Seriously Steam...

[Zebidizy]

Sorry lads and but I'm in need of a good rant bare with me here. or if u want bear with me..rawwrrr *ahem*

Well after arriving back home in rainy ole Ireland from uni over in sunny england, I find that my parents have changed our router, the new one unfortunately isn't strong enough to reach my room upstairs..it sucks, but hey most of the games I play are single player so no problem. So after setting my gear up and turning everything on, I head on steam, (where I have slowly re built my collection of strategy games and rpg's).. And this is where steam decides no.. u can't play any of them because you can't log in as, guess what your offline.... But hold on I think, I clearly remember playing offline years ago, in fact i spent most of my time playing offline when I was younger... So sending power to my brain I remember the offline mode so beautiful placed in this wonderful system for times like these...oh for the love of cows, yup Steam decides to tell me I can't actually play offline, In fact to play offline I have to go online and switch my steam to offline... so now 80% of all the games I own I am now incapable of playing.

Now this is easily fixed all I have to do is head downstairs set where the internet resides in this fecking house go online and turn my steam to offline mode. Then return to the cavern that is my room. But Im still left with wondering why. I only ever use steam on that computer only ever log into steam on that computer. Why isn't offline mode automatically available. What if I had feck all internet and I could never access steam until i returned to uni. Has anyone else suffered this problem and am i crazy or a couple of years ago you never had to do this?

That being said I still love the bastards and Steam is still awesome...secretly evil and cunning but awesome all the same. ..and in the end I have spent too much time with ze girlfriend and drinking with fellow barbarians to care much. it helps being back in a country that knows how to pour a pint and give proper measures of whiskey...

Captcha: Giant bunny rabbit

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

This right here is why I hate Steam: it's one of the most intrusive forms of DRM on the market. The sale that's going on right now is an example of why I love it -- the whole lifetime rental aspect hurts less when you pay what would be a weekend rental anywhere else. But yeah, Steamworks sucks. People give the DRM a free pass, apparently because they've never had to use offline mode -- or at least, never had to use it without time to plan ahead, like going to a LAN party someplace with crappy internet or something.

 

[oplinger]

When steam failed to connect online, it used to ask if you'd like to start in offline mode.

Due to reasons, they got rid of it. either because of hacking (using a third party to run through steam to download any game on steam. A real thing.) or account theft/piracy (In offline mode, you can play other accounts games, even if they're logged on.) So now you have to verify it by logging in, then going offline. Which I guess doesn't help a whole lot, but..you know...whatever.

Anyway, you can still start steam in offline mode, it's just a little more advanced now than it was before.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2641233

 

[The_Healer]

snip

Invest in homeplugs, get a net connection anywhere in your home.

Problem solved.

This.

Or you could just set up the old router running off the new one as a different SSID. If you don't want to spend money that is.

 

[sanquin]

This is why I dislike steam as well. I have as little games as possible on it, and only bought some during the sale because they were dirt cheap. But I will keep my steam games list to a minimum for as long as possible.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

At this point you realise steam is basically DRM.
Almost everyone I know who complains about DRM on steam games never, ever uses steam offline. It's a bit silly.
It's valid to complain about DRM if you actually do use it, but I know 1, maybe 2 people that actually do, yet I know far more that complain about DRM.

 

[GenericAmerican]

All I hear is whine, log in once a month, play offline.

Is it DRM? Yes in a sense, but it's the easiest and most unobtrusive I've ever used; plus it keeps me in contact with all my friends and allows me to chat with them and browse the web while in game.

Anyone remember shit like Secure-rom? Pay $50 and then that pile of stupid decides you can't play for no readily apparent reason.

 

[Tanis]

They did it to stop piracy, but it didn't so all it's doing now is screwing over legit customers.

It's one of the reasons why I don't use Steam.
I'm not a criminal, don't treat me like one.

But, hey, in this forum Steam can do no wrong...even if they act like EA/Activision (or is it that EA/Activision acts like Steam?).

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Can't you run some games available on Steam by simply clicking the .exe? I've never tried it but I've heard it.

 

[ChildishLegacy]

Don't buy the games you'd want to play offline on steam if your internet connection won't be consistent.

I really don't give a crap about the DRM because I mainly play games online, and I seldom play single player games, and when I feel like it I'm already online doing something so my internet is up.

If you don't like steam don't buy off it, it's not like you don't agree to the DRM when you buy games from them. I don't get why people bash Steam when they don't have to use it (unless you want valve games), although I guess it is annoying when people act like Gabe is our messiah.

 

[FallenTraveler]

anc[is]Can't you run some games available on Steam by simply clicking the .exe? I've never tried it but I've heard it.

this is truth, not all that many games can't do this, so why not try to run it that way?

 

[Matt King]

sorry wait , sunny england?

 

[Zaik]

When steam failed to connect online, it used to ask if you'd like to start in offline mode.

Due to reasons, they got rid of it. either because of hacking (using a third party to run through steam to download any game on steam. A real thing.) or account theft/piracy (In offline mode, you can play other accounts games, even if they're logged on.) So now you have to verify it by logging in, then going offline. Which I guess doesn't help a whole lot, but..you know...whatever.

Anyway, you can still start steam in offline mode, it's just a little more advanced now than it was before.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2641233

Thanks, I knew there was a way to do it, couldn't ever get it figured out though.

 

[Irridium]

That seriously pisses me off about Steam as well. Always infuriating to be told to go online to play offline.

Don't buy the games you'd want to play offline on steam if your internet connection won't be consistent.

I really don't give a crap about the DRM because I mainly play games online, and I seldom play single player games, and when I feel like it I'm already online doing something so my internet is up.

If you don't like steam don't buy off it, it's not like you don't agree to the DRM when you buy games from them. I don't get why people bash Steam when they don't have to use it (unless you want valve games), although I guess it is annoying when people act like Gabe is our messiah.

It's not just Valve games that only use Steam.

There's Bethesda games (pretty much the only ones left making offline-only big single-player games), Civilization, and the Total War series, and it seems just to name a few. Even if you buy the games from the store, they need to be registered on Steam before you can play them. Pretty much all semi-big release uses Steam, or some other program like Origin or (god help you) GFWL, and if you wanted to avoid all of it, you'd pretty much have to give up buying quite a bit of games and stick to indies/smaller titles. Many of those are good, don't get me wrong, but it just sucks to have to stop buying certain games because you'd be unable to play them because of some service.

Personally I've stopped more or less stopped buying off Steam and have adopted the "wait until the games pop up on GoG" approach. It's how I got Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed 1, and Far Cry 2. Hopefully more games will pop up there. Not perfect, but at least I'll know I'll be able to play the games whenever I want, without having to rely on my crappy connection.

 

[Some_weirdGuy]

sunny england

and thus gentlemen, my suspicions were instantly perked. As the investigation continued i notice several other oddies in the man in questions mannerisms, all leading me to a single conclusion...


Zebidizy and 'Yzidibez' are none other than the same person! I believe you will find the ruby hidden at his estate, behind the portrait of out fair queen. The safe combination is 3 - 3 - 7. You will also find the knife used on lady Windameer.
Still doubt me? Then look at his coat, it has a tear on the left cuff, the fabric matching precisely with the piece found at the scene of the crime, and are those scratch marks I see on your neck?
Gentlemen, I stand before you without a shred of doubt that the blood found under lady Windameers fingernails belongs to mr Zebidzy as well.

*puffs pipe*

 

[Dr Jones]

All I hear is whine, log in once a month, play offline.

That is entirely an untruth, way to go chastising OP and showing you know nothing of Steam's "offline mode".

The pure retardedness of this "offline mode" makes me think if VALVe even thought of it. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Steam and VALVe, they are huge chunks of my childhood and day-to-day life. But their offline mode is so fucking retarded I cant get over it.

You can start offline mode easily if you are online, but if Steam can't connect to the internet you get this:

"Retry Connection" or "Launch in Offline Mode"

Naturally you press "Launch in Offline Mode" if you know your internet is dead. Guess what:
"Your computer has to be online to perform this action".
Just.. What? And when I did get online and try to go offline it says "Your account credentials are not stored on this computer, so you cannot go in offline mode". I log off and on, and it gives me the same message. By this point I don't even bother with offline mode, I just turn my laptop on, start Steam offline, and whenever I have to go somewhere with no internet, I just have Steam open. For as long as you are in online mode offline, you can still play... Doesen't really make sense to me..

Or am I just missing a bigger picture of this?

 

[00slash00]

yeah it can be annoying if my internet goes out and i cant play steam. thats why the whole diablo 3 always online outrage confused me, because steam did the same thing and no one seemed half as outraged. in any case, it really isnt a big deal to me. im well aware that steam is drm but i dont mind. if always being online is the price i have to pay for super cheap games and convenience, then that seems like more than a fair deal to me

 

[oplinger]

All I hear is whine, log in once a month, play offline.

That is entirely an untruth, way to go chastising OP and showing you know nothing of Steam's "offline mode".

The pure retardedness of this "offline mode" makes me think if VALVe even thought of it. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Steam and VALVe, they are huge chunks of my childhood and day-to-day life. But their offline mode is so fucking retarded I cant get over it.

You can start offline mode easily if you are online, but if Steam can't connect to the internet you get this:

"Retry Connection" or "Launch in Offline Mode"

Naturally you press "Launch in Offline Mode" if you know your internet is dead. Guess what:
"Your computer has to be online to perform this action".
Just.. What? And when I did get online and try to go offline it says "Your account credentials are not stored on this computer, so you cannot go in offline mode". I log off and on, and it gives me the same message. By this point I don't even bother with offline mode, I just turn my laptop on, start Steam offline, and whenever I have to go somewhere with no internet, I just have Steam open. For as long as you are in online mode offline, you can still play... Doesen't really make sense to me..

Or am I just missing a bigger picture of this?

That's about the gist of it, it's retarded as hell. It's more because they changed the way offline mode works, and not so much the UI, or even letting people know very easily. Used to be you'd click launch in offline mode, and it'd start right up no problem. However, as I mentioned in my earlier post, many people were logging into accounts in offline mode, and sharing the accounts. 10-20 people could use 1 account while using offline mode. So they changed it to where you had to verify your account online, to go offline, and have your credentials stored. They may fix it later, but it's really not a priority. Not many people use offline mode.

You can solve it much easier if you just go into offline mode before you leave the area with internet, or at the very least just stay offline unless you plan to buy something or check some things (though some games won't run in offline mode) but..yeah, it's a victim of the update process basically.

yeah it can be annoying if my internet goes out and i cant play steam. thats why the whole diablo 3 always online outrage confused me, because steam did the same thing and no one seemed half as outraged. in any case, it really isnt a big deal to me. im well aware that steam is drm but i dont mind. if always being online is the price i have to pay for super cheap games and convenience, then that seems like more than a fair deal to me

No one raged about steam because it at least has an offline mode. D3 does not.

interruptions in connectivity are what we get for living in a society where everything must be connected to the hive mind..It's not just games that do this. It's almost everything..

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Yeah, encountered this problem a little while back while my place was being remodeled and I was cut off from the internet for a week. I hadn't even known about offline mode at that time, although I was able to play so long as I was still signed in while at uni and only put my laptop into sleep mode instead of outright turning it off. Imagine how foolish I felt when I found out about offline mode after doing that all week.