9 replies to this topic

[quinlan]

Yesterday my internet connection was very erratic. I said to myself, no problem, fortunately steam has an offline function. Little did i know...

Here is a detailed account of my saga:

1st i did what i normaly do, go to start and chose Skyrim from Steam:

Then i got this message, which is normal since i know that my connection is very weak to non-existent:

After chosing the offline option, i got this:

So Steam offline isn't working. I searched for an option in start to run Skyrim directly, but i could only find it through Steam as you can see below:

When i went to start it directly from the dvd, i got the photo below which led to nowhere, because i got again the photo about a connection error and the offer to start offline which again didn't work when i chose it.

I cannot find any Skyrim .exe to start the game without Steam in the dvd disc:



Is it possible to play Skyrim without this Steam thing?

Why should i play the game through it?

What exactly is this Steam network? I don't care for it at all, and i don't find any reason for its existence!

Do they force Skyrim players to use it as a way to deal with pirate copies of the game?

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[Yovaneth]

Steam is used as DRM for Skyrim, although it's far less intrusive than something like Sony's rootkit. I know from experience that Skyrim is one of the very few Steam games that cannot be started in Steam's offline mode (fyi anything released by Ubisoft also has this problem).

-Y-

[Eleima]

Um, I hate to contradict you, Yovaneth, but I fired up Skyrim with Steam in offline mode for weeks while I waited for our internet to be hooked up in our new home... Weird...

[quinlan]

Um, I hate to contradict you, Yovaneth, but I fired up Skyrim with Steam in offline mode for weeks while I waited for our internet to be hooked up in our new home... Weird...

Exactly how did you do it? I need to know, please!

[Yovaneth]

Me too.

-Y-

[Eleima]

There are a few pre-requisites for the offline mode, like your game being updated, and your password memorized, but all I did was click on the box "start in offline mode" (in Quinlan's second screenshot), then waited for Steam to boot up. The store, community and news aren't available, obviously, but your library of games is still there. From there, I clicked on Skyrim then "play", or left clicked on the Steam icon in the tray (much like any other day).

Steam Support has a rather complete page with all the info. Hope this helps! Happy gaming, gentlemen!

Edited by Eleima, 21 February 2012 - 09:12 PM.

[quinlan]

Thanks. I followed the instructions given at Steam Support and offline mode works. I still think that it is impractical, though. If i understood correctly, Before i want to play offline, i first have to check if my game is 100% updated. In order to do it, i have to connect with Skyrim, meaning i first have to go online. How will i do it if i find my self in a place without internet? Their way kind of cancels itself, unless it is possible to play offline without first doing this checking.

[Eleima]

I agree that it's a bit cumbersome, but most of the time, games are configured to automatically update themselves, so you'll rarely have problems firing them up in offline mode when you don't have an internet connection. I had a few problems with my ISP these past few months (don't get me started), and every time I lost my internet connection (each and every time, there was no prior notice), I didn't have any trouble with the offline mode. Look at it this way: you had to connect to the internet to register your copy of Skyrim the first time anyhow, right?

[quinlan]

Yes, i know... There was a warning about Steam on the back of the DVD case. I am just sulking...

Anyway, the more i play the game, the more i like it. It's the first game i play after a long time and my experience was with BG games and the like (IWD, Torment). It is hard to get used to all this freedom of movement with the mouse. The limitations of movement in BG, IWD, Torment were very comforting. All i had to do was engage the enemy and then let the battle take its course, with the additional pause to throw in a spell or drink a potion. In Skyrim it is much more challenging. It is worth it, though. I plan to continue playing it even after i finish the last main quest. I've read on the net that the game is programmed with a Radiant quest system that will keep on generating quests even after the end. This is AWESOME!

Edited by quinlan, 22 February 2012 - 11:07 AM.

[Eleima]

That's the Elder Scrolls for you, right there! Challenging, hours upon hours upon hours of gameplay (I spent at least 150 hours per character in Oblivion, lost count in Morrowind because there was no timer), total freedom... Seriously, if you like Skyrim, give Oblivion and Morrowind a try, just mod them to death and they're still completely playable to this very day.

Enjoy!