Trying to play Synergy LAN offline, keep getting disconnected due to VAC issues

lukeman3000 · 08-15-2012, 01:02 PM

I am trying to play a co-op mod for Half-Life 2 called Synergy in offline mode, and I keep getting kicked from the game every 3 minutes or so due to an error that says it can't connect to the VAC servers.

To give some background, I'm hosting a dedicated Synergy server and playing on the same computer.

Also, I put my Steam client in offline mode which is when I get this problem. When Steam isn't in offline mode, the problem doesn't seem to happen.

Strangely, this happens even though I have disabled VAC when starting the server. It's not even on, so why is it trying to connect during the game? It's very frustrating.

Also, I have tried a steam and non-steam dedicate server (using SRCDS), and it happens either way. The problem appears to be related to running my steam client in offline mode, though I don't see why I shouldn't be able to do this if I disable VAC on the server.

Playing offline is important because our internet connection sucks an is not always reliable.

Help?

Vonje · 08-15-2012, 01:15 PM

Did you set the server to LAN?

lukeman3000 · 08-15-2012, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vonje

Did you set the server to LAN?

Well, when I create the dedicated server through through steam, the option for LAN or Internet is greyed out and set to LAN.

When I've used SRCDS, I've tried using the switch +sv_lan 1 but it doesn't seem to do anything.

And by the way, I'm not using the listen server because there's a specific issue with Synergy which can be fixed by using a dedicated server.

snapjak · 08-15-2012, 03:26 PM

Try adding -insecure to the launch command. That should stop Synergy from trying to connect to the VAC servers.

LAN servers will still attempt to connect, even when offline.

lukeman3000 · 08-15-2012, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snapjak

Try adding -insecure to the launch command. That should stop Synergy from trying to connect to the VAC servers.

LAN servers will still attempt to connect, even when offline.

Should I add this to "launch options" in my Steam Synergy client, or to the server?

Nekomancer · 08-15-2012, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snapjak

Try adding -insecure to the launch command. That should stop Synergy from trying to connect to the VAC servers.

LAN servers will still attempt to connect, even when offline.

Only works with dedicated servers, at least that's what the Valve wiki says.

lukeman3000 · 08-15-2012, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nekomancer

Only works with dedicated servers, at least that's what the Valve wiki says.

Well, I have tried using a dedicated server both through steam and through SRCDS and with SRCDS, I already have -insecure added to the batch file that I use to start the server. It doesn't seem to help. And even if I start a dedicated server through steam (in the tools section), the GUI gives me the option to disable VAC. Doesn't matter.

What am I missing? Does my steam client HAVE to be online to play LAN? Why aren't the switches to disable VAC working?

Edit: Here's my batch file:

Quote:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Valve\HLServer\synergy\orangebox\srcds" -console -game synergy -ip 0.0.0.0 -maxplayers 4 +map d1_trainstation_03 -insecure -port 27015 +sv_lan 1

lukeman3000 · 08-15-2012, 11:16 PM

Ok, I "sort of" got it to work.

Let's forget about HLDS for a second, because I'd rather get this to work under the dedicated server through the steam client (under tools) if at all possible because it would save space.

So when you create a dedicated synergy server through the steam tools, you can only choose from the default synergy maps that come with synergy. You can't choose any of the Half-Life 2 campaign maps such as d1_trainstation_01.

So what I had been doing was simply using the command "map d1_trainstation_01" in the in-game console window to switch to the HL2 campaign, and it worked, but it would kick me out after a few minutes due to that VAC error message (how it couldn't connect to the VAC servers).

Well, I didn't even realize that there was another console available -- the one that you get when you create the dedicated server. I was using the in-game console for everything. This time, I used "map d1_trainstation_01" in the dedicated server console, and switched the map before even entering the game.

When I joined the game, I was able to play and I did not get kicked out after several minutes.

This is great, I thought. So, I alt-tabbed back out to the server console window (not using the in-game console anymore) and tried to change to another campaign map (map d1_trainstation_03). As soon as I hit "enter", it kicked me out of the game because this time it said "disconnect: server shutting down".

The thing is that the server did in fact NOT shut down. When I rejoined my server, it was on the map that I had changed it to.

So in summary, it seems that using the in-game console to change maps results in VAC errors, but using the server console to change maps will kick me from the game due to an error that says "disconnect: server shutting down".

What gives?

08-15-2012, 01:02 PM	#1
lukeman3000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Reputation: 144 Posts: 194	Trying to play Synergy LAN offline, keep getting disconnected due to VAC issues I am trying to play a co-op mod for Half-Life 2 called Synergy in offline mode, and I keep getting kicked from the game every 3 minutes or so due to an error that says it can't connect to the VAC servers. To give some background, I'm hosting a dedicated Synergy server and playing on the same computer. Also, I put my Steam client in offline mode which is when I get this problem. When Steam isn't in offline mode, the problem doesn't seem to happen. Strangely, this happens even though I have disabled VAC when starting the server. It's not even on, so why is it trying to connect during the game? It's very frustrating. Also, I have tried a steam and non-steam dedicate server (using SRCDS), and it happens either way. The problem appears to be related to running my steam client in offline mode, though I don't see why I shouldn't be able to do this if I disable VAC on the server. Playing offline is important because our internet connection sucks an is not always reliable. Help? Last edited by lukeman3000: 08-15-2012 at 01:27 PM.

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08-15-2012, 01:15 PM	#2
Vonje Join Date: May 2007 Reputation: 307 Posts: 4,502	Did you set the server to LAN?

08-15-2012, 03:26 PM	#4
snapjak Join Date: Jun 2010 Reputation: 864 Posts: 3,142	Try adding *-insecure* to the launch command. That should stop Synergy from trying to connect to the VAC servers. LAN servers will still attempt to connect, even when offline.

08-15-2012, 11:16 PM	#8
lukeman3000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Reputation: 144 Posts: 194	Ok, I "sort of" got it to work. Let's forget about HLDS for a second, because I'd rather get this to work under the dedicated server through the steam client (under tools) if at all possible because it would save space. So when you create a dedicated synergy server through the steam tools, you can only choose from the default synergy maps that come with synergy. You can't choose any of the Half-Life 2 campaign maps such as d1_trainstation_01. So what I had been doing was simply using the command "map d1_trainstation_01" in the in-game console window to switch to the HL2 campaign, and it worked, but it would kick me out after a few minutes due to that VAC error message (how it couldn't connect to the VAC servers). Well, I didn't even realize that there was another console available -- the one that you get when you create the dedicated server. I was using the in-game console for everything. This time, I used "map d1_trainstation_01" in the dedicated server console, and switched the map before even entering the game. When I joined the game, I was able to play and I did not get kicked out after several minutes. This is great, I thought. So, I alt-tabbed back out to the server console window (not using the in-game console anymore) and tried to change to another campaign map (map d1_trainstation_03). As soon as I hit "enter", it kicked me out of the game because this time it said "disconnect: server shutting down". The thing is that the server did in fact NOT shut down. When I rejoined my server, it was on the map that I had changed it to. So in summary, it seems that using the in-game console to change maps results in VAC errors, but using the server console to change maps will kick me from the game due to an error that says "disconnect: server shutting down". What gives?