Check in the Dynaverse 2 forum.. several copies of Orion Pirates was sold with the Empires at War CD key.. an Interplay Mistake...
Orion Pirates CD Key is 20 characters..
Empires at War was 16 characters....
so if you have a 16 character CD key.. then check the Dynaverse 2 forums to see if someone has a spare CD key..
now if your problem is not being able to enter characters into the screen.. press the window key to go to desktop.. then click the orion Pirates button in the task bar to go back into game.. you should be able to enter the CD Key properly..
finally.. the 2501 patch is way outdated.. the current Orion Pirates patch is v2552 located on these boards which is now the official support site...
If you want to get all the latest installs for Orion Pirates which are the most commonly used in GameSpy Arcade, Single Player, and Dynaverse servers.. then look at the posting in the Dynaverse 2 forums for the Orion Pirates Enhancement Package v2.1 (OP Enhancement Package v2.1)
the package includes the Orion Pirates Patch v2552, the bonus content and much more all in a 165 MB Dl.... it will get you up to current status with everyone else playing Orion Pirates...
Just remember, there is no update patch for v2501 to 2552.. so you will need to uninstall Orion Pirates.. delete the game directory off your system, reinstall.. then use the Orion Pirates Enhancement Package v2.1
I hope that this information helps you out...