Can the same Steam account be open on two computers in offline mode?

[stesergio]

I have read the Steam FAQ and it clearly says you can play LAN while in offline mode but it's unclear if they mean two people, each with their own steam account, can play LAN in offline mode or if one steam account can download the game on two different computers and play a LAN game in offline mode using just the one Steam account.

Basically, my son and I each have our own computer in the same room of our house. I have already purchased CIV 5 and pre-insalled it on both computers using my Steam account. Normally you can't be logged into the same steam account on both computers at the same time because logging in on the second computer will kick you off on the first computer.

Can both computers launch the same Steam account and CIV 5 at the same time in offline mode to play LAN together?

[BigMistake]

My brother and I have both played Supreme Comander 2 in offline mode on the same account before but we never could get a LAN battle to work... don't know if it was our ignorance of how steam works or what. Plus CiV is a different game altogether (from a different Publisher and what not) so who knows... I guess I'll be finding out on Tuesday.

[Luger]

No, you need two steam accounts and a purchased copy of the game for each account.

[Stylianfire]

Ya it was already mentioned by 2kGreg that this is a form of "piracy". If you want to play against a spouse kid etc you need to buy two copies...

I am in the same boat ended up purchasing two copies, not trying to be a P$ick just letting you know its piracy to play one in offline mode and the other in online mode against each other.

[stesergio]

No, you need two steam accounts and a purchased copy of the game for each account.

If that is correct it would be a huge disappointment. We can currently play Civ IV LAN with one purchased copy installed on two computers.

I will not be spending another 60 bucks for a second copy of a game I already own and have been told I am allowed to install on multiple machines. This is what really bugs me about the manditory use of Steam being integrated into the design of the game. I see no reason why I should be required to log into Steam before I can launch a game I have purchsed and installed on my computer.

[stesergio]

I am in the same boat ended up purchasing two copies, not trying to be a P$ick just letting you know its piracy to play one in offline mode and the other in online mode against each other.

I am a huge fan of Fraxis and Civilization and in no way do I want to steal money from them but I do think using the term piracy in this case is a little harsh.

Let's say I live all alone and I own a desktop and a laptop. I have the game installed on both computers. If I have a game running on my laptop I should still be able to walk over to my desktop and still launch the game that I paid for. This is the way PC gaming has worked for all my life and the need to launch Steam before playing is the only thing that changes it.

[Spekingur]

You can still play the game in offline mode. Steam doesn't allow for the same account to be logged in at two places at once when in online mode.

Since you can (or could) play TF2 on a LAN in offline mode you might be able to do the same with Civ V. These are two diffirent games however.

[danielout]

I have the game installed on both computers. If I have a game running on my laptop I should still be able to walk over to my desktop and still launch the game that I paid for. This is the way PC gaming has worked for all my life and the need to launch Steam before playing is the only thing that changes it.

I think you forget about games that require the CD in the drive to play; this is essentially the same thing, just using another method instead of the CD.

[Stylianfire]

It is considered piracy what your suggesting...

Here feel free to see what Greg 2K said about it here:

http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/sho...t=86307&page=3


Or just read it here:

2K Greg 2K Greg is offline
2K Games Community Manager

Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 240
If you want two people to play the game at the same time, you must buy two copies of the game.

In the same way that you can't watch a movie on two TVs at once, and you can't play an Xbox 360 game on two 360s at once, and you cannot use a single copy of Windows on two computers, you cannot play a single copy of Civilization V on two computers at once.

The workaround suggested by the OP in this thread, if it even works, would be considered piracy, so let's everyone take care not to discuss those sorts of technical workarounds, as it's pretty much the only zero-tolerance rule we have here.

[BigMistake]

That is most unfortunate... it is unfair to people who just want to play against people in the same house hold, but it's ultimately the publisher's call. Oh well... I guess I'll just have to play the online multi if I want to fight against a human player and just wait for hotseat to be added before I can play against my brother. (I can see how it could be exploited by "pirates"... I really do hate that term as it is not piracy by definition... it is more like theft.) I'm disappointed but see no fault on 2k's part... It just saddens me that they can't trust us to be responsible adults.

Also, on a side note, if a company allows for you to install one copy of a game on multi pcs and then LAN battle them together is it considered piracy? I mean if they didn't intend for the game to be used that way, wouldn't they put locks on it?

[Stylianfire]

That is most unfortunate... it is unfair to people who just want to play against people in the same house hold, but it's ultimately the publisher's call. Oh well... I guess I'll just have to play the online multi if I want to fight against a human player and just wait for hotseat to be added before I can play against my brother. (I can see how it could be exploited by "pirates"... I really do hate that term as it is not piracy by definition... it is more like theft.) I'm disappointed but see no fault on 2k's part... It just saddens me that they can't trust us to be responsible adults.

Agree with mostly all you said BigMistake but with all the piracy out there I cannot blame 2k or any publisher for not "trusting us to be responsible adults", eventually the ones piracy hurts is all of us who want good products and are willing to pay for it.

Thank God for Steam, I hope it curtails the piracy a bit.

[BigMistake]

I have mixed feelings about piracy... don't get me wrong, I think it is a bad thing and needs to be stopped. It hurts an industry I love and only wish to see grow. My only beef, is that sometimes it feels like the entertainment industry's response to it is very much in the way of overkill. I don't know, maybe someday they'll let us just buy a company wide user's license (probably with a monthly fee) in which we get to play any game they make/have made and all this must buy a separate copy nonsense will be a thing of the past... who knows... I guess this will be my last post on this issue as I feel we should end it here before certain peoples intervene. Plus, though I love ethics debates, I feel this is neither the time nor place for a discussion of this nature.

Also, sorry to Stylianfire, I think I posted in the previous thread but I forgot to check back on it when it fell below the top page.

[Ziggyz]

I guess my dad will need his own copy now. :P

[stesergio]

I completly respect everyone's opinions and viewpoints. As I said, I am a huge Civ fan and they absolutly deserve to get paid for giving us this wonderful game. I am all for efforts to prevent illegal downloads and bootleg copies.

I just think it is a little ruthless to make a family who just put out 60 bucks for a Digital Dexlue Edition pay for a second copy just so my eight year old son and I can occasionally play together. I would much rather see publishers take efforts to stop the people who are trying to get the game for free rather than finding ways to make people who gladly paid for the game have to pay twice (and calling them a pirate if they don't).

I guess I just have to hope the promise of adding Hotseat is genuine and will be added shortly.

[slowtarget]

Let's say I live all alone and I own a desktop and a laptop. I have the game installed on both computers. If I have a game running on my laptop I should still be able to walk over to my desktop and still launch the game that I paid for. This is the way PC gaming has worked for all my life and the need to launch Steam before playing is the only thing that changes it.

You are allowed to do that. What you're not allowed to do is to launch a game on a second computer and have someone else play it. I know that this has been possible for years, but just because something is possible doesn't make it alright, and the fact that, up until now, there was no way to tell if you were doing this doesn't mean that Firaxis or Steam has taken anything away from you. Rather, they are stopping you form doing things you shouldn't have been doing in the first place.

[slowtarget]

I just think it is a little ruthless to make a family who just put out 60 bucks for a Digital Dexlue Edition pay for a second copy just so my eight year old son and I can occasionally play together. I would much rather see publishers take efforts to stop the people who are trying to get the game for free rather than finding ways to make people who gladly paid for the game have to pay twice (and calling them a pirate if they don't).

Believe me, I'm not unsympathetic to your situation and neither, I'm sure, is Greg or the developers. And no one is trying to brand you as a pirate. I won't even say that I've never done this in the past. All we're saying is that this is a form of piracy (a really, really weak form) as you are buying a single copy of a game and letting multiple people play it and that it is why its not allowed. Everyone can see that this is not the sort of copying that any company is worried about.

And yet, you have to understand that you are posting on the forum for the company which paid to make the game. If there is one place on the internet where someone is going to point this out as improper, it's gonna be here. Greg and Firaxis have been really supportive of this community and it seems only fair to him and the developers that we support them on this issue.

[stesergio]

And yet, you have to understand that you are posting on the forum for the company which paid to make the game. If there is one place on the internet where someone is going to point this out as improper, it's gonna be here. Greg and Firaxis have been really supportive of this community and it seems only fair to him and the developers that we support them on this issue.

Understood. I honestly never thought of it as improper before I posted the question here. My thinking was that passing the game out to friends to install on their computers was not really the same as installing it on my own computers in my own home and letting my eight year old son play with me.

I can respect the publishers need to protect their investment even if I disagree on how it is done. In the end I want 2K and Fraxis to make a boatload of profit because this is the best game franchise in PC gaming and I want to see a Civ VI someday!

[wmaster]

I have the same kind of problem.

With the previous 2 versions of CIV3 and CIV4, you could play 2 humans on the same computer. Honestly, I downloaded CIV4 before buying it and I played with my friend on his computer in the Two Player Mode. When I heard CIV5 was coming out, I said to myself, this time the Developpers deserved my money, so I bought the game at the release date. Well I should have downloaded it first, because the only reason I would have play this game is with the Two Players Mode. So basically, I just lost 60$.

So hurray for piracy, just to be able to see if the game is worth it.

Thank you for reading my rant. Good Night.

[leox001]

The issue is that LAN is not Local anymore with some stuff floating around these days...

So it would be too easy to pirate the game and use that kind of thing to play on a 'fake lan'

Maybe steam could use some kind of smart way of letting a subordinate account have parts of the original game for family and stuff.

After all, it was never legit to install the game on multiple machines, as someone mentioned. So if the objective is avoid piracy, something could be done that would not be exploitable with the goal of playing with the family.

Rambling aside, it's a shame indeed as these kind of games are fun to share with the family and friends like this.

[NitroPhantasm]

I have read the Steam FAQ and it clearly says you can play LAN while in offline mode but it's unclear if they mean two people, each with their own steam account, can play LAN in offline mode or if one steam account can download the game on two different computers and play a LAN game in offline mode using just the one Steam account.

Basically, my son and I each have our own computer in the same room of our house. I have already purchased CIV 5 and pre-insalled it on both computers using my Steam account. Normally you can't be logged into the same steam account on both computers at the same time because logging in on the second computer will kick you off on the first computer.

Can both computers launch the same Steam account and CIV 5 at the same time in offline mode to play LAN together?

I recommend hotseat as a solution. It'll be here sooner or later. This is what my son and I use.