Civ5 Official Steamworks FAQ

[2K Greg]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the official Civilization V Steamworks FAQ. There has been a lot of discussion about Civilization V's Steamworks integration, and the same questions (and in some cases, false answers) keep coming up.

This should help clear up the most common (and some more obscure) questions about what Steamworks integration means for Civilization V.



Q. Can I play Civilization V while not connected to the Internet?
A. Yes. After you have activated your installation by launching the game once while connected to the Internet, you may restart Steam in “offline mode.” This will allow you to have access to Civilization V even while not connected to the Internet. Details on how to use offline mode are available on this Steam Support page: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...3160-AGCB-2555


Q. Will I need to run Steam every time I want to play Civilization V?
A. Steam will need to run when you play Civilization V, but an Internet connection is not required after the initial installation.


Q. How big will the Civilization V download be?
A. It’s impossible for us to know for sure until the game is 100% finalized, but it will be in the same ballpark as many other Steam games. We will include this detail in our minimum specs when they are announced.


Q. Will it be possible to “preload” Civilization V on Steam before the release date, so we can start playing it the moment it unlocks?
A. Unfortunately it is too early for us to tell if this will be possible, but it’s definitely something we would like to do. I’ll let you guys know as soon as we know for sure.


Q. Will Civilization V use the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system?
A. No, we are not using VAC. This means that nothing you do in Civilization V would cause you to become VAC-banned, nor will a VAC-ban cause you to be unable to play Civilization V multiplayer.


Q. When using offline mode, will I need to periodically reconnect to the Internet?
A. No. Once you switch to offline mode you can stay in that mode forever. The one exception is that if you significantly change your computer’s hardware, you will need to switch to online mode and launch the game one time to reactivate the game. There is, unfortunately, no way for software to tell the difference between a change in hardware and a move to a completely new computer, which is why this happens.


Q. If I use a personal firewall to block all network traffic to and from the Steam client, will Civilization V still function?
A. If you have already configured Steam to run in offline mode, then yes. It would cause Steam to function as if you had no Internet connection at all, which works fine once you are in offline mode.


Q. Will it be possible to get any required updates and patches on another computer to transfer via thumbdrive, or will they be only accessible via the computer the game is installed on?
A. Patches will only be available to download via Steam. However, Steam does provide a method for backing up a game installation to restore on the same or different computer. You could use this feature to download a new version of Civilization V on a friend’s faster Internet connection and then transfer it to your computer via a thumb drive. After restoring the backup, you will need to connect to the Internet once to validate the new version.
Details of how to use this feature are on the Steam Support page: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...8794-YPHV-2033


Q. Will it be possible to play multiplayer via LAN when running Steam in offline mode?
A. Yes, LAN play will function when in offline mode.


Q. Will things like the steam community be fully integrated into the game's interface or will you be relying on the overlay to provide functionality like chat and friends lists?
A. The in-game browser, friend list, friend invites, and some other features are embedded within the Steam overlay. However, the mod library and in-game chat during multiplayer matches are integrated directly in to the game.


Q. What personally identifiable information does Valve collect with Steam?
A. The only information players are required to provide is a valid email address and a password, and to verify they are older than 13 years of age. All other information at registration time is optional. Valve does track the time spent playing a game, per account, but does not collect information about what other processes are running concurrently on the computer. A player’s profile can be set to hidden, which prevents other people from seeing that player’s playtime statistics. These statistics are also recorded while in offline mode, and are transmitted the next time you connect in online mode. Crash logs do sometimes collect extra information such as what processes were running at the time of the crash, and these logs contain your Steam ID for tech support to use.


Q. If I have a game of Civilization V running on my desktop at home (in online mode) and I log onto Steam on my laptop elsewhere, what happens?
A. Your Steam account at home would become disconnected. Your home machine will not be able to access any online or community features until you reconnect to Steam.


Q. If I install a mod from a third party website, will Steam need to “validate” the mod in any way?
A. No. Mods will not be validated by Steam, and you will not need to switch steam to online mode in order to play a new mod.


Q. When Steam auto-patches Civilization V, will mods cease to function until they are updated for the new patch?
A. We do not review mods so we can’t speak to the effect patches may have on every mod’s functionality. At the same time, ensuring that our platform remains stable and backward-compatible is a priority. As always, as I get more info, I’ll update you.


Q. How will Steam know that I bought a boxed copy of the game?
A. The box will contain a product code that you use to register your purchase to your Steam account. The box will also contain a disc that contains the data files for the entire game. When you install from this disc, it will install Steam if necessary and then place all of the game files on to your hard drive, negating the need to download the game from the Internet.


Q. Should I be concerned about where I buy the game from, when it comes to compatibility with future expansions or content?
A. One of the advantages of using Steamworks is that no matter where you buy the game from, you can be sure that it’ll be compatible with any future content released.


Q. Is there a limit to the number of times/computers you can install Civilization V?
A. There is no limit to the number of times and different computers on which you can install Civilization V.


Q. Is it possible to stop Steam from automatically patching Civilization V?
A. The only way to ensure your game is not updated is to play in offline mode. If you are in online mode your game will be automatically updated.


Q. Will it be possible to make a copy of the installation directory for the purposes of having multiple versions of Civilization V available to play?
A. No, this will not be possible.


Q. What is the possibility of a version of Civilization V being released that does not contain Steamworks integration?
A. Much of Civilization V’s framework is built around Steamworks. There are no current plans to ever release a version without that integration.


Q. What happens if my Steam account is hacked or stolen? Would this enable someone to steal the game from me completely electronically? How would I prove it was stolen?
A. Valve has a support page detailing how to recover a stolen/hijacked Steam account. You will need to provide some sort of proof of ownership of the account. The details can be found at this support page: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...2347-QDFN-4366 – note that if Civilization V is the only game you have registered to your Steam account and you bought a boxed copy, you should be sure to save the original product key to use as proof of ownership.


Q. Considering the fact that Steam is now available for Mac and many games are being offered as SteamPlay, will Civilization V be coming to the Mac?
A. All Civilization titles have had a Mac version in the past, but we unfortunately have nothing to currently announce for Civ V. Stay tuned in the future!


Q. How will I unlock the “Cradle of Civilization” Map Pack?
A. The map pack will be automatically downloaded and installed through Steam’s DLC interface.


Q. How do I view all registered extras (like map packs) associated with my Steam account?
A. Here is a Steam Support page which details how to view all extras associated with a game: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...2668-CFOM-1881


Q. Do customers need to download or install any other 3rd party program besides Steam to authenticate or install or play Civilization V?
A. The game will detect and install the required version of DirectX when you launch it for the first time.

[VainApocalypse]

Originally Posted by 2K Greg

Q. Is it possible to stop Steam from automatically patching Civilization V?
A. The only way to ensure your game is not updated is to play in offline mode. If you are in online mode your game will be automatically updated.

If I may make this correction, it is possible to stop Steam from automatically updating specific games. You simply need to access the Games Library, right click on the desired game, proceed to Properties and under the Updates tab there will be a drop-down menu associated with automatic updates.

[2K Greg]

Originally Posted by VainApocalypse

If I may make this correction, it is possible to stop Steam from automatically updating specific games. You simply need to access the Games Library, right click on the desired game, proceed to Properties and under the Updates tab there will be a drop-down menu associated with automatic updates.

Even if you do that, once you try to launch the game, it will start downloading the patch and not allow you to play until the patching is complete.

[KayTeEm]

Hey Greg, I'm quite sure you would prevent a lot of further threads
being started if this FAQ would become sticky.

[slowtarget]

Originally Posted by KayTeEm

Hey Greg, I'm quite sure you would prevent a lot of further threads
being started if this FAQ would become sticky.

I'm not that optimistic, but this should definitely be sticky. At the very least, it will save me lots of typing.

[Liberal]

Agreed. Slowtarget has been a powerhouse of information, and has the patience of Job. Many kudos to him (and others as well). Please sticky this thread. And thanks, 2K Greg for compiling this all in one place. Thanks very much.

[EnigmaCode]

Thanks a lot for compiling all this information Greg. This (as said before) will save people (specifically slowtarget) a lot of time from having to type replies to people's questions about Steam.

I also agree that this should be a sticky.

[Nevets]

I have been an avid Civ player for years. The decision to use Steam has really disappointed me as a user. I will unfortunately not purchase this program specifically because of this decision. There are very limited ways for users like myself to express our frustration and I realize that nothing will come of it, but I think it is valuable for the team to understand why.

[2K Greg]

Thanks for the reminder to make it a sticky guys

[CanuckSoldier]

Originally Posted by 2K Greg

Q. Will things like the steam community be fully integrated into the game's interface or will you be relying on the overlay to provide functionality like chat and friends lists?
A. The in-game browser, friend list, friend invites, and some other features are embedded within the Steam overlay. However, the mod library and in-game chat during multiplayer matches are integrated directly in to the game.

Thanks for the FAQ Greg, but I have a question I'm hoping you can get clarification on, it relates to what is in the steam overlay and what is in the game interface.

Over at CivPlayers we are having a discussion on the issue of players changing names, and whether or not you can tell exactly who is joining your game.

I seems, sadly, that Steam allows players to change their display name, aka the "persona" in steam lingo. Which would be all fine except that Steam doesn't display the players real profile name or the players steam ID number in the public players profile page. In fact there is even no limit to the names you can use, so you can infact impersonate any other players name.

This may not be an issue for casual gamers, but for all the many MP leagues, and it seems from the amount of hits on google for "how to see a steam 64bit ID number" this has been a huge issue for the organized MP communities that play steam games.

Now I have discovered that it is not hard to use the Steam API hooks to get the players Steam ID for fan sites/leagues etc, and players can even go to sites like Steam ID Finder http://steamidfinder.com/ and look up players profiles. My site webmaster says it is pretty easy to hook into this data and even display a players current status in his league profile etc.

The problem and question I have is this though. Looking up a Steam profile is only a possible solution *if* all players can do that from within the game. In the steam overlay you can ofcourse right click and display a players profile page, which you can then use the above web site to check it. But are the players that join your game listed in a steam overlay that lets us do this, or in a game interface? And if it is the Civ5 interface does the interface give us access to at least the 64bit ID?

I'll be honest if we can't positively identify players in the game, this is a huge hit to organized MP, we will basically have to go back to the Civ3 days of having hosts force all players to login and out of the league site to prove who they are.( or email pw's or IPs to the persons registered league email etc) Not a good way of doing business in 2010!

Thanks for your help in advance Greg

CS