How to... some FA advice needed

[FireMessiah]

Hi all,

I used to play SupCom back in the day, and ive been recently watching the excellent FAF vidoes casted by Gyle on Youtube over the last few weeks. Watching these have urged me to get back into the game once more.
It seems alot has changed since the downfall of GPGnet and ive been looking into the info surrounding FAF for the last couple of days.

I have a few questions with regards to the installation of FA and FAF.

I have a full retail CD of Supreme Commander, but i do not own a retail version of Forged Alliance.
Here in the UK, it is difficult to find a copy of FA at the major gaming outlets.

So my question, how would i link my copy of SupCom to FA and work with FAF?

From the options ive seen, i could try purchasing the Steam version of SupCom/FA GOLD Edition (irritating as i already own supcom, but £14.99 isnt the end of the world). Will a Steam version of standalone FA work with my retail version of Supcom???
Ive read about some conflicts with FAF when using the steam version, but have also read there are ways around this by renaming certain folders.
Another option would be torrented version of FA, but ive also read about conflicts involving patching a cracked EXE.

Again, i would very much like to get back into SupCom, and FAF seems like a great alternative.
Some advice from the community on the best ways to do this, would be very much appreciated.
Yours thankfully,
FireMessiah.

[Ze_PilOt]

The steam version is compatible with FAF.

[FireMessiah]

The steam version is compatible with FAF.

ZE_Pilot, thanks for your very quick reply.

so would a purchase of FA from steam work with my retail version of SupCom?
or would i have to purchase the GOLD edition including both supcom and FA?

[Ze_PilOt]

You only need FA to play on FAF. No supcom 1 is needed, steam or retail.

Try to enter your supcom key on steam, you will see if you get FA or not with it.

[FireMessiah]

You only need FA to play on FAF. No supcom 1 is needed, steam or retail.

Try to enter your supcom key on steam, you will see if you get FA or not with it.

excellent, i had no idea FA was a standalone. i assumed it was an expansion for SupCom.

with this infomation, id hope to have FA purchased from Steam extremely shortly, and i look forward to meeting you ingame

many many thanks for your advice!

[FireMessiah]

update

upon entering my retail SupCom cd key into steam, it automatically allowed me to download FA at no additional cost.

Ze_PilOt, u are a lifesaver !!!

i guess i now have to read into a first time install guide for patching and FAF.

[Ze_PilOt]

You don't need much. The lobby will guide you. Basically all automatic.

[FireMessiah]

You don't need much. The lobby will guide you. Basically all automatic.

ur my knight in shining armor, with an awesome avatar ><

[FireMessiah]

FA downloaded in 35mins from Steam and FAF was extremely simple to setup.

thx again to everyone, and i look forward to being a part of this excellent community

edit : after 6hours of gameplay, all is running well, and i cannot find a single fault