Playing Steam games offline

[yoshiii]

Hello,

 

Is there anyway to play steam games offline? 

I have metal gear solid phantom pain and I usually play without connecting online. Don't hit the play online button.

 

Now I am having trouble with my internet and tried to play metal gear solid phantom pain and it won't let me play. It keeps saying have to connect online.

 

Doesnt make since.

 

Is there any way to play? I shouldn't have to connect online to play a game I own especially when I play the game, I usually don't hit the online mode for the game

[rn8686]

You can play most steam games offline, but if a specific game requires internet to be used, then you need it to play. 

[tlink]

the only way to play some DRM games offline is illegal i believe, pirated content from torrent sites is often cracked to avoid DRM from kicking in. in america circumventing DRM is illegal and it would be against community standards to discuss it here beyond broad details.

[Delicieuxz]

A license is a right to access and use a particular piece of software, and so circumventing DRM for a product which you own isn't illegal.

[tlink]

22 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

A license is a right to access and use a particular piece of software, and so circumventing DRM for a product which you own isn't illegal.

i thought it was by us law, just like it is illegal to circumvent copy protection.

[yoshiii]

50 minutes ago, rn8686 said:

You can play most steam games offline, but if a specific game requires internet to be used, then you need it to play. 

Why would they  give me a option of playing on or off line if I have to be online to play?

[Delicieuxz]

Just now, tlink said:

i thought it was by us law, just like it is illegal to circumvent copy protection.

Pirating software is illegal, but if you own the software, then you're entitled to access it, whether by circumventing the DRM or not.

[rn8686]

Just now, yoshiii said:

Why would they  give me a option of playing on or off line if I have to be online to play?

Steam games will launch when offline, if the game needs internet, that is up to the dev. If it is locking you out, it is in the game, not steam itself. 

[tlink]

1 minute ago, Delicieuxz said:

Pirating software is illegal, but if you own the software, then you're entitled to access it, whether by circumventing the DRM or not.

no, you're not. http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/circumventing-copyright-controls

 

Quote

The DMCA prohibits circumventing access-control measures. 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1). For example, if you cannot watch a particular copyrighted DVD on your laptop because of an encryption system, the DMCA makes it unlawful for you to bypass this access-control measure. Access-control measures may also be found on eBooks, Internet streaming platforms, and password-protected sections of websites, among other things. Note that there is no ban on the act of circumventing copy-control measures, but it is illegal for anyone to provide you with the technological tools to do so. In any event, some copyright holders merge access-control and copy-control measures in the same DRM system, making it impossible to circumvent copy-controls (which is not prohibited) without circumventing access-controls (which is prohibited).

 

[Delicieuxz]

18 minutes ago, tlink said:

no, you're not. http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/circumventing-copyright-controls

That resource is vague in its presented explanation.

 

It says: "As a general matter, you should not circumvent these copyright controls, or you may face civil and criminal penalties under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)."

 

"You may," means, if you are not entitled to access such material, due to not owning a license.

 

 

It also says: "The DMCA prohibits circumventing access-control measures. 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1). For example, if you cannot watch a particular copyrighted DVD on your laptop because of an encryption system, the DMCA makes it unlawful for you to bypass this access-control measure."

 

What it doesn't say, but should, is that in the example given, it is assumed that the cause of not being able to watch a particular copyrighted DVD due to its encryption system is because the proper rights are not held.

 

That page also says further down: "Note that there is no ban on the act of circumventing copy-control measures, but it is illegal for anyone to provide you with the technological tools to do so."

 

So, that part there contradicts the face-value message of the previous parts of the webpage.

 

 

A lot of what is read about what is legal and what isn't, or in other matters, is written by activist groups, and people with personal investments in having information be interpreted one way or another, and is not particularly accurate, even though it has been made to appear professional in its presentation.

 

[tlink]

2 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

That resource is vague in its presented explanation.

 

It says: "As a general matter, you should not circumvent these copyright controls, or you may face civil and criminal penalties under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)."

 

"You may," means, if you are not entitled to access such material, due to not owning a license.

 

 

It also says: "The DMCA prohibits circumventing access-control measures. 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1). For example, if you cannot watch a particular copyrighted DVD on your laptop because of an encryption system, the DMCA makes it unlawful for you to bypass this access-control measure."

 

What it doesn't say, but should, is that in the example given, it is assumed that the cause of not being able to watch a particular copyrighted DVD due to its encryption system is because the proper rights are not held.

 

That page also says further down: "Note that there is no ban on the act of circumventing copy-control measures, but it is illegal for anyone to provide you with the technological tools to do so."

 

So, that part there contradicts the face-value message of the previous parts of the website.

 

 

A lot of what is read about what is legal and what isn't, or in other matters, is written by activist groups, and people with personal investments in having information be interpreted one way or another, and is not particularly accurate, even though it has been made to appear professional in its presentation.

 

it shows clear evidence that circumventing acces control is illegal. this examption is exactly what we are discussing here. altering software for access in previously impossible situations. unless you can show me an exemption that was specifically made for circumventing always online requirements then the law i quoted is still at play thus making it illegal.

Quote

The best known current exemption is for "computer programs in the form of firmware that enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network." Memorandum of Librarian of Congress on 1201 Recommendations. This exemption apparently allows cell phone users to "unlock" their phones for use with other carriers, so long as this is the only motivation.

 

[LewisBloom]

So to get back to the actual topic at hand.

 

If a steam game requires an update that also means sometimes it will not launch in offline mode unless updated. This can depend on the developer/publisher and how they have set out the update system to work.

 

You will also find some games every few months will force you to connect up before you can then go back to playing offline.

 

thanks,

Lewis

[Delicieuxz]

15 minutes ago, tlink said:

it shows clear evidence that circumventing acces control is illegal. this examption is exactly what we are discussing here. altering software for access in previously impossible situations. unless you can show me an exemption that was specifically made for circumventing always online requirements then the law i quoted is still at play thus making it illegal.

It sounds like software protection issue in the USA is in a very confused state.

http://teleread.com/judge-cote-rules-drm-removal-for-fair-use-is-not-copyright-infringement/

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/victory-users-librarian-congress-renews-and-expands-protections-fair-uses

[typographie]

4 hours ago, yoshiii said:

Hello,

 

Is there anyway to play steam games offline? 

I have metal gear solid phantom pain and I usually play without connecting online. Don't hit the play online button.

 

Now I am having trouble with my internet and tried to play metal gear solid phantom pain and it won't let me play. It keeps saying have to connect online.

 

Doesnt make since.

 

Is there any way to play? I shouldn't have to connect online to play a game I own especially when I play the game, I usually don't hit the online mode for the game

When exactly are you being told you need to connect to the internet? Is it when you start up Steam, or after you've launched Steam and you're trying to launch MGSV? Do other games work and it's just MGSV that doesn't?

 

MGSV does have an online component. I've never tried to play it offline, but maybe it won't even launch offline. It wouldn't exactly be surprising to see Konami do something like that, sadly.