Using Hammer w/o Steam?

KingOfSandvich

L1: Registered
Jan 18, 2011
26
12
I have the same predicament going off to school and only coming home every 1-2 weeks.

Here's what to do:
1. At home, launch the SDK and TF2 then quit, just so Steam verifies them.
2. In the Steam window, go to Steam -> Go Offline, and restart in offline mode.
3. Once Steam has gone offline and reloaded, open Hammer and TF2 just to make sure they work (TF2 loadouts / achievements don't work offline but running maps / bot matches does).
4. ???
5. MAP!!!

I always remember to enter offline mode before I return to school.
 

Vincent

&#128296 Grandmaster Lizard Wizard Jedi &#128296
aa
Sep 5, 2009
912
684
My internet went out for a few weeks, in those weeks I just let steam run in offline mode. Hammer still worked, I could compile and run the map in TF2 just like normal (I just couldn't playtest it, no bots at the time.)

Just use offline mode.
 

Duke Silas

L1: Registered
Jan 29, 2011
40
24
I was on an island a few weeks ago that had no internet (yes honestly!).
Hammer worked fine in offline mode.

There is an issue with Steam on start-up. If Steam tries to update/verify with no internet then you can get have a problem running Steam in offline mode. KingOfSandvichs' post is a good solution to avoid this issue.
 
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KingOfSandvich

L1: Registered
Jan 18, 2011
26
12
No. Once you have launched SDK/TF2 for verification at home (You have to start offline mode while Online, BEFORE you leave for school), quit them and then tell Steam to restart in offline mode. If it works, Steam will quit and re-open but with say "Offline Mode" at the bottom of the screen. Once this happens, you know it's set up right. You can THEN disconnect from your home network, exit Steam or turn off your computer if you need to, and it will still come back in offline mode at school.

Offline mode just tells Steam to not connect, but you have to set that up while you still are connected (I know it's frustrating when I forget to go offline an I'm stuck with stupid "Cannot be done offline" errors all week).
 

tyler

aa
Sep 11, 2013
5,102
4,621
I can go offline just fine from the login screen, no crazy restarts required. You guys are doing it wrong.
 

KingOfSandvich

L1: Registered
Jan 18, 2011
26
12
The problem is when you're already disconnected and you try to go from the login screen. Sometimes, if offline mode isn't set up ahead of time, Steam will think it has to update, and stop you even if you click "Start in offline mode." It doesn't happen all the time, but it's common enough for me to always set up offline mode before i leave home.

Plus, even offline, Steam can give you errors trying to start games if they haven't been run during the last online session. I once ran only TF2 for a weekend and Steam locked me out of all my Singleplayer games and the SDK the next week. The only things I could play were bot matches, and this was back before dustbowl bots were officially supported. This is why it's good to verify.