How can you run Steam in REAL offline mode without internet connection? I can't, it says "No internet connection available".
Also, regarding to your fix: I just activated the game here, everything is still ok.
I have a laptop that is very rarely ever connected to the internet, and I play all of my single player games on Steam with no internet connection. You just need to play the game at least once when connected to the internet, and from there on out you can play Steam games in single player not connected to the internet. Make sure you log in offline mode.
