Urgent Help Required With @~£$%^R&% STEAM.

StriderX said:
You have to be online to choose to go offline first, as it changes some files to work, it wont bother you after that, but every new game requires it.
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What are you talking about?

I have just stated that Steam, which has not been able to connect to the internet since April 2nd, has just blocked me from playing all my games, until it can connect to the internet again.

Clearly Steam doesn't offer a true offline mode, but allows the paying customer to be offline for a short period of time, before requiring the PC to 'phone home' and verify itself.

So that is the sort of hassles that punters like me who spend a few hundred quid on games every year have to put up with. Meanwhile, all the pirates get to play for free and don't suffer any such issues.

I would like to continue to pay for games (especially those that I enjoy) but Nazi DRM like Steam and now Rockstar Social Club are really forcing my hand in a certain direction.
 
MatTheCat said:
Wrong.

It will try to connect.

17 days into my latest stint offshore, Steam tried to connect, couldn't connect, and now I am prevented from playing all my games on my laptop until I get back on 6th May.

I would like to rip off Gabe Newell's head and take dump in the hole where his neck used to be. I won't let this happen to me ever again with any DRM system. I will acquire cracks for all my existing single player offline games, and I know which 'version' of games I shall be downloading in the future.
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its not wrong, did you even read the rest of the post.
 
MatTheCat said:
What are you talking about?

I have just stated that Steam, which has not been able to connect to the internet since April 2nd, has just blocked me from playing all my games, until it can connect to the internet again.

Clearly Steam doesn't offer a true offline mode, but allows the paying customer to be offline for a short period of time, before requiring the PC to 'phone home' and verify itself.

So that is the sort of hassles that punters like me who spend a few hundred quid on games every year have to put up with. Meanwhile, all the pirates get to play for free and don't suffer any such issues.

I would like to continue to pay for games (especially those that I enjoy) but Nazi DRM like Steam and now Rockstar Social Club are really forcing my hand in a certain direction.
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The paying customer should know that Steam is an online based DRM system and is not intended to be used at sea for long periods of time.

Buy off of GoG next time. I use Steam wherever possible because I don't spend long periods of time away and have 152meg internet. If I was going to be spending weeks way at sea I'd be looking at a different means of purchasing my games.
 
Stored information that is required for offline mode to function may be lost when forcing Steam to close instead of exiting Steam correctly. Always manually close Steam before shutting your computer down or running out of battery life if you wish to use offline mode for an extended period of time.
If the required offline mode data is lost, there is no way to start Steam without an internet connection. If you consistently encounter this issue, ensure that you are not using any programs that can interfere with Steam.
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https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-agcb-2555
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289
 
KIA said:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-agcb-2555
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289
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This is no excuse.

Valve are the ones holding all the aces. Steam is their cash cow. It is up to them to make sure it works as intended.

I have had issues with being blocked from offline mode before...but they said that they fixed it....but if it's functionality can be so easily broken, then it is their system that is broke......and besides....I don't believe that is quite how it works at all. What I have been doing is turning off my Laptop's WiFi each and everytime before I log into Steam...but this time I forgot. Steam made some sort of contact with 'home', but couldn't connect fully and therefore has blocked me from my games until it can re-verify itself with Valve's servers.

For all the hate that Origin gets, it's offline mode has never failed me. Never. How can it be so hard to get something like this right, especially considering the income stream Valve generates from simply offering a DRM platform for other publishers work?
 
If you're going to be disconnected from the internet for long periods of time, your only real option is to avoid using Steam. Places like GOG, Origin, Rockstar Social Club etc. have more reliable ways of allowing you to play offline.
 
ZombieFan said:
If you're going to be disconnected from the internet for long periods of time, your only real option is to avoid using Steam. Places like GOG, Origin, Rockstar Social Club etc. have more reliable ways of allowing you to play offline.
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Rockstar Social Club? Are you sure?

My finger was hovering over the BUY button for a DVD version of GTA V, for when I get back, but I did my homework and have discovered that GTA V has the very worst of Always On DRM systems.
 
I've used offline mode in the past, only for about 7/8 days but it worked flawlessly.

Did you read the above link and make sure you did everything correctly?
 
I feel like if you're using an Always-On Internet Digital Delivery and Management Platform to buy games you're planning to use for long periods offline then you're setting yourself up for failure. Steam has always been that way since it's release, dodgy offline usage. KIA just linked to Valve literature detailing how best to use Offline Mode and you've dismissed it.

Using the "i've paid and it's mine and I should be able to do what I want" argument doesn't really wash because you know what Steam is and you have the option to buy physical media.

If I had a lifestyle of being offline for long periods the last thing I'd do is buy my games from a platform designed around internet delivery and maintenance. Then again there's no toys in my pram.

I'm sorry that your games aren't working, that must be frustrating, but ****** and blinding about steam, Gabe Newell (i mean, what?) and life in general, as well as dismissing people's links that literally show you what's going wrong is surely not filling that gap for you?
 
MatTheCat is regularly having these sorts of problems. It's PEBCAK most of the time, I think he just likes ranting and foaming at the mouth, then proclaiming that piracy is the solution to the problems he usually creates for himself.
 
DampCat said:
I'm sorry that your games aren't working, that must be frustrating, but ****** and blinding about steam, Gabe Newell (i mean, what?) and life in general, as well as dismissing people's links that literally show you what's going wrong is surely not filling that gap for you?
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There is squat I can do about the info contained within the links my friend, as Steam has locked me out and I can't do anything about that until I am back onshore.

Still, good information for 'next time' I suppose, if I am prepared to risk letting myself in for another 'next time'.

And I think I do have a right to spit on Steam. I have paid nig bucks for this gaming laptop and invested yet more money and time upgrading to the GTX 980M. I have shelled out yet more hard earned on a big bunch of games and this bloody poxy DRM system won't let me play with them. For the wise sage who suggested that I only buy physical copies of games. I practically only ever buy physical copies of games, but low n behold, they force me to use Steam. So Instead of chilling out in my free time I am tearing my hair out trying to download cracks that work from the odd dodgy site that slips through the firewall I am behind, but without much success. STEAM is forcing me towards piracy.



btw...if anyone knows a good source for 'files' that will help me get a game or two working please do PM me with the details.


spoffle said:
MatTheCat is regularly having these sorts of problems. It's PEBCAK most of the time, I think he just likes ranting and foaming at the mouth, then proclaiming that piracy is the solution to the problems he usually creates for himself.
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Perhaps I am regularly having these sorts of problems because I am regularly gaming in the absence of a solid internet connection to which I have unlimited access. Perhaps I am also regularly having these problems because despite telling myself that piracy is the answer, I never actually do and keep paying for games, the majority of which force me to use Steam. Perhaps now I will finally learn the damn lesson?
 
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I can completely sympathise because I recently came back from a stint somewhere with no Internet. I made sure I went offline correctly when I was at home.

Arrived at my destination. Played games fine, then out of the blue it would stop letting me into offline mode. I managed to get quickly online with a satellite connection to go offline mode again.

This probably happened 8+ times in 3 months.

I think a lot of people who say it works fine haven't actually experienced it in periods longer than 2 weeks offline.
 
FinglisHobbit said:
This probably happened 8+ times in 3 months.

I think a lot of people who say it works fine haven't actually experienced it in periods longer than 2 weeks offline.
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Precisely. Only those who are actually relying on Steam's Offline mode doing what it says on the tin, realise that it bloody well doesn't do as it says on the tin and even when it connects in 'offline' mode, it will still want to periodically phone home. This way, this nasty little piece of DRM junkware gives the impression of actually allowing for a true offline mode, whilst secretly relaying information to the 'mother ship' without the end user being aware of it.


......and 8 times in 3 months is roughly once every fortnight!

This is utter horse*faeces* and sneaky as hell to boot.

Cracks all the way for me from now on. Steam has convinced me that piracy is the only way forward (for all games that require trash DRM junkware).
 
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DampCat said:
Or just buy physical media.
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And they nearly all require some kind of login these days. They all run off Steam, Origin or Uplay.

I can tell you that Ive not had one issue with Uplay when Ive been away. That one just always works for me.

I appreciate why they do it, because I guess we would just all share our accounts with friends, however its bloody annoying.

Regarding the Steam one, if thats down to the laptop not shutting down properly, battery dying etc. Then thats damned annoying. Because its easy to be dragged away from your laptop and either shut it down in a rush, or forget to turn it off.
 
As someone who had this issue before I can confirm that offline mode has a time limit and Steam will force you to re-login after a number of weeks. This means without internet you will be locked out of your account and can`t access any games.
 
DampCat said:
I feel like if you're using an Always-On Internet Digital Delivery and Management Platform to buy games you're planning to use for long periods offline then you're setting yourself up for failure. Steam has always been that way since it's release, dodgy offline usage. KIA just linked to Valve literature detailing how best to use Offline Mode and you've dismissed it.

Using the "i've paid and it's mine and I should be able to do what I want" argument doesn't really wash because you know what Steam is and you have the option to buy physical media.

If I had a lifestyle of being offline for long periods the last thing I'd do is buy my games from a platform designed around internet delivery and maintenance. Then again there's no toys in my pram.

I'm sorry that your games aren't working, that must be frustrating, but ****** and blinding about steam, Gabe Newell (i mean, what?) and life in general, as well as dismissing people's links that literally show you what's going wrong is surely not filling that gap for you?
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Ironically I only discovered Steam because I bought a hard copy of a game and it promptly told me that I needed a Steam account when installing. Before that I had never heard of it.
 
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