Bug - Steam in "off-line" mode

[Dragonfly706]

Lately playing in DX11 mode has caused my PC to crash ALOT. Last night while playing, my PC locked up and the only way to get out was to press power to kill the PC. When I booted my PC this morn, it now seems that I cannot connect to my network. I can plug in my laptop and it works fine.
That said, when I attempt to run Civ V in the "off-line" mode, I get an error telling me that steam needs a network connection. Is this normal? Can I play this game in "off-line" mode? Can I run this game without steam? I absolutely hate steam, had the same issue when I ran it on my laptop and the constant crashes forced me to uninstall. Not to mention, the bug where this game seemed to kill my network connection.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[AeEsBii]

I've had a lot of cable downtime this winter in Chicago, and I too have occasionally had Steam refuse to start in offline mode - which means no Civ V, even if I meant to play single-player. Sometimes I go online to, y'know, use the online features. I guess this means I'm expected to restart Steam in offline mode every time I'm done playing, just in case I come home to find my cable is out?

Steam tech support will not help, and will close your ticket if insist that Steam isn't working the way their online FAQs claim. I've been meaning to rant about this, but I just don't feel mean enough.

2K really needs to know that they gave us to the wolves, though. People complain about 2K here? At least they act nice (if they're not actually nice). Steam treats you like you're in Special Ed and then falls just short of telling you to eff off.

[Dragonfly706]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm glad I'm not the only one. If it didn't work in "offline" mode, I'd be fine with it. What gets me is that Steam seems to KILL my network connection. I've gone as far as replacing the NIC in my PC. But after this crash it tells me that the network connection has limited connectivity blah blah blah, the end result of which is that I cant get on-line with my desktop machine. I can plug my laptop into the same port using the same cable and the laptop can hit the internet no prob.
When I experienced this with my laptop, it would just miraculously work after a few days. No explanation as to why and by all indications, there is NO reason it shouldnt work... it picks up and IP for godsake... I feel an uninstall coming on....

[QuantumTarantino]

it picks up and IP for godsake

But after this crash it tells me that the network connection has limited connectivity

These 2 quotes usually contradict each other.

What OS
What company do you get your internet from
What model of modem
What model of router
When you plug in your laptop and it works, tell me EXACTLY what you unplug and plug in