Steam Mission & Updates

Heya boys and girls and adults of all ages! Yup its been a solid month and  half since my last update. But worry not, I have returned (mostly) and will be a bit more active. Today, lets talk about a little Q&A i had with Steam and what i gained from it. Few weeks ago i had a problem of not being able to log into Steam because my net connection was hiccuping and Steam had decided to check for an update and wouldnt let me get to offline mode...which got me thinking on some other stuff about Steam.

 

So all Steam users should have thought about this at one point or the other: What would happen to my games should Steam go the way of the Dodo? What happens if Steam client is faulty and cant run or updating or something of the sort?? So i decided to ask the first living virtual person i could find...@Caityful ! After a quick discussion, we came to the conclusion that no one really knew. So i decided to just ask Steam support for it. After an annoying signup routine with "Steam Support" (yes you cant use your regular steam account for the support session) I tried to use their "Categories" section to single out my question. After a few minutes of playing around, i realize that Steam is highly evasive of questions about their demise and people's money. So i chose the closest thing possible to what i was looking for and sent out this question :  (for my protection, i have scrambled the letters of my first name so that the mole people dont try to find me...)

 

I am not sure where to direct my question since there really isnt anything on the category list for it.

My question/concern is am i able to run my games offline once installed? I ask because my net connection failed this morning and i was unable to play a game this morning. Afterwards, when it did come back i couldnt start it up because Steam was downloading an update? and wouldnt let me run the game until it was done. That being the case as is, if i back up a game i purchased, would i be able to run it on a different computer that does not have Steam installed.

Which brings me to my third point. I have looked through the user agreement and through the forum and there is one question that i cannot seem to get answered. If Steam (heaven forbid) closes down, goes out of business, w/e, then what happens to the games that i bought since i cant run them without having a functional Steam client with net connection? 

I would really appreciate someone getting back to me on this or at the very least throw me a bone in the right direction as to where to get answers.

Thanks a bunch!

A week later (to the hour ) they replied with this:

Hello Motsa,

Thank you for contacting Steam Support.

If you would like to play offline in the future, Steam's Offline Mode will be the best option. Please follow the link below for instructions on using Steam's Offline Mode:

Title: Offline Mode 
URL: http://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555

The Steam client application's files and the game files for games you wish to play offline must be updated to enable Offline mode - this means that you must allow Steam to complete necessary updates in order to enable Offline mode (you must establish a temporary connection to the internet for this reason). 

It is also necessary to launch the game at least once while online before attempting to use Offline mode.

If a game that has previously worked in Offline mode is now having issues, you may need to connect to the internet and attempt to launch the game again, in case necessary files are missing or corrupt. 

Please let us know if you encounter any difficulties after the necessary updates have completed.

Sufice to say, it didnt really answer my question. So i replied with this:

that still does not answer my question. I know about offline mode. my question is would i be able to run my games on a computer that has no possible net connection to update the Steam client. and also my second question of what happens to my games should Steam for some reason fold?

Classically, their response was one for the books:

 

Hello Motsa,

You must have first install and update any game you wish to use in offline mode, once updated you will have no issues should you have no internet access.

In the unlikely event of the discontinuation of the Steam network, measures are in place to ensure that all users will continue to have access to their Steam games.

If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.

 

Well there you have it folks, Steam has...er.."taken measures?" to ensure we dont get cheated out of our well spent money should they get caught by Wile E. Coyote and eaten to the point of no return. Now most of us simply say "hey they are a big company, they will be in business forever!" I say sure they will...and all those hungry sharks in the sea will turn vegetarian as well. After all, there is more than one way to skin a dragon. Ofcourse, i do have hopes that they are on top of it as it really wouldnt cost them money to distribute a patch for the games to be played off line and stuff before they die off.

Other than that, been ubber busy with work. Last week i realized that although i have Gears of Wars 2...i actually never played it...boy was i pleased when i started it up lol. Been looking for a Guy Fawkes mask for my november 5th plans...wont spoil it there...those that know me a bit can second guess on what im going to be doing :)