Do you HAVE to completely patch before playing?

[LeftyTwoGuns]

I've recently got my own gaming PC after having an old one a friend gave me that had the Empire: Total War demo on it. I played it a lot and I'm a huge fan of M2: Total War. With Amazon.com gift cards I can pretty much get this game for free.

BUT..my PC is on a 56k connection
And I read that all the current patches for this game add up to 6 GB (?). That would take me about...20 years to download (more or less). The fact that the game requires a one time Steam authenticator leads me to believe you must patch first. Can't I just skip that until I find a soultion?

[Humble Warrior]

Can't I just skip that until I find a soultion?

The simple answer is no. It`s Steam`s way or the highway.

It`s wrong, but because so few care since they have fast internet and say tough luck to anyone else without, nothing will change Steam`s mind to provide for those with a lesser connection - or no connection.

Such is society today.

[Commander Keen]

bring your computer to a friend's house? Might be a pain but it's better than waiting forever.

[eXistenZ]

You need better internet bro, it will help you a lot. (and not only with steam)

So you still hear this?



Damn that brings back memories

[Rilder]

Have a friend backup ETW and copy the backed up copy of ETW to disk, then copy ETW from the disk into your steam folder?

[daniu]

The fact that the game requires a one time Steam authenticator leads me to believe you must patch first. Can't I just skip that until I find a soultion?

I'm not sure (haven't tried myself), but you may be able to abort the update download after authentification, then set Steam to Offline mode and play.

Otherwise, Rilder's advice is pretty solid.

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

The fact that the game requires a one time Steam authenticator...

Unfortunately this is a bold lie served by CA/SEGA/Steam developers and the companies that sell this game in various countries. You need to be activated all the time. Here is an example. I will quote myself (strange feeling) from the thread about Steam

There was a nice thread here "Steam, offline mode and calling home" but it was deleted by some very 'wise' person. I don't remember who created it but the person stated that he played Empire for almost 3 weeks in an OFF-LINE MODE and everytime he played he disconnected his computer from the Internet. After the 3 weeks this Steam OFF-LINE MODE poped out and said that Empire will not start and he cannot play because the OFF-LINE MODE needs to connect with the Internet and download some update. So, basicaly the guy couldn't play his original game. Has this been corrected or is it still an issue? Because I, as a human being that has its own brain know when I want to update my game, download a new patch etc and I don't want a comp programme to do this for me or even when I'm strongly against it. What is the purpose of having an original game when if you have an illegal version (which is lame) you don't have to worry about such trivial things

[Commander Keen]

how would it know it needs an update if it were offline?

I like Steam though. It's very convenient and offers some great benefits. At least it's not like Ubisoft's dumb drm system now where you really do have to be connected every time you play, and the entire time you play.

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

how would it know it needs an update if it were offline?

You're joking? This is a computer program so it simply knows. If that thread hadn't been deleted perhaps more interesting things could have been presented.

[MortenJessen]

Unfortunately this is a bold lie served by CA/SEGA/Steam developers and the companies that sell this game in various countries. You need to be activated all the time. Here is an example. I will quote myself (strange feeling) from the thread about Steam

Hi there.
This might be the link you are looking for:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...94#post6358594
Y.S.
M. Jessen