Cannot be played without internet connection

[rolf]

Awesome !!! Timeshock plays fluently with maximum graphics/lighting details and Full HD resolution on my NUC barebone.
A pinball cabinet with 43" 4K TV (in portrait orientation) shall find its place in my playroom.


Win 10 as OS performs well, but whenever I want to do a short game, it updates something, optimizes or rebuilds an index. The game itself takes very few computing time - but the antimalware process in the background lets the fan spin at its maximumum.
These are good reasons to run the pinball cabinet offline. Without an internet connection there is no need for malware scanning and there will be no sudden updates.

And here is my problem: When starting without an internet connection, all settings (controller, graphics, sound, dmd) are reset and the game wants to load a default view. Of course, I can reconfigure anything, but it takes some minutes.

Has somebody else tried to run the game without internet access ? I would be grateful for feedback.

[ThreeSon]

I was a Kickstarter backer, and one of the things they promised was that the game would be DRM-free. That was over 3 years ago. So much for promises.

[Tomaso]

Just wasted my money on this game!
..and what do I mean by "wasted"?
You can't even change the graphichs options without an internet connection, let alone play the game itself!
There's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be able to play this type of a game OFFLINE!
The internet connection requirement is simply rediculous, and every person in their sane mind is right to question it!
I'm not gonna allow this thing to connect, cuz this type of behaviour is suspicious beyond belief!!

[0pp0]

I was just considering whether I should buy this. I guess this answers the question. I'm not gonna support this DRM bs.

[Sysgen]

Not sure if it's DRM but I read that the game files are d/l'd outside of Steam which means if their server goes bust you have no game.

[VanAlphen]

Most of the games at Steam have to be played with Steam running. I can't remember if this game can be run offline or not but obviously you need to be connected to install the game or download a new view. I don't see why you couldn't just use a wifi dongle if you're using a virtual pinball cabinet.

I assume the Steam version of this game installs from a Steam server. For Kickstarter backers there's a DRM-free version that can be installed outside of Steam. Those servers may eventually go offline.

[ThreeSon]

Originally posted by VanAlphen:

Most of the games at Steam have to be played with Steam running. I can't remember if this game can be run offline or not but obviously you need to be connected to install the game or download a new view. I don't see why you couldn't just use a wifi dongle if you're using a virtual pinball cabinet.

I assume the Steam version of this game installs from a Steam server. For Kickstarter backers there's a DRM-free version that can be installed outside of Steam. Those servers may eventually go offline.

The point is that as soon as the third-party servers go offline, which could be any day now, no one will be able to play this game again. That is not the same as with most Steam games, which only rely on Steam's servers to download the game.

Also, I am a Kickstarter backer of this game, and I've never received a DRM-free copy as was promised. The game's creator went completely absent as soon as the game was released on Steam.

[Sysgen]

Originally posted by ThreeSon:

Originally posted by VanAlphen:

Most of the games at Steam have to be played with Steam running. I can't remember if this game can be run offline or not but obviously you need to be connected to install the game or download a new view. I don't see why you couldn't just use a wifi dongle if you're using a virtual pinball cabinet.

I assume the Steam version of this game installs from a Steam server. For Kickstarter backers there's a DRM-free version that can be installed outside of Steam. Those servers may eventually go offline.

The point is that as soon as the third-party servers go offline, which could be any day now, no one will be able to play this game again. That is not the same as with most Steam games, which only rely on Steam's servers to download the game.

Also, I am a Kickstarter backer of this game, and I've never received a DRM-free copy as was promised. The game's creator went completely absent as soon as the game was released on Steam.

.. and this was the problem faced by Pinball Arcade users who bought either the product or the dlc tables via the app. Farsight's servers do go down and no play. Always buy your content on Steam **if possible**.

The devs could just publish all the files on Steam.

[VanAlphen]

Originally posted by ThreeSon:

Originally posted by VanAlphen:

Most of the games at Steam have to be played with Steam running. I can't remember if this game can be run offline or not but obviously you need to be connected to install the game or download a new view. I don't see why you couldn't just use a wifi dongle if you're using a virtual pinball cabinet.

I assume the Steam version of this game installs from a Steam server. For Kickstarter backers there's a DRM-free version that can be installed outside of Steam. Those servers may eventually go offline.

The point is that as soon as the third-party servers go offline, which could be any day now, no one will be able to play this game again. That is not the same as with most Steam games, which only rely on Steam's servers to download the game.

Also, I am a Kickstarter backer of this game, and I've never received a DRM-free copy as was promised. The game's creator went completely absent as soon as the game was released on Steam.

If your pro-pinball.com/forum username shows you were a backer I'm sure one of the forum members there can give you the link to the DRM-free version. The link was sent via e-mail back then. Either you missed it or it went in your spam folder and disappeared.