Official Civilization V Steamworks FAQ

[Paavo13]

What update version is the latest (available from Steam)? Where can I see what is the version I'm using?

 

[Furiey]

Welcome to CFC!

The current patch is 1.217 and item 6 in the Tech Support FAQ thread will tell you how to find out what you are patched to. http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=379992#6

 

[CMKMStephens]

How the hell do I stop Steam from updating? If I set it to 'do not automatically update', clicking on play just results in it starting to update again and changing the setting to 'keep this game up to date'. Bloody hell.

 

[The_J]

From the OP:

Q. Is it possible to stop Steam from automatically patching Civilization V?
A. The only way to ensure your game is not updated is to play in offline mode. If you are in online mode your game will be automatically updated.

 

[Maniacal]

I wonder why its always been so broken for Civ5, it works great with TF2 and a couple of other games for me :/

 

[Maniacal]

I found something that should help people having problems with Offline mode or don't want to go online at all. I do not know how well this works to stop the update process.

http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Steam#Always_Force_Offline_Mode

Always Force Offline Mode

Forcing Offline Mode will make Steam to always open in Offline Mode, even with a working internet connection. A prompt will appear and the options Retry and Offline Mode will show up. Retry will simply restart Steam and cause the same menu options to come up, whereas Offline Mode will take one into the Steam game library.

This step still requires the authentication to be carried out.

Create or edit the

steam.cfg

in this folder (the same folder as the steam.exe):

C:\Program Files\Steam\

Enter the following and save:

BootStrapperInhibitAll=enable

ForceOfflineMode=enable

 

[The_J]

Does it work like intented?

 

[Maniacal]

Don't know, I'm too lazy to test it.

 

[Mr.WorldWide]

Fully updated steam client....I cannot even find steam.cfg

Perhaps you should test this stuff before posting that it works.

 

[Maniacal]

You can't find it because you don't have one and need to create it. Perhaps you should carefully reread the instructions before posting that it is wrong

 

[Mr.WorldWide]

You can't find it because you don't have one and need to create it. Perhaps you should carefully reread the instructions before posting that it is wrong

lol, I see now. What you say sorta works, but not entirely. After creating "steam.cfg" as per your instructions, Steam now gives me the option to start in offline mode but when I confirm it steam says no internet connection is available and terminates with a link to contact steam "support".

Anyone know why this is happening?

 

[timtofly]

I was always under the assumption, that steam has to have an internet connection when closing it to go offline. Now if you were online when you went offline, then steam did not set the internal code (on your computer) that it is offline (properly) and is still going to give that error until it can go online and correct the flag that thinks it needs to be online.

 

[baseballpie]

Whenever I try to access steam, it says:
Steam.exe (main exception): CMulitiFieldBlob(pSerialized): Bad field - extends past end of blob

Can you tell me what to do?

 

[timtofly]

Delete steam from your computer and then reload it?

 

[PieceOfMind]

Googling it gives:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1304575

I'd suggest this first:

After reading the description of the problem, I decided to delete "clientregistry.blob" first, because I seem to remember something similar happening a few years ago. Deleted it, started Steam, it updated, then asked me for login info, and launched fine. So, I think deleting EVERYTHING in the directory isn't quite necessary...

and if that doesn't work
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3093-MKUJ-5773

Steam.exe (main exception): CMultiFieldBlob(pSerialized)
I'm receiving an error when I try to start Steam with the message "Steam.exe (main exception): CMultiFieldBlob(pSerialized):" followed by a specific reason - how should I fix this?

Solution for Windows

To fix this error use the following steps:
Exit Steam
Navigate to your Steam installation directory. (C:\Program Files\Steam\ by default.)
Delete everything in that directory EXCEPT the following:
steam.exe
steamapps directory (All of Steam's game files are kept here.)
Restart Steam to test the issue


Solution for Mac

To fix this error use the following steps:
Exit Steam
Navigate to Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Steam by default.)
Delete everything in that directory
Launch Steam.app from your Dock or Applications folder
Cause

This error results from a corrupted ClientRegistry.blob file, typically caused by Steam unexpectedly closing. This is often due to a crash or because the Steam.exe process was killed before Steam finished writing to the file.
Some instances of this error can be avoided by allowing Steam to fully exit by clicking Steam ▸ Exit or by right-clicking on the Steam icon in the System tray and clicking Exit, rather than forcing the process to end.

 

[rover68]

I have been unable to access BNW CIV5 since the 10/27 update on my Windows 8 PC.
Each time I try to access the game, a receive a message from STEAM Stating:

error occured while updating (content server unreachable).

I have re-started the PC, I even disabled McAfee real time scanning, scheduled scanning, and firewall. Nothing changes.

Oddly, on my Windows 7 Laptop with AVG, I can access it ok.

Has anybody else had this problem or is familiar with it?
If so, do you know how to resolve?

If not, is there anyway or place I can go to get some service?
STEAM has no live technical support, I've posted this on numerous message boards, and this is not the first time I've had STEAM cause unresolved issues.
I find the whole customer service model very frustrating, as the burden is on the user it appears to be the IT Tech.

 

[rover68]

I have to say, I really hate STEAM and it is unfortunate CIV is run through it.
I'm not an id10t, but I'm also not a programmer.
If you are going to charge people $50 for a game, you should have LIVE customer support via phone or some other useful, responsive interface.

This is the 3rd+ time since August, when I bought the game, that I have had problems which the simple STEAM FAQ/other recommended "troubleshooting" sites have been unable to solve.
This is the kind of thing where for end users, we could use some LIVE support.
I am extremely frustrated and nerved that STEAM has the chutzpah to basically say "Fix it yourself" for a paid product.

 

[Wodan]

Despite angst folks have about Steam, I've never had any issues (fingers crossed), and frankly have appreciated things like fast and easy live updates and mods. (Thus, I can't comment about poor customer service, as I've never had to avail myself of them.)

So, by and large, I like the distribution via Steam.

 

[rover68]

I hate it...7 days later...and on my Windows 8 PC I STILL CANNOT PLAY THE GAME!!!!

I uninstalled McAfee...turned off the firewall and STILL!!!

 

[Wodan]

I hate it...7 days later...and on my Windows 8 PC I STILL CANNOT PLAY THE GAME!!!!

I uninstalled McAfee...turned off the firewall and STILL!!!

Obviously, those weren't the issue.