foolio wrote:

Something about offline mode. There's apparently an option for it. I don't know the specifics--I don't even have Steam installed right now. But Chet@QTT seems to think this will work. Also, Shacknews is linking to some Valve dudes who are writing FAQs on this sort of thing.

But the gist is this: You successfully authenticate once. You make sure you save your Steam password (so presumably you can skip the logon). You make a shortcut directly to Half-Life 2--this is one of the options in the context-menu (right-click on Half-Life 2). Somehow enable offline mode (no idea how). Close steam.

Then whenever you click on the HL2 shortcut, you presumably bypass the authentication.



This is the worst technical answer ever. HTH! HAND.