SMAX CD-Less Crack Available?

[Hydro]

Anyone know where I can get the SMAX CD crack? It is very nice not having to have the SMAX CD in the drive (playing music, or whatever). I thought it was at Goog's site Spartan Chronicles, but I didn't see it.

I do have the crack, but I'd like to send it to a friend and it may be too big to e-mail (I sent it - we'll see if it made it).

Thx,
Hydro

P.S. - the main reason I like the crack is that it preserves the hard/impossible to get SMAX CD. A year or two ago my elderly laptop munched my SMAX CD. I thought I would cry when I heard the awful grinding/whirring noises. I was partially able to rehabilitate it, and I bought a spare just in case - the old one works 50-50. Good thing, since now SMAX CDs are almost impossible to get.

[Maniac]

Link to Googlie's crack page:

http://googlie2.tripod.com/rynnsgallery/id8.html

It's available on Rynn's Gallery, which is difficult to find. For some reason Googlie only provides a tiny easy-to-oversee link to it on his links page.

[Asmodean]

In my mind, once companies stop supporting games, they should post the cracked .exe on their websites. This would make it a lot easier for people who lost their CD's, or whose CD's become unreadable.

But of course I know that it'll never happen.

Asmodean

[Verrucosus]

Last year Firaxis released a WinXP-Compatibility Update. I applied it to my Planetary-Pack-version of SMAX and have been able to start the game without the CD ever since. (I just receive a warning that some features may not work without a full install.)

Another side-effect of the compatibility update is that, when applied to classic SMAC, it appears to fix both Golden Age-booming and maintenance costs on higher levels. I believe Rubin has also noticed this.

Personally, I was rather impressed with the fact that an update was made available more than three years after the game's original release. If I were Firaxis, I'd have advertised it a bit more.

Verrucosus

[Hydro]

Thanks for the advice and e-mails, all. It turns out my PBEM friend got the e-mail with the crack after all.

I didn't know the compatability 'patch' did that! I am impressed, too. I'll get it right away!

Regard,
Hydro