Civilization 5 Steamworks questions/concerns for inclusion in the FAQ

[katze]

on the DLC topic I found this answer by Elizabeth 2K highly ironic:

You say 2K listens to gamers, yet that is complete and utter bull. Why in the world would you cut content out of the game and sell it separately if you really cared about gamers? This reeks of some executive who thinks we are just walking wallets and not human beings. I do not think anyone said "HEY! CUT CONTENT OUT OF THE GAME AND SELL IT SEPARATELY!" And if they did, I want you to point me towards them.

I do not care about Steam. It's the DLC and locking content out that bothers me. If it is not removed (like 2K will listen to me), I am not buying Civ V. Instead, I'm warning people not to buy it, because if they do, they'll be supporting a faceless, greedy corporation that does not care in the slightest about the wants and needs of gamers.

Don't worry, I know this message will be promptly ignored. And if it isn't, don't say something like "oh its an extra." An "extra" would be those videos. An extra would be a poster. An extra would be something cool, yet trivial, and something that wouldn't decrease the value of the game.
I don't ignore things like this, don't worry (although the copious smiley faces replacing some of your choice words made me distracted!)

There isn't a ton of info out on the game so far, so I understand some of you are wary, but we have a lot of civs in the game and the regular edition is anything but lacking features, civs, and gameplay. I don't think there's any way I can convince you the bonus content is that - extra - instead of something cut, so I hope when more details come out about Civilization V you'll understand than you will have oodles to do and many civs to master even if you don't want to grab the edition with Babylon in it. I also understand if behind-the-scenes videos or the music isn't your cup of tea, either - but I know that some people really do value that stuff, and for them, I hope they like it. But that's why it's optional - we want to give people choice.

It is indeed something cut. You say you can buy a full version with all Civs and all maps or you can buy a Civ5 without one civilization and without those maps for 10 bucks cheaper. Just depends on perspective. I wonder if this Babylonia will later appear like a standalone DLC or as an achievement "Win 500 Huge games in Ancient Period against 16 Civilizations - Unlock Hammurabi"

 

[civ_king]

What if they make it between when they ship the game to the manufacturers and when they sell it? if it was downloaded later you all would be complaining there is a big day one patch, if they make it in the in between time it can't be on the discs

 

[BobTheRabbit]

Will LAN gaming be possible with Steam in situations where no internet access is available or is multiplayer disabled entirely in this mode? What about play by email?

I second this question... My wife and I both enjoy Civ IV (I know, I'm one of the lucky ones), and for us, one of the most enjoyable ways to play it is on our LAN at home where we play as teammates against teams of other pairs of civs. Are we going to need to purchase two copies of Civ V to be able to do the same sort of thing? Are we going to need to have two Steam accounts? Will we have to be connected to Steam online to play multiplayer on our LAN?

Thanks in advance.

-Da Rabbit

 

[civ_king]

I second this question... My wife and I both enjoy Civ IV (I know, I'm one of the lucky ones), and for us, one of the most enjoyable ways to play it is on our LAN at home where we play as teammates against teams of other pairs of civs. Are we going to need to purchase two copies of Civ V to be able to do the same sort of thing? Are we going to need to have two Steam accounts? Will we have to be connected to Steam online to play multiplayer on our LAN?

Thanks in advance.

-Da Rabbit

1) you only need one copy
2) same account
3) nope, offline mode is fine (actually you need one in offline mode, or both)

 

[mjs0]

1) you only need one copy
2) same account
3) nope, offline mode is fine (actually you need one in offline mode, or both)

This would be great news...can you point me at the place where this has been confirmed.
i.e. that there is a LAN mode that works when offline from Steam.
Thanks.

 

[Thoughtful Thug]

I have a question or few of them. About compatibility of different versions of a single game alongside with different versions of DLCs.

What if I buy the retail version of the game, and then some kind of a dlc is released later that can only be downloaded from Steam or other online vendors (meaning that there is no available retail version), will it be compatible? I have had this experience with owning Tropico 3 the retail version and could not use it with the DLC "Absolute Power" from Steam. And furthermore, there were I suppose, other online vendors having their version of the DLC not working with Steam version of Tropico3 as well as the non-Steam vendor's own version of the DLC not working with the retail version of the game.

Is 2k only permitting Steam as the only online provider for its Civilization 5 games?

 

[civ_king]

This would be great news...can you point me at the place where this has been confirmed.
i.e. that there is a LAN mode that works when offline from Steam.
Thanks.

basically standard for all Steam games that don't intentionally block it

 

[Commander Bello]

basically standard for all Steam games that don't intentionally block it

In other words, you aren't sure whether this will apply for Civ5.

I think, 2K Greg asked us to abstain from putting rumors and assumptions in this thread?

 

[nerd]

In other words, you aren't sure whether this will apply for Civ5.

I think, 2K Greg asked us to abstain from putting rumors and assumptions in this thread?

That would be fine if we were getting answers, which we are not. The questions pile up, but the silence from 2K is overwhelming. Is it only me, or does it seem that 2K doesn't want (dare) give us the answers to the hard questions?

 

[GigaNerd]

That would be fine if we were getting answers, which we are not. The questions pile up, but the silence from 2K is overwhelming. Is it only me, or does it seem that 2K doesn't want (dare) give us the answers to the hard questions?

You kiddin' me? They won't even answer half the easy questions!

 

[Grouchey]

I find it interesting and useful to underscore the questions that 2K ignores. Answered, in a way.

 

[Tylerryan79]

2kgreg is making a faq.... So he has answered some questions, but hes gonna write up and post all questions and answers... That being said it is taking a loooong time, seeing as theres not really that many questions. Id much rather people didnt post anything but questions or answers with links to back them up... But thats just me.

 

[Davor]

I don't get it. I only play single player, I don't care about the community, so how does Steam benifit me?

Can you please explain the purpose of Steam? Civ IV worked so well with out Steam for me, so why do I need Steam? I have Civfanatics for community, I do not need anyone else for a community.

I just don't get the logic of me buying a game at a brick and mortar store and I still need to have Steam.

Is this like Impulse? So if I buy the game at a brick and mortar store and my game disk gets scratched, (little kids) or cracked, (again little kids) or lost, (stupid me) will I be able to redownload the game of steam then? This is the only thing I can find any good out of it. Like when I bought Galatic Civiliazation II and lost the disk, I was able to redownload the game of thier site with no problem. (of course once downloaded, I found my disks LOL)

Please answer these because I have lost all interest in Civ V now, and would love to be Want to buy this game again on release day.

 

[cassembler]

I'll see if I can get the answers to these. However, I do know the answer to the last one: A different "protocol" doesn't make using a firewall any differently. You might be thinking of the difference between "TCP" and "UDP" and are thinking that they are using their own form of packet, but that's not the case. The protocol is just the "language" that Steam uses to communicate with its servers, but it still uses TCP (and maybe UDP) to do it. So configuring a firewall to allow (or block) Steam network traffic will be the same as any other application.

Well, that keeps that part of it easy. Thanks Greg!

 

[civ_king]

In other words, you aren't sure whether this will apply for Civ5.

I think, 2K Greg asked us to abstain from putting rumors and assumptions in this thread?

Games that block it require continuous internet access

 

[2K Greg]

That would be fine if we were getting answers, which we are not. The questions pile up, but the silence from 2K is overwhelming. Is it only me, or does it seem that 2K doesn't want (dare) give us the answers to the hard questions?

I am working on getting answers to all of the questions. As you mention, there are hard questions in here, and everyone wants to be very sure that the answers I get to you are 100% correct.

I'm sorry it's taking so long; but everyone is very busy right now so it's taking longer than expected!

Rest assured, the FAQ is coming, and it'll have a lot of your concerns addressed.

 

[thelibra]

I noticed that 2K has yet to respond. I don't particular care about Steam in and of itself, but it is very important to me as to whether or not I'll be able to play Civ5 in offline mode. I don't always have access to the internet, and not being able to play Civ5 just because my Steam account can't connect to the server would seriously piss me off to no end.

(edit, I seek 2K posted before I clicked post, though didn't answer)

My question is pretty simple though: Will Civ5 be playable for single-player mdoe while offline?

 

[2K Greg]

I noticed that 2K has yet to respond. I don't particular care about Steam in and of itself, but it is very important to me as to whether or not I'll be able to play Civ5 in offline mode. I don't always have access to the internet, and not being able to play Civ5 just because my Steam account can't connect to the server would seriously piss me off to no end.

(edit, I seek 2K posted before I clicked post, though didn't answer)

My question is pretty simple though: Will Civ5 be playable for single-player mdoe while offline?

Yes. After you have launched the game once while connected to the Internet, you can switch to offline mode and play without an Internet connection at all.

 

[thelibra]

And apparently I can't type today.

More specifically, 2K, can I still launch and play the game if I'm starting from bootup without an internet connection?

For instance, say I install the game at home on my laptop, I launch it at home with an internet connection, then after playing the game for a while, I switch Civ5 to offline mode, I shut down my computer and unplug it from the network. Then I pack up the laptop and drive to some g-dforsaken place with no internet connection. I then turn the PC on, it boots up anew, sans any internet connectivity. Will I be able to launch the game and play it?

Your previous answer made it sound like I'd have to start online to launch the game, then switch it to offline mode after I'm connected each time. This would kind of defeat the whole purpose of of both an online mode and an offline mode.

 

[2K Greg]

Ah, I can see how you interpreted it that way. I'll be clearer: The answer is yes, you can do what you just described. You are only required to launch the game while connected to the Internet once, ever. After that, the game has been authenticated, and you can switch to offline mode and never connect to the Internet again, even though reboots and such.

You will need to set up your Steam to run in offline mode. I believe by default you don't need to change anything, but if you turned off "remember my password" it will not work until you turn that back on. More details are here:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555