So Steam offline mode is not actually an offline mode?

[Via]

Has it always been like this? I had no idea. Am I totally out of the loop or what?

I always figured that as a long time customer with a large account I would be able to play my games during outages. What a dunce I am.

 

[Tristicus]

You can?

 

[gothamhunter]

So what you mean to say, is that you're doing it wrong?
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555

Follow the pre-steps to ensure that it's properly configured for offline mode.

 

[Via]

How do you do it then?

I got the option to start steam offline and it immediately said "could not connect".

 

[gothamhunter]

How do you do it then?

I got the option to start steam offline and it immediately said "could not connect".

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555

Follow the pre-steps to ensure it's properly configured.

 

[KeithTalent]

I've played offline several times and I don't recall ever having to do anything special to set it up. :hmm:

KT

 

[Via]

It says you have to be online to start the offline mode.

I lost my nets last night for about 2 hours and couldn't access my games. I thought offline mode was for that situation, but obviously it's not.

Like I said - I'm naive, but I'm sure I'm not the only one.

 

[igloo15]

you have to first be online to initialize offline mode the first time. Then you are clear to use offline mode whenever you want. If they allowed offline mode without verifying anything than you could give everyone your games with no protection against it.

 

[PingSpike]

It really does leave something to be desired, but it mostly worked back when I was on dial up...the initial nightmare of getting it updated was ridiculous though as steam seems to actually be really horrible at downloading updates on a unreliable low bandwidth connection.

There is really a lot of room for the offline mode to improve. I'm not 100% sure but I want to say it still needs to contact the mothership every once and awhile.

 

[Merad]

Used to, you could unplug your NIC before starting steam and it would let you go offline with no issues. Dunno if that still works.

 

[Via]

Used to, you could unplug your NIC before starting steam and it would let you go offline with no issues. Dunno if that still works.

It doesn't.

 

[Nebor]

The first time you use offline mode, you have to be online. Makes perfect sense.

 

[Wyndru]

you have to first be online to initialize offline mode the first time. Then you are clear to use offline mode whenever you want. If they allowed offline mode without verifying anything than you could give everyone your games with no protection against it.

I've never set it up so I might be missing something, but if this is the reasoning, couldn't you just have all of your friends "borrowing" your account do the same thing and set it up for offline mode? All you need to be is online the first time, correct?

Unless you mean you can only "register" 1 computer to be offline, and that is why you need to be online initially.

Looking around, it appears people can use offline mode on multiple computers (against the TOA though), but apparently p2p lan play doesn't work or blocking steam servers so they can't see you but the games can for multiplayer. So it seems they have a handle on that (and of course this is blocked for anti-piracy reasons) but I'm just trying to understand why they require you to be online to setup offline mode if once it's set up, you can play them on multiple computers.

 

[Via]

I don't have time right now, but I'm going to test this all later tonight.

If I can restart my PC without an internet connection and play the games I've set up without issue then all's well.

I'm sure I'm not the only Steam user who assumed the offline mode would automatically take care of you if you lost your internet.

 

[Nebor]

I'm sure I'm not the only Steam user who assumed the offline mode would automatically take care of you if you lost your internet.

I'm pretty sure that you are. Most Steam users have some degree of technical expertise, and thus tend to fiddle with and test features that they think they might use in the future.

 

[Via]

Yeah, I'm the only one out of what, 50 million.

numbnuts.

 

[Nebor]

Yeah, I'm the only one out of what, 50 million.

numbnuts.

Did you check on the Steam forums? Similarly challenged people, if they do in fact exist, might have made threads there.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I dont understand this well myself either. I also thought you had to be online to set up offline mode.

However, recently just for kicks, I unplugged my wireless adapter got games to start just by clicking game's icon. However, I had set up offline mode earlier for other games.

I have always been upset at the idea of having to be online to start offline mode. Kind of the ultimate catch 22, if you will. However, maybe you can still play if your internet goes out though. I am also not sure how playing in offline mode affects saved games in the steam cloud, and if you can choose whether to update the cloud save with you offline saves.

 

[CU]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2134079

Quick summary.
Under File->Settings, Friends tab, the Automatically sign into Friends has to be unchecked. Of course you have to be able to get into steam to change it. Awesome design.

 

[gothamhunter]

You need to be online ONCE to properly configure your Steam console for offline mode. After that, you can start it in offline mode all the time if you really wish to...

 

[xXFaNtAsMaXx]

As long as your games are all updated to the latest version that was available last time you were online, you shouldn't have a problem. I've played in offline mode many-a-time.

 

[lord_emperor]

Using Offline Mode on a PC.

Please follow the instructions below to configure Offline Mode on your PC:

1. Start Steam online - make sure the Remember my password box on the login window is checked
2. Verify that all game files are completely updated - you can see the update status for a game under the Library section (when the game shows as 100% - Ready it is ready to be played in Offline Mode)
3. Launch the game you would like to play offline to verify that there are no further updates to download - shut down the game and return to Steam once you have confirmed that the game can be played
4. Go to Steam > Settings to ensure the Don't save account credentials on this computer option is not selected
5. From the main Steam window, go to the Steam menu and select Go Offline
6. Click Restart in Offline Mode to restart Steam in Offline Mode

My ISP always informs me before they do maintenance, have an outage during a windstorm or some drunk ass knocks down a utility pole, doesn't yours?

 

[xXFaNtAsMaXx]

My ISP always informs me before they do maintenance, have an outage during a windstorm or some drunk ass knocks down a utility pole, doesn't yours?

Fuck no. You must have some locally owned ISP. The big cable companies and DSL companies don't give a rat's ass about their regular grade customers. They business ones they care a bit more about, but I wouldn't be shocked if they don't get notified either.

I know that Charter has not once called to tell us that they will be performing maintenance or doing something that will effect the quality of our internet and cable. We have to wait until it starts acting up, call them, and then hear a message that they are performing maintenance in our area and that any problems we are experiencing may be related to it, so we should call back later with any issues we may have.

 

[lord_emperor]

 

[Aikouka]

I've been able to start up Steam games while not in offline mode and the Internet connection was down. I wonder if it's affected by the fact that I've played the game recently, because doesn't Steam usually download a key or some small piece of data to allow you to play the game?