Thanks for any assistance you can provide. Unfortunately, Steam no longer published any phone numbers for support. I decided to just call Steam again and have them walk me through it. I know it is possible I did it for years.
I can not find anything on how to modify that file and run Civ V without Steam. My hard disk crashed, and I have a new computer. I ran Civ V for years and never had Steam loaded on the computer. They had me edit a text file and make a couple of easy changes. In about 3 minutes they told me how to run Civ V without Steam loading or running on the computer. Steam: Friendly DRM? Article authored by Christian Cawley.Home Discussions Workshop Market Broadcasts.Ĭhange language.
While Steam might appear intrusive, the steps listed in the previous section can prevent the DRM and digital delivery software from taking over your computer, and hopefully prevent you from feeling that a patch is the only answer. If you find that Steam slows down your computer, you can disable this from loading at startup.Īny modifications to the.
Steam will inform you that this should only be used if you are disconnecting from the web and that online services such as the server browser will be unavailable.
To begin with, you can put Steam into offline mode. For users who accept the requirement of installing Steam for activation and recognise the need for the software for running Civilization V, there are a few things you can do to minimise its impact on your computer. However, all indications are that the requirement for Steam is limited to activation.Īll in all, the use of Steam seems to have been a need to prevent piracy by taking advantage of the DRM, and to facilitate network play, a popular element of Civilization V. Civilization has a large and loyal following that in many cases stretches back to the first two versions of the game in andand none of the previous releases have required any such digital rights management.
Of course, Steam has some considerable benefits, and for Civilization V owners this includes the provision of a wide selection of downloadable content for expanding the game, as well as access to the SDK and WorldBuilder utility.Ī key argument for the Steam refuseniks is the requirement to rely on the DRM and digital delivery software. Valve introduced the Steam system for activating Half Life 2 back inand over the intervening years this has evolved into more than a DRM system, becoming a digital delivery service for many games, hosting downloadable content, gaming communities and online support. However the requirement for Steam to be added to computers as part of the Civilization V installation game as a big surprise to a lot of users when the game was released in As a result many have been looking to find a way of playing the game without using Steam. This works to varying degrees, but in the case of some games such as Half Life 2 it can result in problems for the consumer if the server managing activation is under too much pressure. DRM - Digital Rights Management - is a feature of more and more games for Windows as publishers take heavy handed steps to prevent their titles from being pirated.