Albion Prelude on Steam on a cd TC install?

[SLUGGO]

I have the cd version of TC, and purchased Albion Prelude a while back in a Steam sale. Is it possible to install AP to my TC game? I know Steam will accept my TC registration key and let me download TC, but I understand if I mod the game some Steam stuff may not work right? Basically I want to use my cd version of TC with AP from Steam, but I don't want to run my whole TC game through Steam. Possible? Also, will any save games or characters from TC carry over into AP, or will I start from scratch? Guess I am wondering which is the better option here. Thanks

[Alan Phipps]

You need the Steam X3TC version installed to run X3AP (which is an expansion of TC) but you keep the DVD install as well in a separate folder and can modify and play that as you want. The X3AP and X3TC saves are stored totally separately and you cannot interchange them. X3AP does need a fresh start as it is effectively a different game. Read the X3AP info here.

The Steam TC version will share the same saves as the DVD version unless you use save management of some kind (example). If your DVD TC version is modified or a different patch version then using the Steam TC version with its saves is not recommended.

Here is an FAQ or two that may help. Note that if you have already modified your TC installation then using that to cut down download time to get X3AP is not recommended as the extra/modded files may break X3AP.

[SLUGGO]

Thank you for helping. So If I am starting from scratch, is there any reason NOT to play TC through Steam (as in mods don't work, etc)?

[Cycrow]

The only things that wont work if you mod your game are the steam achievements. which you wont get without steam anyways.

so a modded version is the same for both the cd and steam.

and you can have both versions and run them seperatlly if you really wanted

[SLUGGO]

Beautiful - thanks