Civ 5 digital deluxe coming exclusively to Steam! Steamworks confirmed!

[Janig]

And what on Earth makes you think you should be speculating on problems I have?

your posts. now that ive visited the steam support homepage that you mention, there is a featured article on offline mode, stop wasting my time lol.

 

[PieceOfMind]

your posts. now that ive visited the steam support homepage that you mention, there is a featured article on offline mode, stop wasting my time lol.

Does it address the problem I was having? If so, can you please point me to it? That would be helpful, and I'd be very grateful.

By the way, if you're talking about this page: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555, then no, nothing on there is relevant to the bug I experienced.

 

[Xiao Xiong]

To use offline mode you have to save your credentials while in online mode.

This is the DEFAULT behavior in steam. For that not to happen you would have had to go into some steam menus and shut that behavior off, telling it not to save your credentials, contrary to the default.

If you did shut it off, and then tried to launch the game while offline, it would correctly refuse to launch because it is obeying your command not to save your credentials. That is not a bug, that is steam doing exactly what you told it to do.

If you stay with the default setting, which is to save your credentials, and if your games are all up to date, then you can go into offline mode while disconnected and it will work fine.

"I told steam to forget the game validation information and then when I launched offline it could not confirm my games were valid" <- NOT A BUG

 

[Crazy George]

OMG.
That sounds like the app store is something godsend to bring salvation to humanity.

Godsend = literally, something sent by God.
App Store: Steve Jobs' personal marketplace.
I'm not seeing the contradiction.

Actually, I was just using it as what I assumed would be a well known point of reference. Me, I'm more of a Open Source type guy.


In other news, for a long time one of the programs I had to run for work was only compatible with an older version of Java. If Java had updated automatically (without asking me), I'd would have had to reinstall it every day.

Thus, with Steam automatically updating C5 (or so I am told), this could become a way for an "evil" company to push free mods into the background. It being a pain for programers to re-update the code on their mod (or freeware) everytime a new version of the base program is released. (I point to FFH falling out of the mod game as a case point or how many free programs for XP won't work in W7.)

I don't have any expectation that mods for Civ 4 will work for C5.
And if Firaxis wanted to, they could insure that mods programed for C5 v1.2 (vanilla) would not be compatible with C5 v2.3 (the inevitable Elvin expansion, I keep my fingers crossed).

Not saying they're going to do that, but if I had a fear associated with Steam, it would be something along these lines.

 

[PieceOfMind]

To use offline mode you have to save your credentials while in online mode.

This is the DEFAULT behavior in steam. For that not to happen you would have had to go into some steam menus and shut that behavior off, telling it not to save your credentials, contrary to the default.

If you did shut it off, and then tried to launch the game while offline, it would correctly refuse to launch because it is obeying your command not to save your credentials. That is not a bug, that is steam doing exactly what you told it to do.

If you stay with the default setting, which is to save your credentials, and if your games are all up to date, then you can go into offline mode while disconnected and it will work fine.

"I told steam to forget the game validation information and then when I launched offline it could not confirm my games were valid" <- NOT A BUG

I appreciate the suggestion and tried it out. I went into Steam settings while in online mode and checked the box "Don't save account credentials on this computer", changing it away from the default option.

I followed the steps to produce the bug (from my earlier post) and it still happens. That is, Steam goes into a update mode. However I didn't wait out the full 2 minutes this time. Am I meant to wait for that?

I'm finding the issue of saving credentials to be a tad confusing, partly because of all the double negatives we're dealing with here and partly because it's a part of software I am not very familiar with, so please forgive me if I sound the imbecile (lol, and to give you an idea, I was going to spell that imbocile ).

 

[isndl]

Generally, you don't want to delete the credentials unless you're having a specific problem involving logging in and can go online for a new set. If you can't go online, deleting them means that it's impossible to go into offline mode until you are online again.

Steam doesn't check to see if the credentials are valid until it tries to log in. It doesn't try to log in until after it tries to contact Steam. Your problem is with the 'contacting Steam servers' part, not the 'logging in' part.

 

[civ_king]

not "salvation" more of gentrification, also according to AT&T 40% of iPhones are work related

 

[Xiao Xiong]

I appreciate the suggestion and tried it out. I went into Steam settings while in online mode and checked the box "Don't save account credentials on this computer", changing it away from the default option.

The box should be UNCHECKED, you want it to save your credentials. If you do as you say and CHECK the box then, as described in the text right under the box, offline mode will be disabled.

I followed the steps to produce the bug (from my earlier post) and it still happens. That is, Steam goes into a update mode. However I didn't wait out the full 2 minutes this time. Am I meant to wait for that?

If you're in the middle of a steam client update you had best finish the update in online mode and then go offline. Once you're offline it shouldn't start any new updates.

 

[PieceOfMind]

The box should be UNCHECKED, you want it to save your credentials. If you do as you say and CHECK the box then, as described in the text right under the box, offline mode will be disabled.

The same thing happened whether the box was checked or unchecked.

If you're in the middle of a steam client update you had best finish the update in online mode and then go offline. Once you're offline it shouldn't start any new updates.

It wasn't in the middle of a client update. The update dialogue appears regardless.

i.e. the steps:
1. Be in online mode with active internet connection.
2. Break the internet by unscrewing the wireless antenna or similar problem.
3. Close Steam.
4. Run Steam.
5. Steam comes up as attempting an update, stuck at 0%, for 2 minutes until it asks if the user wants offline mode. Selecting offline mode doesn't work.

The solution, which I mentioned earlier, is to disable the network device if the internet connection is down for some reason.

So just to be clear, this particular problem is not annoying me all that much anymore because I know a work around, but it is a reproducible bug and for someone who doesn't know the fix, it could be quite frustrating.

The saving or not of credentials appears to make no difference. There might be other cases where it makes a difference.

 

[Aesir Rising]

Steam Offline Mode requires you to be online when you initiate it. Offline Mode is not a solution for unplanned loss of connectivity (your Step #2 replicates an unplanned loss of connectivity).

 

[eireksten]

Steam Offline Mode requires you to be online when you initiate it. Offline Mode is not a solution for unplanned loss of connectivity (your Step #2 replicates an unplanned loss of connectivity).

No, it doesn't. If the problem PieceOfMind experiences appear, it is due to some bug or compatibility issue.

If you don't have connection when firing up Steam (while it's set to online mode), it should prompt you for retrying or going offline. Choosing "Go offline" should initiate offline mode just fine. This is how it is intended to work, and also how it works on my computer.

 

[Aesir Rising]

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

You should let Valve know they're wrong about requiring online connectivity when you initiate Offline Mode.

If the problem PieceOfMind experiences appear, it is due to some bug or compatibility issue.

That doesn't help much. Given that last month (May) was the first month since sometime last year (September? November?) where there wasn't at least one Offline Mode outage either relating to all Offline Mode or some popular just-launched or just-updated game that made its way into Valve's Steam Client patch notes, it doesn't help the person that wants to play a given game to know whether or not to blame Valve.

 

[Senethro]

And if you had Steam to try it out yourself you would know better.

That tech support link is for starting the process from scratch. If you log in to Steam with credentials saved then any time after that where you lack an online connection, you can activate Offline mode without going online.

But by all means, continue spreading misinformation.

Moderator Action: Flaming
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[eireksten]

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

You should let Valve know they're wrong about requiring online connectivity when you initiate Offline Mode.

You need to activate each game online. That has never been disputed. You do not, however, have to be online to enter offline mode. As long as you haven't unchecked the "store my account data locally" it should work.

Nothing from that support page contradicts my statements.

That doesn't help much. Given that last month (May) was the first month since sometime last year (September? November?) where there wasn't at least one Offline Mode outage either relating to all Offline Mode or some popular just-launched or just-updated game that made its way into Valve's Steam Client patch notes, it doesn't help the person that wants to play a given game to know whether or not to blame Valve.

I never said it was a good thing

 

[Aesir Rising]

@Senethro:
"Starting the process from scratch" occurs frequently if you use Steam on more than one computer, as I do.

For example, if you logon to your laptop (online) while your desktop is already logged into Steam, the credentials clear automatically, whether the check box to save them is selected or not. What this means is that if you then take your laptop offline, you get the fun "Unable to connect to the Steam network. 'Offline Mode' is unavailable because there is no Steam login information..."

There are plenty of ways for Offline Mode to fail. Don't pretend otherwise.

As far as misinformation, just look at the Steam client patch notes. Try reading them without your rosey fanboi glasses.

I use Offline Mode one weekend a month (usually), and a couple of weeks over the summer - my next two week long offline mode extravaganza starts June 6. Do you use offline mode at all?

 

[ori]

Moderator Action: Anyone who cannot remain civil is free to not post. Neither name calling nor implying that other users are lying fits that bill - so stop it now.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Kazper]

Damn... I had heard nothing of this. This means no Civ 5 for me ever - no seriously I will never, ever buy a Steam powered game. It's that simple even though this was my most anticipated game of the year I'm a sad panda now.

 

[12agnar0k]

had heard nothing of what, geez be more concise.

 

[ori]

not hard to understand of what he hadn't heard if one reads the thread title

 

[The_J]

I'm digging this out, because it's the longest Steam thread and because:

Just noticed that "Civilization 5: Campaign Edition" is heavily featured on the Mac App Store for $49.99. Has anyone tried it? How does it differ?

From the notices it includes Babylonian civ as well as Mongols civ and scenarios.

It also claims it supports only LAN multiplayer and no achievements.

I would hazard that this is a STEAM-less implementation.

It seems Aspyr went and made a SP/local only version for those who don't care about MP. It's very plausible that it's Steam-less given that if it did use steam, it'd have to be stated somewhere in there. (it's not)

but given that it's using the Mac App store, (and the regular version of the game is not) then they're likely using the Apple DRM system.

That's correct. It does not use Steam.

It's the same as the Steam version, except for no internet play and no achievements.

thanks Firaxis.
That's what we asked before, and now he have the choice between no Steam and another pest.
I hope now no one is anymore going to tell us that Steam is an integral part of the game .
ggggrrrrrrr