Do I have to request for a steam key if I purchase from gamersgate? The key doesn't look like typical steam key.
Also the will I be able to preserve the save game/world from my current copy?
The keys are set by the developer, not steam. The keys for AVWW all look about the same, so there isn't really a "typical steam key".
As for the second question, when you activate the game with Steam, I'm not sure if it moves your files over or not, I don't think so, but backing the world up every once in a while is a smart idea whether you are moving the game or not. If you back it up and Steam does move it, it's easy to put back.
well I found the information here
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7480-WUSF-3601looks like typical valid key is
Valve CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
Valve CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7
...
I have activated many product keys.. typically looks like above format
and it also says there
AI War CD Keys in various formats
I guess this will be the same for AVWW will be using custom developer set keys.
Where is this character/world backup folder located if I want to manually move the save game over to steam version?