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Comment by Foy | Hacker News Reader

My options are:

1) Pirate a game + free - slow download - maybe doesn't work, maybe it's a virus - whatever cracked the DRM might cause bugs - multiplayer rarely (if ever) works

2) Buy from Steam - not free + but, cheap + 2 to 3MB/s download speed + automatic updates + always works, always seamless + "defragment game folder" options, etc, built in + fast, free, re-downloads for life (install as many times as desired)

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To add to 2), most games also back up your saves via Steam Cloud now. Not necessarily something you'll always use, but after a reformat, I greatly appreciated it.

However, I have noticed that Steam's offline mode is rather fickle. I try use it when I'm at my friend's house (lack of wireless and a lack of an ethernet port. Weird, unusual scenario, I know), and half the time "Play offline" simply doesn't work. It's put me in the weird position of considering downloading cracks for games I legally own so that I can play them.

Are you putting it in offline mode before you head over or after you get there?

After I get there. I have a desktop PC, not a laptop. I can't really leave it on and then head over. Unless what you're implying is that I need "activate" offline mode on my computer by using it when I'm online here? If so, I really wish Valve would make that much clearer than the infuriating error that pops up now when I try to use offline mode while offline.

Yes, the prescribed way is putting it into offline mode before you lose the connection. It sometimes lets you go into offline without a connection but I don't understand the method it uses to make that decision.

Yeah, if I'm headed to my cottage or some place without Internet access I make sure whatever games I want to play are updated then I switch to offline mode.

Sometimes I can go straight to offline mode but to be on the safe side, switch before you lose network access.

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