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I have acquired an old DVD titled Counter-Strike 1 Anthology that contains three games: Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Condition Zero Deleted Scenes.

The DVD is released by Valve and has a serial code printed in it. However, there is nowhere to enter that code.

When installed on XP (that has no internet access), none of them starts. A simple error message display instantly:

Steam.exe (main exception): Unable to load library Steam.dll

If I install it a modern pc with internet, it instantly upgrades Steam to the latest. (And still cannot play because I should buy it first.)

How can I get those files (Steam 1.0.0.0 related dlls) from trustworthy sources? Googling it produces a miriad of files named steam.dll, wildly varying in size, version and date.

EDIT: I suppose that old Steam games were able to run offline. Can anybody comment on this?

Dercsár
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    A note for those inclined to close due to scope: CS1 is almost old enough to get a discount on auto insurance. – Adam Hyland Jun 06 '23 at 00:50
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    Pre-Steam Valve games (like HL1) shipped installers in the box and the registration key was used in the installer; CS1:A is new enough that the registration key printed on the box is most likely for use with Steam, and installation requires Steam. The first thing to check is whether that key is still available for use: try registering it in your Steam account (if it is still available, the key will become permanently associated with that account; I’m assuming your main goal is to be able to play the game, if only on a modern PC). – Stephen Kitt Jun 06 '23 at 06:54
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    (Pre-Steam keys can also be added to a Steam account; but installing the games doesn’t require Steam.) – Stephen Kitt Jun 06 '23 at 06:56
  • @StephenKitt Thanks for the registration link, could not find it in the Steam app – Dercsár Jun 06 '23 at 13:26

1 Answers1

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I’ll address the historical question:

I suppose that old Steam games were able to run offline. Can anybody comment on this?

Steam was initially used to improve distribution of game patches. Obviously before the release of Steam, games developed by Valve (and initially published by Sierra) could be installed without Steam; even after Steam became available, games were still installed without it. This changed with the release of Half-Life 2 in 2004; that required installation of Steam. Counter-Strike was first released before Steam was required, and initial versions didn’t need Steam; if I remember correctly, that changed with version 1.6 which was at least initially only available through Steam.

Many Steam games can still be run offline, in offline mode.

Stephen Kitt
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  • Please note, that this release (Counter-Strike 1 Anthology) is a collection of three games and only works with Steam. The games are in a package, CGF or similar, that is accessible via the Steam client. I wish to run them with the original Steam client. – Dercsár Jun 07 '23 at 18:59
  • I’m aware of that; I don’t have an answer for that part, which is why I said I was addressing the historical question. – Stephen Kitt Jun 07 '23 at 19:27
  • Maybe this bundle release was a way to promote Steam and re-release previous games now under the Steam umbrella – Dercsár Jun 07 '23 at 21:10