I've tried that before, when ver 3.40 came out (I was on ver. 2.6 back then). With the internet connect not just off, but disabled entirely. I even restarted my computer for it to make sure I was disconnected. I attempted it at least five times over 3 days. Short of resetting my computer entirely, I'm not sure what more I can do.
And it STILL didn't work. I only got to play 3.40 because some amazing person uploaded the cracked game.
Trust me when I say that if there was a way to make it work on my computer, I would not be asking for a pre-cracked upload.