AWKWARD ZOMBIE

Maybe I'm alone in this, but Steam has done too much damage to go ignored. In the 10+ years Steam's been around, and thousands of updates all throughout, how many major issues go unfixed?

~Steam's offline mode doesn't work if it's closed "improperly" and the machine loses internet. However, my issue is that I only quit Steam through their personal disconnect-and-shutdown process by right-clicking the taskbar icon at bottom right. If that's considered improper closure, then I do believe there is a problem. The official website says that to access offline moede, one must go online and set it manually. This seems very counter-intuitive and counter-productive to me, as one would think an internationally-popular gaming engine would at some point employ a program that automatically makes offline mode available at all times without the user having to set it.

~Hard copies of games cannot act without the browser. People can say that's an anti-piracy thing, but that's easily fixed by requiring the disc to be in the drive to work; consoles seem to have figured this out, more or less. I can't enjoy my single-player enabled, tangible copy of Left 4 Dead without Steam.

It's been so long since I've actually been able to access Steam due to a lack of hard internet that these are my two biggest issues that I can remember. The big players of Steam should be indicted for running a shit system with too many holes and flaws to be considered 100% official. I paid cheddar for these games, but just because Steam is free, I should allow my software to go unused because theirs is poorly arranged?

Anyway! I actually made this topic because I need help. There has GOT to be a way to fix this whole Steam offline mode thing that doesn't require a hardware overhaul! Does anybody know of, like... a program or data packet that automatically goes in and fixes the problem?

[EDIT] I cleared up the wording for my issue at the notice of several users, so hopefully the actual problem is understood; I also removed a lot of unnecessary text to keep the issue at hand clear.
[EDIT2] SaintCrazy's found solutiong unfortunately did not alleviate my problem; I thank you anyway, SC, for trying to help me. It was very kind of you.

you do know that steam is mostly online right

you're not gonna find a "fix" for it, especially not from hardware

also if you're closing steam improperly, and knowing you're closing it improperly, you don't get to complain that it doesn't work because you closed it improperly.
PC games have really rampant pirating problems also, so yes anti-piracy is a big deal, especially to valve who makes most their cheddar from PC games. the browser is there to make sure that you're running a legitimate copy of the game.

also your hard copy of the game isn't the full game, it's the game lacking patches and an installer. which, ding ding ding, are steam.

the offline issues are known, but even then you get an internet connection for two seconds and you're good. shit, just leaving steam on means it stays on even when it goes offline.

you also seem to not be aware that steam is run by valve.

also obligatory joke about wanting to play a multiplayer focused game without online

Actually any pirate worth their salt has the game cracked to make it so Steam is unnecessary to run it, so that's not a valid reason. There is no form of DRM that pirates haven't cracked really.

Also, there's no evidence that piracy is "rampant" nor that it's hurting the industry as much as you think.

Steam didn't make it harder to pirate, they made it unbelievably easy and convenient to buy video games.

And medic you're better off checking the steam forums.

I can't even tell what issue is being brought up, aside from Steam existing. You're frustrated that it stops working if you don't use it right?

I've had that problem. bodaciously the only thing you do to fix it is make sure to put Steam in Offline Mode while you still have internet. If you're not going to have internet for long periods of time, plan ahead and stick it in offline mode beforehand.

If you're disconnecting to the internet randomly, I would hope for your sake that the disconnects aren't so long that you can't just wait a few minutes for the internet to come back on.

if you don't have a reliable source of internet for the time being, go to a library or a Starbucks or something, connect to Steam there, set it to offline mode before you leave. P. easy.

Also, very rarely, offline mode works properly when you forget to do this, but don't rely on it.

No need to go on a rant when you need a simple solution, bro.

How to fix Steam: stop using it, there are other alternatives (GoG and greenmangaming).

That said offline mode has always worked for me, it's the updates and bugs that piss me off.

not gonna lie ive never had a problem with steam, online or off

Asking AZ to help you with anything is like asking Nicholas Cage for date advice.

Except far funnier to watch.

Yeah you should totally delete system32, that will fix it right up

No, no, you have to write a batch file that does it. Then run a magnet over the hard-drive.

But if your computer runs a 64-bit operating system, be sure to deleted system64 also.

Don't forget to download meltingscreensaver.exe

Be sure to turn off the firewall or else the motherboard will fry.

TL;DR Even though none of this helps in any significant way, I was entertained by everybody's responses and don't have disdain for the people I disagreed with below. I'm too lazy and stupid to find a practical solution- I've heard rumors that it requires a very specific file with exact content to make offline mode accessible without first going online and was hoping somebody here might at least know of it, but alas... oh well! Thanks everybody!


When it happened (little over a year ago), the person paying for the internet didn't pay the bill and made a silent decision to quit using their IP. I tried to get it reconnected, but disagreements and problems with our lease house prevented that. I have a big, bulky, desktop CPU that isn't really travel-friendly, so I'm pretty much up shit creek. I had no warning that the internet would cut out permanently, and by then, it was too late. *sigh* ....I've since learned that my Gmod clan has disbanded, the server disappeared, and all my friends have drifted apart. Even if I got internet back, all that I was anticipating would no longer exist... does Awkward Aombie have a Gmod server?


No! I was quite unaware, as I've never used it to interact with other people! I just own games like Garry's Mod, several variants of Counter Strike, Left 4 Dead, and the like because the titles and icons are pretty![/sarcasm] Too bad that I want to sometimes play games without the inclusion of others, as is my purchased privilege.

Thank goodness that Far Cry 3 was made by people who knew what it meant to have a good game you could fucking play on your own and not be cheated out of any portiong of the experience. For that end of the spectrum, consider Battlefield 3, a game largely considered to be absolute, two-disc, linear garbage that doesn't even look as good as it was DESIGNED to without a Hi-Def Content download, regardless if it's fucking free.

It's internet bullshit, even on con- ESPECIALLY on consoles, god daisies it! I mean fine, it's primarily built and focused as a multiplayer game. That's okay! So was MAG, but! Do you know what MAG didn't do? It didn't then cobble together a half-baked, shit-flavored booty sundae that couldn't hold a candle to the veritable power station of multiplayer, call it the "Single-Player Campaign", then expect to be taken seriously by parading itself as a well-balanced game equally fun off and online. It would've been better off without...

My point in all this is: they gave me a single-player option deliberately meant to give me the experience of playing the game without having to interact with others. Why then make it so it cannot work offline unless arranged in a very esoteric and unnecessary method? If I could play online anyway, what's the point of a single-player mode? If you make a game with a mode for offline single-person play (much like the numerous multiplayer-strong games on Steam), then steal it away just because they can't or don't want to use the bigger portion of the game, then you're full of shit.

I should be able to build my own little Gmod worlds alone since they so graciously included solo play, and if you say I'm wrong or criticize me for exercising that potential, then you're clearly missing the point!


Actually, I do because there shouldn't BE an improper way to close Steam. Even if there was, I'm not aware of how I'm doing it. See, this is how it goes: I want to quit Steam, I right-click the little icon, I click the "Exit/Close" option (which is part of a Steam-motif list of options clearly engineered by Steam), Steam disconnects and closes. If that's improper closure- that is, using their method of disconnecting which gives them unlimited heads-up... then no, this is not my fault. Steam just has problems that need to be fixed.

By the way! Whose GENIUS idea was it to make offline mode only accessible through an unnecessary confirmation through online mode? Hm? That's not my fault. I saw an offline mode option that I never found necessary before now, and assumed (God forbid) that if I was without internet, Offline Mode was my ticket to playing MY games, installed fully on MY machine, without necessity of an internet connection! Still think I've no right to complain?


You mean the same Valve and Steam logos on my L4D case? Yeah, I was wondering what those stood for. I assumed they were totally random, unrelated mistakes never meant to be on the box art. Silly me!


I'm frustrated because a feature made to have your games function without internet is not constantly available, much less totally inoperable because Steam's user interface is about as solid as diarrhea. I'm frustrated because somehow, despite only closing Steam using their own personal shutdown function so that any updates and streams can finish before it closes, this whole "improper closure" and its ramifications fall upon me instead of the programmers doing a terrible job yet are still getting paid. The cheap, corporate bastards...