Don't feel bad wlj I did this for Goldeneye as well when I played with my brother as it was the only option available at the time. Now I play online.

Laugh it up...I can take it. It is not quite that sad....in the area we live DSL is not available therefore we can't play FPSs online. We would if we could...it is not that we can't afford it or just don't do it...we can't do it. The reason why we "fixed up something" is because when we play split screen all we do is look at each other's screen to see where we are at..then go to that area a kill the other person -- which is not very fun. So we simply corrected the problem buy using cardboard and a couple of chairs. I know it sounds very "Tool Man Tim/Home Improvement"...but it actually works very well, and makes for a more enjoyable multiplayer experience.

Why is that so sad??

wlj

Nope, but played a good bit of death match games like Jedi Knight, Quake 2, etc. on the PC back in college.

I see the appeal, but just not my cup of tea. I don't like the hide and seek aspect, and just don't like deathmatches enough to spend enough time to learn the maps.

In the extremely rare occasion I want to play an FPS multiplayer, I'd rather it be with my friends (all of whom are even more casual gamers than me) all sitting in the same room, with the ability to look at the splitscreens and just goof around in a fast paced, party game type atmosphere.

I think the key to online gaming is to find a group of friends that you have a lot in common with and play with them most all the time, and don't play random games. I play with the same group of 10-12 folks every single night. Some are co-workers, and some are off another message board I frequent. We don't do matchmaking during Halo 2 games except Team Slayer (flag stuff, dummy glitches, and standby glitches have mode those modes unplayable until they are fixed), we play mostly Custom games, then we go play some rainbow six co-op, and then on to World Championship Poker or one of the Ghost Recon Games. Online gaming is really nice if you have a good group of friends, but playing random games with assholes sucks.

I am enjoying online gaming much more than I used to. Most of the friends that I play video games with all moved away (you bastards!), so when we want to play together, it has to be online. We still get together when we can for some "same room" gaming.

I agree that there are a lot of assholes to deal with online. Luckily, in games like Halo 2, you can be on a team with your clan and not even hear the other team until the end of the game. So that makes it a little more tolerable. I shudder to think about games where you can hear everyone talking the whole time. I think that would definitely detract from the online experience.

X

I was not talking about just gaming people. I meant people I encounter going to the the bank places like that.

I agree, man I'm at work and I just about shit myself trying not to laugh out loud. So is it like a full canopy or what?? I'm picturing it in my head and it's hilarious.

I'll just add my to this sad, sad thread. God bless your souls

ummm pics?

At least there is one other person that has done this before....I don't see what is so hilarious about it. So I guess we shouldn't call the patent office quite yet for our "Offline Screen Splitter". Maybe I could get Mad Catz to start production.

It is not a canopy...it is basically just 2 chairs and a couple of pieces of cardboard. Not any professional fabrication...it just simply prevents a player from seeing any screen but his own.

I never said that this setup is better than online gaming/XBOX Live...If we had DSL in our area we would play online....but we don't have it yet available. Back in the days of Dreamcast...I played a many a hours of Quake 3 and Phantasy Star Online with my 56k and loved it. I was just sharing what myself and another guy do to make split screen FPS multiplayer games more fun. This could be useful information for people on the board who ONLY HAVE DIALUP OR NO INTERNET AT ALL. I know it is funny as hell to you "Big City Folk" , but us hillbillies have to improvise.


Nope I don't have pics....remember it is a top secret prototype.



wlj

Are you a gamer that can't mulit-task like most players and watch everyone's screens? Do you feel alone when you are getting your ass kicked because player 2 keeps looking in your square of the tv? Fret not, we have a product for you...

The one and only multiplayer Cardboard Screen Splitter*! Developed by and for those individuals that can only focus on their corner of the screen. Don't get your ass handed to you again by those players with great eyesight and peripheral vision! This is the dawn of a new gaming era!

*Not responsible for scent of cardboard. All Screen Splitters are used from high quality cardboard boxes found outside the local Chinese restaurant. May cause dizziness or vomiting.

Good one Corvin....cha ching cha ching...I can see dollar signs now.

check out my sig.

wlj

I can see the appeal of online gaming. The part I dont like is that many games add it at the expense of the single-player campaign. Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is a good example of this. Medal of Honor: Frontline had a solid campaign - 16 (I think) huge levels which took me nearly 3 weeks to finish. MOH:RS had a mere 9 (easier) levels and was finished in a week, but it had online multiplayer so of course EA thought that made up the difference .

Halo 2 is another example. The single-player game was just too damn short even on Heroic. I don't have XBox Live and even if I did it wouldn't convince me it makes up the difference. It came off looking especially short since I had just finished GTA:SA shortly before I started Halo 2. After a 3-year wait there just should have been more than 15 single-player levels.

I agree NC....single player should be first priority and multiplayer secondary. But Mr Gates sees extra $$$ in the multiplayer because they are hoping you will sign up for XB Live.


wlj

As we say in PC online games, "It's the curse of the pubs." The way we get around it is form clans and leagues, and set up private servers for ladder tournaments and such.

Was the original Halo really that much long than Halo 2? Maybe we suck, but my friend and I spend at least 50 hours beating Halo 2 on Legendary Co-op, so I can't really complain too much about the length of the game... I definitely agree that games can't stand on multiplayer alone though. I could never get in to Unreal Tournament for that reason.

in my opinion...no. I have not yet finished Halo 2 yet....I am close though... I think, but it has taken me alot longer in Halo 2 than the original. There are a few more stages in Halo 2...I think there are only 10 levels in the first one.


wlj

kinda on the same lines as what NC said, I dislike how some many companies out there are all making virtually the same games. FPS shooters that have limited one player modes, but mainly it's the role playing genre that pisses me off. So many cool looking games, and yet hardly any of them are single player. I would have loved to try FF11, but I'm not going to pay a monthly fee and deal with my bad ISP just to play a game. What happenned to the good old days where you paid $50 for a great role playing game, played for hours and hours, and didnt have to pay monthly fees.

It's not that I cant see the appeal of online gaming for all the different genres, I just think the single player games right now are getting overlooked by the industry.

Halo 2 took me hours and hours to beat on Heroic. If you honestly think it's too short you're either a superstar or someone looking for something to bitch out. The XBL version of the game is great, but damn so many haters out there for the non-online campaign it's RADIKULOS.

And yet you agree with NC it's too short?

I agreed with NC that single player should be a priority over multiplayer. I didn't say that Halo 2 was too short.



wlj

That's one of the things I think that's commonly a pitfall in online gaming. Developers get so caught up in the developing an online mode that the single player game is an afterthought these days. Star Wars: Battlefront is a good example. The online mode and single player are pretty much indistinguishable. But right now everyone is so hell bent on getting games online I think that there's little thought as to if a game will be "good" played online.

I always say a great single player game will always outperform a mediocre online game.

You said you agree then you went on to say Mr. Gates sees $$$ in multiplayer. Last time I checked MS has nothing to do with MOH and everything to do with Halo 2.

Halo 2 is a great example of a game that has a great balance in both online and offline play, any argument that says it is neglected on either area doesn't hold any water.

okie dokie...I guess I should have been alot more specific on what I agreed with NC about. It makes sense to me when I read it...but it evidently rubbed you the wrong way Gallant Pig. Sorry...will try to do better next time.


wlj