tf2 closes without explaining why if steam is not running

[joeyjumper94]

so i am trying to launch tf2 via batch file to test a map i am working on, but it closes shortly after the into scene

taskkill /f /im hl2.exe
cd /d D:\steamapps\steamapps\common\"Team Fortress 2"
start hl2.exe -steam -secure -game tf
timeout 5

is my command line

[joeyjumper94]

turns out it was cause steam was not running, but it was very confusing. take gmod, if steam is not running for gmod, it throws an engine error and says something about "no steam user" and tells us some things to try and fix it.