For me, especially right now, the clincher I am looking for is playing over Lan. I love playing multiplayer strategy games with my family and friends, but sometimes we can't afford the 4 copies that some games want to require you to fulfill. That said I have a few questions on this.
1) Is an internet connection required at all for MP over LAN? I doubt it is, but some studios are kooky. Also, without an internet connection -- installation via archived CD -- how would I go about activation?
2) Would I get in trouble for buying 1 copy and using it for MP over LAN with my family? I am familiar with Stardock/Totalgaming.Net policy of no copy protection, but I don't want my serial revoked. I do know that Stardock has the capability to track installation and distribution of serials by usage.
3) If I need to buy an additional copy to play in MP over LAN, what ratio to players would be the most acceptable?
That's all I can think of for now.
Edit: Oh yeah, one of the Stardock guys might be able to answer the following. If I preorder with a discount code, will it get charged as such when the next beta is released even outside the code's validity? I hope so.... (Otherwise why waste a good coupon?)