Civ V not loading in offline mode

[Flyin'Hawaiian!]

I had to turn off my internet a couple of months ago (I'm posting this from a public computer). I set Steam to start in offline mode and have been playing vanilla Civ V via Windows 7 with no problems through 31 July. On 01 Aug I tried to load the game and a Steam info box popped up stating, "Completing installation.. 0%". It disappeared after a few seconds and another popped up stating, "The Steam servers are too busy to handle your request for Sid Meier's Civilization V. Error code (3)".

I've made no changes to my system - no driver updates, no Windows updates, nothing; but I tried using a System Restore point from earlier in July and one from June, but neither helped. Under Games List view, Civ 5 is listed as Ready to play although there is a question mark next to the cloud icon.

I'm hoping there's an entry in a config file I can edit or perhaps a cache file to backup and create a new one? Or do I have to connect to the internet and allow Steam to "complete the installation"?

[Zer0]

Steam needs to connect to the internet to validate your games every now and then to confirm they're legit. It's a DRM after all.

[Sohei]

Some games will still play if you launch them directly from the game files with Steam off. You just need to play them using Steam the first time to satisfy the DRM. Not sure if Civ 5 allows this or not but I kind of doubt it. You can give it a try anyways.

[Eifersucht18]

This sounds imo like it is a combination of issues -

- The 'Steam installation box 0 - 100%' and 'Servers Too Busy' is a known issue of late: You need to turn off your Antivirus / Real Time Scanning and re-start Civ5 to allow the latest Civ update to download and install

- The fact that you have no Internet connection allowing you to make the Civ download / allow you to also update to the latest Steam Client version (released 2 days ago) is another issue altogether

If you're mobile (laptop), maybe go to your public library or Starbucks or something and hop online for the 5 minutes you need for the update, or ask your neighbors to jump on their wi-fi for 10 mins

Also go to the Firaxis / Civ 5 forums and post this for a solution there

[Sohei]

I just tested it and found that the DRM is checking at every launch with this particular game. So, it will force Steam to launch and check the DRM even if Steam is not running. That means it is limited by the short offline window allowed by Steam and it will refuse to run after a few days. That sucks.

By the way don't try to circumvent the DRM because that is a violation of the DMCA even if you paid for the game legitimately. Fair use is dead.

[The_Freed_Psycho]

Is there a preset date when we are allowed to play civi 5 again or do we just have to wait?

[Sohei]

You should be able to play it again after connecting to Steam in online mode.

[Sohei]

It looks like Steam changed their DRM policy without telling anybody. So, it is hard to say what will be broken by this change.