Bethesda you've really impressed me. Truthfully, I'm awestruck at how much I enjoy this game you've created.

I've logged around 60 hours into Skyrim so far, playing like an addict for hours-long stretches at a time, restarting new characters like crazy to experiment with all the wonderfully-done mechanics, heading out to new reaches of the world to just see what's there (and there's always something interesting there).

Your team has immense talent and with Skyrim, you've hit your prime with a clear vision of what an immersive RPG is supposed to be. The previous Elder Scrolls games were all excellent, to be sure, but this time the details are just perfect. The combination wonderful graphics and textures, and smooth animations with a well-thought and imaginative story-telling method is so immersive that I often times catch myself really liking or disliking the inhabitants of this virtual world, instead of seeing them as texture and mesh loot dispensers, or quest stage givers.

Every site you visit has a history, even if it's not explicitly stated in dialogue or left-behind journals of a location's former inhabitants. You can piece it together yourself, and it's clear that the unsaid-story of many of places is deliberate. The waterfront house of poor Lucky, collapsed by a tree that was blown over during a storm comes to mind, you find him sadly crushed underneath the rubble. You can literally piece together what happened almost anywhere in the game world by walking around and looking if you're observant.

That storytelling detail does not go unappreciated by me, or by your fans, and neither do the excellent graphics (that run beautifully even on my middle-of-the-road PC) I haven't been happier with a game that I've purchased since X-Com so many years ago. Skyrim ranks up there right beside, or beyond it, and that's high-praise from an aging 30's gamer like myself.

Unfortunately, what I don't appreciate is needing a stable (or at least predictable) internet connection to make use of this product I purchased. Without getting into an abrasive and contentious rant about it - I simply cannot play Skyrim many days of the week. I live in a relatively rural location at my home. and travel cross-country weekly, so my internet is spotty at best- and nonexistent at worst. Although I place Steam in offline mode whenever I'm able (and online, because in order to be able to start steam in offline mode, you must be already online, which defeats the purpose), often times I'm not able to keep my PC on for long stretches.

When the PC restarts, I'm not in offline mode anymore, and if my connection isn't behaving I'm not able to relax with my after-work venture into Tamriel. I find myself disappointed so often that I had to post something, so that maybe someone at Bethesda would realize that there are people like me out there who love your games, are appreciative of the work you do, but need a way to play without an internet connection. I used to use a TESV.exe shortcut but sadly after the last patch it's no longer working. Perhaps Steam pressured you to change this.

I really don't want to have to resort to third-party software to circumvent this problem, but I don't know what else to do, aside from put the game away.

Again, thank you for the wonderful product, but as much as I loved every minute of it I've played so far, I won't be buying the next one if it doesn't have offline play options.

-- A country trucker