I don't really know what Steam is, what it does, or if I should be affraid of it.

I shall Googe and become aware.

You should also be afraid of Google :-P

For the love of all that is holy.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE ONLINE TO PLAY A STEAM GAME. THIS IS NOT 2004. Steam is a distribution platform NOT A DRM PLATFORM.

Please quit whining about absolute bloody nonsense.

There have been instances where I could not get on the RoF server. No multiplayer and no Single player Campaign where the result. I hardly ever go online and I finnished the Single player Campaign a long time ago. I was able to use the QMB and that's what I play most of the time anyway. I just want to be sure that if my internet goes down I can still play the game offline. The administrator on the CoD website confirmed himself that a connection to Steam is needded for Offline gaming. He could be wrong or maybe worded himself wrong.

Well I've looked into it and that seems fine. Thinking about it I did buy Half-Life 2 so I suppose I've already met Steam, can't say I recollect it being a problem. Time for my nap.

ok... ill play devils advocate

A: if they (Steam) are a distribution platform and i buy a box set what do i need them for?
B: if Solidshield is the DRM and i have a box set why do i need steam to install the game?
C: if i want to play SP and once again i have the box set that was activated (once) over the Internet using Solidshield then i really have no need for Steam....

and you do NEED tobe online to update steam and you game according to this
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...3160-agcb-2555

a) They also provide a multiplayer platform as part of their software. Which apparently Cliffs of Dover is utilizing

b) see a

c) We don't know for a fact that Solidshield will be on the DD version. This may be a redundancy on the part of Ubisoft, but that is speculative.

Yes, if you want to be playing the most current version of Cliffs of Dover you will need to update it over the internet like every game, but it is not required that you update it if you are playing offline SP. The only reason to have the updated version is to be able to play MP and to fix bugs you may experience.

I'll buy it on Steam because another thread here brings an interview that stated that steam is more profitable for MG and reach much more people that boxed version.
I would love a boxed version,right but at tbis moment the very best for me is money into Oleg's team pocket.
As much as possible.

A: A good integrated multiplayer system, and an easy, convenient method of patching. Not essential, but still desirable.
B: So people who buy the boxed copy get above features^^^
C: Agreed. In this case, you may if you wish turn Steam to offline mode, use it to make a desktop shortcut to your game so you can go direct to CoD, and then forget Steam exists.