Offline mode for Win8 version....when?

[gizmogladstone]

Hey guys,

I've been looking through the threads, seeing a couple similar questions come up, but not seeing an answer (maybe I'm missing it):

When is the offline mode going to be available?!?!? You have an ETA?

Seems to me like the kind of no-brainer thing that should've been in from the get-go...but I'm holding off on buying any more tables until offline's available. I travel a TON and need my pinball fix....sooooo....please update, ASAP!

Cheers!

-Darren

[BarbieBobomb]

Hey guys,

I've been looking through the threads, seeing a couple similar questions come up, but not seeing an answer (maybe I'm missing it):

When is the offline mode going to be available?!?!? You have an ETA?

Seems to me like the kind of no-brainer thing that should've been in from the get-go...but I'm holding off on buying any more tables until offline's available. I travel a TON and need my pinball fix....sooooo....please update, ASAP!

Cheers!

-Darren

No ETA as of now, but we are planning on patching it in at some point.

[ccrawford]

Hey guys,


Seems to me like the kind of no-brainer thing that should've been in from the get-go...but I'm holding off on buying any more tables until offline's available. I travel a TON and need my pinball fix....sooooo....please update, ASAP

-Darren

Adding a lame 'me too' to Darren's post. I bought two tables and they are excellent, but I bought to have something to do while disconnected from the net while on my Surface. Never dreamed I would have to have an internet connection to play pinball. I'd happily buy more tables if I knew I could play them any time.

--Chris

[BarbieBobomb]

Adding a lame 'me too' to Darren's post. I bought two tables and they are excellent, but I bought to have something to do while disconnected from the net while on my Surface. Never dreamed I would have to have an internet connection to play pinball. I'd happily buy more tables if I knew I could play them any time.

--Chris

We're working on making offline play available!

[uh340]

We're working on making offline play available!

That's fine and hopefully true. Got a similar answer last year (something about a greater update as far as I remember). Waiting !

[BarbieBobomb]

That's fine and hopefully true. Got a similar answer last year (something about a greater update as far as I remember). Waiting !

Of course it's true! Why would I lie about it? If it wasn't on our to do list I would have said so

[shogun00]

Of course it's true! Why would I lie about it? If it wasn't on our to do list I would have said so

I'm just waiting for you to say, "whenever we feel like it" for these "when is it coming out" questions.

[Burning Kenshin]

Like another poster stated earlier, the ability for offline play should be a "no-brainer". It is not fair for those that want to use their Win 8 devices in areas where there is no network connectivity & cannot play the games that you paid for because of it. This needs to be taken care of ASAP.

[armandotrom]

Like another poster stated earlier, the ability for offline play should be a "no-brainer". It is not fair for those that want to use their Win 8 devices in areas where there is no network connectivity & cannot play the games that you paid for because of it. This needs to be taken care of ASAP.

They only know how to say 'in a few days' or 'it will come soon', meanwhile we, the players who paid for the game, continue waiting and being not able to play OUR game (which we paid, remember) elsewhere. If I go to visit to my grandparents, whose home has no internet, I can't play the tables I bought. I call it 'Videogaming Dictatorship' or as we say here in Spain 'Armed-Hand's Theft'.

[jujohnso]

I am able to play paid tables offline by disabling my network adapter then launching the game (windows 8 desktop pc)

[armandotrom]

I am able to play paid tables offline by disabling my network adapter then launching the game (windows 8 desktop pc)

Ok, tell us how did you do that!!!!! It doesn't work for me (I turn off network adapter and the only thing I can play is 20 $3's demos each one)

[Solitude]

Ok, tell us how did you do that!!!!! It doesn't work for me (I turn off network adapter and the only thing I can play is 20 $3's demos each one)

He might be referring to playing Mars, rather than the DLC.

[jujohnso]

No, I am not just talking about playing Mars offline. I mean it really lets me play all of my tables offline. I went offline just now and did it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. I played a full game of Spiderman and scored 12.2M points.

My windows 8 pc uses wifi to connect. I usually disconnect from the internet by disabling the wifi connection in the network center in control panel. I just tried it by disabling the adapter in device manager. That works for me as well. I am making sure to fully close out of the game before trying to play online, and it really does work for me.

The only speculation I have as to why I can play the DLC tables offline is maybe because I have other "Games For Windows Live" games on the desktop side of the OS. The GFWL client downloaded my profile to my machine the first time I played one of those titles. (Some of them have an option to locally download your profile so you can play them and save progress offline.) Since the login info is the same for GFWL and Xbox games for windows, maybe this is why I can play the tables offline.

Do you have any GFWL desktop games you can try this with? Good luck!

[Ipos]

I can confirm that. Once I read jujohnso's comment I installed my Fallout 3, downloaded my xbox profile and now i'm able to play paid tables offline, the ones i've bought of course.
Thanks jujohnso!

Please Zen do not remove this feature!

[armandotrom]

I will have to install my GTA4 again so
This should be communicated to the players officially (in the forum or in windows store in the product´s description, for example) and I think this action will preserve us to have headaches with f****** DRM.

[jujohnso]

@Ipos: Glad it worked for you!

[markmon]

Ok, this works great. Not only that, but you don't have to buy anything. Just go download and install games for windows live, sign into it, and you can play offline no problem:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/LIVE/PC/DownloadClient

I guess this solves the offline play DRM issue.

[Solitude]

Ok, this works great. Not only that, but you don't have to buy anything. Just go download and install games for windows live, sign into it, and you can play offline no problem:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/LIVE/PC/DownloadClient

I guess this solves the offline play DRM issue.

Not for Surface RT, unfortunately, and for a portable device that is a big problem.

[Sir Cheddar]

Huh, Games for Windows Marketplace Client? Never seen that one.
I assume I can't use it to get Zen Pinball to work with W7 due to the missing TIFKAM framework?

[allmodcons]

Huh, Games for Windows Marketplace Client? Never seen that one.
I assume I can't use it to get Zen Pinball to work with W7 due to the missing TIFKAM framework?

Even though I have bought all the tables under W8, now that achievements are up on Steam for the proper PC version hopefully to be released soon, I will format Window 8 out of my life once and for all and just buy the tables again once portrait is supported.

Windows 8 makes Vista look like the software achievement of the decade.

[jeffkoz]

Not for Surface RT, unfortunately, and for a portable device that is a big problem.

Granted I'm new to this thread, and may be interjecting unnecessarily, but if I put my Surface/RT in airplane mode (which drops wifi connectivity) I can play the game with no issues...of course my Surface had xbox games for windows pre-installed.

[armandotrom]

I can now give 5 stars to this app in Windows Store after this

[Solitude]

Granted I'm new to this thread, and may be interjecting unnecessarily, but if I put my Surface/RT in airplane mode (which drops wifi connectivity) I can play the game with no issues...of course my Surface had xbox games for windows pre-installed.

Yeah, it actually seems to be working fine. So, not a big problem!

[Seattlemark]

Yeah, it actually seems to be working fine. So, not a big problem!

Solitude, did you personally ever get this to work for you after powering up a Win 8 device while offline?

As I have not been able to get Games For Windows Marketplace client to help with PFX2 offline mode on a Win 8 computer. In fact I still have a post that has not been replied to in the other thread where markmon's approach is being discussed: https://forum.zenstudios.com/showthr...ll=1#post43018

I wonder if maybe jefkozz's device was already automatically logged onto "xbox games for window" while he was still online, before he flipped it into Airline Mode to play PFX2.

I would be more than happy to tweak my approach and I'll try again, if someone finds an error in what I have tried as described in my post in the above URL. Please Note: As I mentioned in that post, I did use "Remember Profile" in the Games For Windows Marketplace client before I logged onto it while online (and which was before the reboot while I was offline).

So I caution Zen Studios that the DRM issue may still be unresolved. If it works for some users/devices even after a reboot while remaining offline, but not for others, then perhaps it is based on the in the type of Win 8 device and/or how Games For WIndows Marketplace or XBOX Live are configured.

[jeffkoz]

My Surface was offline and not logged into anything prior..it clearly issues an error that I am not connected but after acknowledging that it then presents all my tables and they all can be played. All my Xbox games for windows behave the same way except for daily challenges...those require connection...I am literate in these things and have actually tested several scenarios...but I do not have these on my computers, I have them on my Surface/RT

I will add that I do not have any games for window client or marketplace...I simply have Xbox games from the app store...

[Seattlemark]

My Surface was offline and not logged into anything prior..it clearly issues an error that I am not connected but after acknowledging that it then presents all my tables and they all can be played. All my Xbox games for windows behave the same way except for daily challenges...those require connection...I am literate in these things and have actually tested several scenarios...but I do not have these on my computers, I have them on my Surface/RT

When you see the screen that shows tiles for the tables you own, can I assume that you do NOT have a keyhole looking pattern over all the non-free ones that you own (which indicates trial/demo peeks at the tables)? As I do have that keyhole over the ones I own when I am offline, plus when I click one of them it says "Single Player" but to the left of that it says "DEMO". If I play one of them long enough, it kicks me out when my time has run out.

Plus I just did this experiment. With my Internet cable plugged into my desktop computer, I logged into the Games For Windows Markeplace client. I then started up PFX2. It signed me into XBOX Live, and the tiles for the tables I owned all showed up fine (without the keyhole). Nothing said demo for these tables when I went to play them. Then I exited the PFX2 app. I did not reboot. I disconnected the Internet cable from my computer (but did not first exit the already running GFW Marketplace app). Then I restarted the PFX2 app. Again it said XBOX Signing In. And a moment later it showed my Gamertag. A moment later it said, "Failed to download the online game configuration. Please check your internet connection and restart the game." The sceen said "Profile succesfully Loaded". But the tables I owned all had the Keyholes over their tiles so I was in demo mode.

[markmon]

When you see the screen that shows tiles for the tables you own, can I assume that you do NOT have a keyhole looking pattern over all the non-free ones that you own (which indicates trial/demo peeks at the tables)? As I do have that keyhole over the ones I own when I am offline, plus when I click one of them it says "Single Player" but to the left of that it says "DEMO". If I play one of them long enough, it kicks me out when my time has run out.

Plus I just did this experiment. With my Internet cable plugged into my desktop computer, I logged into the Games For Windows Markeplace client. I then started up PFX2. It signed me into XBOX Live, and the tiles for the tables I owned all showed up fine (without the keyhole). Nothing said demo for these tables when I went to play them. Then I exited the PFX2 app. I did not reboot. I disconnected the Internet cable from my computer (but did not first exit the already running GFW Marketplace app). Then I restarted the PFX2 app. Again it tried to automatically start XBOX Live in the lower right corner, and it said XBOX Game Signed In and it showed my Gamertag. A moment later it said, "Failed to download the online game configuration. Please check your internet connection and restart the game." Then the tables I owned all had the Keyholes over their tiles.

There are no keyholes. I can load and play all the games without any Internet connection. Works great also on my windows 8 tablet while on the road. It seems the first time logging into the games app it seems to install some sort of drm profile. I should also at my login to windows is the same as my login to Xbox (same email and password). Perhaps that is part of it.

[Seattlemark]

There are no keyholes. I can load and play all the games without any Internet connection. Works great also on my windows 8 tablet while on the road. It seems the first time logging into the games app it seems to install some sort of drm profile. I should also at my login to windows is the same as my login to Xbox (same email and password). Perhaps that is part of it.

markmon if you mean your login to Games For Windows Live Marketplace, mine too is the same as my login to XBOX Live. However if you are using a windows login to start your Tablet itself, I don't have that on this particular desktop computer. (If that's our difference, it could explain it.) FYI, my Windows 8 configuration is in a VMware Player Virtual Machine on a Windows 7 PC.

Odd that even after I get "Failed to download the online game configuration. Please check your internet connection and restart the game." (when I am offline), that the sceen then says "Profile Succesfully Loaded" yet the tables I own are still in DEMO mode.

[jeffkoz]

And a moment later it showed my Gamertag. A moment later it said, "Failed to download the online game configuration. Please check your internet connection and restart the game." The sceen said "Profile succesfully Loaded". But the tables I owned all had the Keyholes over their tiles so I was in demo mode.

I see this same error when it attempts to sign in and I have no connection...but after clicking okay I have all my tables fully available (no keyholes, no demo mode message, etc). I am not on my tablet right now, but I will try and see if I can post pic of my screen for you later...not sure if possible though. I am not sure of the differences between the Surface/RT and a standard win8 desktop or laptop. Do you have a "Store" tile? In that store do you see "Xbox Games"...not game client or market place or some such...(If I recall mine just has the title "Games" but when opned it says Xbox games...i have different categories for xbox game, windows games, plus can see friends, messages, etc if connect)

[Seattlemark]

I see this same error when it attempts to sign in and I have no connection...but after clicking okay I have all my tables fully available (no keyholes, no demo mode message, etc). I am not on my tablet right now, but I will try and see if I can post pic of my screen for you later...not sure if possible though. I am not sure of the differences between the Surface/RT and a standard win8 desktop or laptop. Do you have a "Store" tile? In that store do you see "Xbox Games"...not game client or market place or some such...(If I recall mine just has the title "Games" but when opned it says Xbox games...i have different categories for xbox game, windows games, plus can see friends, messages, etc if connect)

Yes, I have a Store tile on my Start Page. When I click on it, and scroll over to the Games section, it has 6,385 apps available. If I do a search at this point for XBOX, 93 apps are found. One of those is "Games". Clicking on that, it brings me to the XBOX Games overview page. When I am logged on, it says "You own this app." which makes sense because I also have a "Games" tile on my Start page. Clicking on that one brings me to XBOX Games. Plus I also have a tile that says "Games for Windows Marketplace". I can be logged onto all 3 of the above, but if I drop the Internet connection, I canot start PFX2.

In actuality, I am just trying to help those with Windows 8 laptop PC that may go away from wifi or hardwired Internet connection. As my desktop PC is in one of two places, by the monitor or the TV, and both have an ethernet cable available nearby. So I personally really do not have to go offline with this desktop computer.