I have a Steam account, which is fine, that isn't what I am asking. My interest is with how it works (first time). I purchased a very cheap copy of RUSE and decided to give it a go. The label on the box says that internet is required for activation, so that is fine as well. Most games I have, required internet activation of the code. Then after much stuffing around, it appears that internet isn't just required for activation, it is required to play it. Is that right? Is that how Steam works?

I just wanted to play the damn game, but it was even worse than trying to play a new PS3 game. So many downloads or whatever it was doing. I just gave up. Why can't I play the game offline? Is that possible? I flatout don't want to be online to play games - that is my choice. Do I have to get a "back-up" copy of the game to play without all the hassles (which is legal if you own the game in my country)?

So, educate a gamer - what am I missing here? What do I need to know about Steam and how it works for retail games. Thanks.

In the Steam client, if you go to the first tab called Steam you can choose Go Offline... and you'll be able to play any game that is up-to-date offline.

@Vexxan said:

In the Steam client, if you go to the first tab called Steam you can choose Go Offline... and you'll be able to play any game that is up-to-date offline.

Thamks, I will try that ....... I was hoping that it would be that simple. Once I choose offline though, does that mean I have to go to Steam every time I want to play the game?

HOW DARE YOU SULLEN OUR PC GOD! HOW DARE YOU!?!
 
Jokes aside.

It's 2012 brah, its ok to be constantly online now. People are more tolerant now.

@Vexxan said:

In the Steam client, if you go to the first tab called Steam you can choose Go Offline... and you'll be able to play any game that is up-to-date offline.

Thamks, I will try that ....... I was hoping that it would be that simple. Once I choose offline though, does that mean I have to go to Steam every time I want to play the game?

So your internet often goes off without warning? That's the only reason I can figure for using Steam in offline mode. I mean, setting it to offline mode and then playing games while you still have internet to your computer is just ... useless.

Steam should not be that hard to understand if you take the time to look around.. It is the number 1 pc game selling site / program, It stores all your games in its library so you only have to go to 1 location to launch a game. It will forever have your games saved in their servers after you purchase it so you can download it anytime again incase you needed to uninstall for any reason. It has a cloud saving system for games and can be played online / offline but if you play offline, make sure you have actual saves as if played online your saves will be in cloud (There are alot of games that have this feature which also can be turned off in the steam settings). You buy a game from steam, it gives you a choice to install now or later. It will download, go to your library to launch. Or buy a game at a store, Instal, If it is on steam then it will automatically be added, otherwise you will have to add it yourself as a non-steam game if you want it in your library.

RUSE is a Ubisoft title. A lot of publishers insist on stacking their own DRM on top of Steam. Steam games can be played in offline mode, but that doesn't stop individual publishers from preventing offline play.

Don't blame steam, blame Ubisoft.

Steam should not be that hard to understand if you take the time to look around.. It is the number 1 pc game selling site / program, It stores all your games in its library so you only have to go to 1 location to launch a game. It will forever have your games saved in their servers after you purchase it so you can download it anytime again incase you needed to uninstall for any reason. It has a cloud saving system for games and can be played online / offline but if you play offline, make sure you have actual saves as if played online your saves will be in cloud (There are alot of games that have this feature which also can be turned off in the steam settings). You buy a game from steam, it gives you a choice to install now or later. It will download, go to your library to launch. Or buy a game at a store, Instal, If it is on steam then it will automatically be added, otherwise you will have to add it yourself as a non-steam game if you want it in your library.

Ever since i stopped being a console whore and returned to my roots of the PC Master Race, I'm amazed at how good steam is now compared to when a PC was my main console (just before current gen consoles). No disc swapping, a nice and more importantly fast overlay, hot deals. It is good to be back to say the least!

@ajamafalous said:

@McShank said:

Steam should not be that hard to understand if you take the time to look around.. It is the number 1 pc game selling site / program, It stores all your games in its library so you only have to go to 1 location to launch a game. It will forever have your games saved in their servers after you purchase it so you can download it anytime again incase you needed to uninstall for any reason. It has a cloud saving system for games and can be played online / offline but if you play offline, make sure you have actual saves as if played online your saves will be in cloud (There are alot of games that have this feature which also can be turned off in the steam settings). You buy a game from steam, it gives you a choice to install now or later. It will download, go to your library to launch. Or buy a game at a store, Instal, If it is on steam then it will automatically be added, otherwise you will have to add it yourself as a non-steam game if you want it in your library.

Didn't read the OP, I see.

I did, and I just wanted to give more info in case he didn't understand other things.

Here's the thing about Steam. You need active internet to start it up, but once Steam is started, you don't technically need to go into offline mode to play games without an internet connection. Steam will just kind of automatically go into offline mode when there is no internet available. You'll still be able to play your games, unless they are updating.

Some things to remember about offline mode:

Some games disable achievements for offline mode. Most AAA games will still let you get them, but smaller games tend to not give them to you. On a related note, Steam does not always track time played when offline, so those stats will be skewed.

You can't start up Steam without an internet connection. So if you have a laptop and you're going to be going somewhere without internet, start up steam at home, put it in sleep mode, go where you're going & it will work.

No cloud saves - like McShank said, make sure to save your games locally.

Some games require an authentication in addition to buying them on Steam, so you may have to sign into something the first time you play the game. In my experience, this happens a lot with EA games. So it's a good idea to start up a game while in online mode at least once, so you won't be disappointed when you go to play it offline & it tells you that you need to authenticate first.

@Swoxx said:

Ever since i stopped being a console whore and returned to my roots of the PC Master Race, I'm amazed at how good steam is now compared to when a PC was my main console (just before current gen consoles). No disc swapping, a nice and more importantly fast overlay, hot deals. It is good to be back to say the least!

This. Since I got a decent computer, Steam has become my primary gaming platform.

@Swoxx said:

Ever since i stopped being a console whore and returned to my roots of the PC Master Race

Heil Gaben!

Look, I get the love for Steam for a lot of people, but like love, it isn't universal. I gave up waiting for an update and I only use Windows for gaming on my Mac. I only play strategy games, so my Mac runs everything I have ever wanted perfectly fine. I just want to load the game up and play. Internet should be an option, not a requirement.

Not saying I will never use Steam. If they have a cheap game I want, then fine. But I usually just buy retail games very cheap to begin with. I think I will go with the option of downloading the game that is free of restriction - again, legal, I own the game. I don't blame Steam - don't assume I am attacking them, I am not. I don't like Ubisoft however - they have been ruining The Settlers lately, amongst other annoying things. Why do we get so used to being screwed around and just accept it? Just put the game in and play it - is it so hard?

@Fattony12000 said:

Mac users lol

@Contrarian: I get that, I don't think anyone claimed Steam suited everyone's needs. I do, however, think most of the GB community are gaming enthusiasts and steam offers everything from big blockbusters to small indie games, and that has appeal for an enthusiast.

Edit: And yes, Ubisoft is ruining PC gaming as much as they possibly can it seems.

By-passing the issue completely, I just wanted to mention that I fully intend to buy a new specced-out PC and have it boot directly to Steam.

If they sort of of the small issues I have with the platform, and give it a slightly more stylish UI, I couldn't imagine a better way to game.

@Contrarian said:

Look, I get the love for Steam for a lot of people, but like love, it isn't universal. I gave up waiting for an update and I only use Windows for gaming on my Mac. I only play strategy games, so my Mac runs everything I have ever wanted perfectly fine. I just want to load the game up and play. Internet should be an option, not a requirement.

Not saying I will never use Steam. If they have a cheap game I want, then fine. But I usually just buy retail games very cheap to begin with. I think I will go with the option of downloading the game that is free of restriction - again, legal, I own the game. I don't blame Steam - don't assume I am attacking them, I am not. I don't like Ubisoft however - they have been ruining The Settlers lately, amongst other annoying things. Why do we get so used to being screwed around and just accept it? Just put the game in and play it - is it so hard?

If you were to read the comments people have written, you'd realise it is an option; the only time you need Steam to be online is to buy games, validate retail games with steamworks, and use the community stuff etc. Other than that you can play all your games in offline mode forever and always. Unless you buy games from Ubisoft who impose an online always rule, and multiplayer only games.

Is RUSE ubisoft? if it is those guys love DRM.

Yeah fuck Ubisoft. From Dust still hasn't been patched by them so it's still unplayable with a mouse.

Not paying money for any of their future games, no matter how cheap they may be.

Yes, the problem is Ubisoft in this case. Try any game from any other publisher and you'll understand. You can be offline with most Steam titles, and it works fine. Ubisoft games however is not one of those.

@Swoxx said:

Ever since i stopped being a console whore and returned to my roots of the PC Master Race, I'm amazed at how good steam is now compared to when a PC was my main console (just before current gen consoles). No disc swapping, a nice and more importantly fast overlay, hot deals. It is good to be back to say the least!

I raise my champagne glass to you. Sir. It is not an easy thing to elevate oneself from the ranks of the unwashed, filthy console vagrants into the hallowed halls of the PC Master Race.

*clink*

@AlisterCat said:

RUSE is a Ubisoft title. A lot of publishers insist on stacking their own DRM on top of Steam. Steam games can be played in offline mode, but that doesn't stop individual publishers from preventing offline play.

Don't blame steam, blame Ubisoft.

This is the truth.

A rule of thumb: don't buy PC games from Ubisoft.

@Draugen: Thank you, I find having been part of the elite before my downfall into consoles made the climb back up easier.

@Fattony12000 said:

It's a console for your computer.

@Fattony12000 said:

@Fattony12000 said:

@Sjupp said:

@Fattony12000 said:

Oh god...both of those guys are just oh so horrible!

EDIT: Oh god and I am oh so stupid!! It's late over here and somehow I didn't realise both those vids are the same guy. The stupidity has hit my brain too hard.

Yeah just choose go offline it should work out fine

You can't start up Steam without an internet connection. So if you have a laptop and you're going to be going somewhere without internet, start up steam at home, put it in sleep mode, go where you're going & it will work.

Thanks people, you have educated me well.

Conclusion: Steam = Good. Ubisoft = Evil.

I will try out a "proper" Steam download that suits me sooner or later and see how right you all are. I will however avoid Ubisoft games. I remember looking at the last Settlers game thinking, "screw you if you think I want a game that requires persistent internet connection". How right I was.

@Capum15 said:

@Potts said:

You can't start up Steam without an internet connection. So if you have a laptop and you're going to be going somewhere without internet, start up steam at home, put it in sleep mode, go where you're going & it will work.

You can start Steam without a connection; you just have to wait. It takes about 20-30 seconds or so for my client, if my Internet drops, to say something like, "Cannot connect to servers, start Steam in Offline Mode?" And you can hit yes and play.Well, that's been my experience three times fairly recently that I can recall.

I know it works for some people, but if I try to start up Steam on Windows without any internet, it will not work. It will give the option to go into online mode, and then try to validate my account anyway, and then say "could not connect to Steam servers" and quit out.

If you know a solution to this, I would be very interested in knowing it.

@deathstriker666 said:

@Fattony12000 said:

Mac users lol

Yeah, basically sums up this video. The guy is a moron that doesn't know why his game isn't instantly available.

RUSE on PC is just a pain. It is up to date, but last night, I couldn't get the game to run at all. I am just going to get me another copy, free, that will run without any of these annoyances. I understand overall that Steam is excellent, but when I want to play a game, I want to play a game, not stuff around. It keeps asking me to reinstall it and won't connect to Steam even though the internet connection is fine. No idea what is wrong any more.

@ds8k said:

@deathstriker666 said:

@Fattony12000 said:

Mac users lol

Yeah, basically sums up this video. The guy is a moron that doesn't know why his game isn't instantly available.

"I'm not hype."