "EIC_Setup-1a.bin". So I renamed the two bin files I'd downloaded to what it wanted, substituting a dash for the second underscore:
EIC_Setup-1a.bin
EIC_Setup-1b.bin
Although I got past this problem on my own, I mention it because others are sure to hit it, and I felt lucky I noticed the difference between the dash and underscore in the error message I was getting. Now for my real problem - activation:
After renaming the bin files the installation appeared to work fine. It asked me if I wanted to install direct x or the VS redistributable, which I skipped since I already have those multiple times. It asked me for an installation directory (I put the game on a second drive in its own folder to avoid problems with UAC since I'm running win7 x64). And it asked to accept the license agreement -- but nowhere did it prompt me for an email or product key.
After installation was apparently completed successfully, it offered a choice to launch the game, which I accepted. The game then put up a small dialog that prompted me for the key, which I got from IndieGameStudio and cut & pasted into the prompt. I had to cut & paste in 4 parts because the prompt provides four 4-character text boxes. I avoided retyping it so there would be no mistakes. This dialog does offer me the chance to register, but said I could do it later if I unchecked the box (which was already unchecked by default). I left it unchecked and proceeded to try to activate the key.
I chose the 'activate over the internet' choice, did not enter any proxy stuff, and got the message "Activation failed. Invalid serial number key. (Not found in activation database)."
Trying to run the game only reruns the activation. I can also rerun activation by running SerialKeyActivation.exe in the game folder. After the first attempt, the activation dialog no longer prompts me for my key, but it lets me try again to register and get the activation failed message again. While the failure message says the game will only run in demo mode, in fact all it offers is the chance to exit, so it's not running at all.
I've tried running SerialKeyActivation.exe as administrator, that doesn't change anything.
It seems very much like IndieGameStudio sold me a bad key. I had never bought anything from them before, so have I been scammed? They appeared legit and billed via paypal. I read earlier in this thread where Paradox responded that if the installer doesn't prompt for an email it must not be their installer. Well, sadly, it's not my installer either, but it is the only one I've been given. It was a very basic windows 98 type installer, no splash screen or music etc. IndieGameStudio refers all problems with activation to the developer, so here I am. I haven't tried uninstalling and reinstalling, since that might further complicate things, but will if advised.
Hoping for some help.