How Split screen can affect game design

[Alucardx23]

I imagine that this has been discussed in some way before, but I would like to know more information about the subject, taking Halo Reach as an example, how much does it affect the game graphically (texture resolution, level design, polygons per second, etc) the fact that it supports 4 Player split screen Coop, in multiplayer for example you in one 360 can be playing against 3 that are on the same console and it has to be a consistent world, you can not remove detail from the map that would make it different from when you are playing alone, the same for single player were it supports 2 player coop.

Split screen multiplayer is something that is used less and less in games today, and I suppose is also because it is not easy to optimize the game for all the different situations that can happen when you have 2 or 4 people playing the game at the same time, for example how can you keep the framerate high if 3 of the player throw a grenade in the same spot at the same time. Any input on this would be great.

 

[patsu]

If it's game design, it will affect big boss battles. I believe the chereographed Leviathan boss fight was cited as one of the reasons for no split screen and co-op support in Resistance 2 SP. They developed a separate co-op mode for the game.

 

[Alucardx23]

If it's game design, it will affect big boss battles. I believe the chereographed Leviathan boss fight was cited as one of the reasons for no split screen and co-op support in Resistance 2 SP. They developed a separate co-op mode for the game.

I guest that’s the better way of including Coop in a game, making it a separate mode, that way you can make the single player graphics the best they can be.

 

[kots]

I guest that’s the better way of including Coop in a game, making it a separate mode, that way you can make the single player graphics the best they can be.

I want to play Halo's excellent co-op with my brother or a friend . They should leave it like that .... in my mind co-op means playing the campaign with another person , not some kind of multiplayer mode being named co-op , separated from the singleplayer story.

 

[Akumajou]

This is a long standing problem that affects all consoles since 3d split screen was introduced.

My understanding is that a single screen game pushes the maximum in rendering capabilities, a 2 player split screen makes the cpu and GPU and ram display less polygons and frames per second unless a game is designed to display less, a 4 player split screen cuts performance further.

However these days four split screen games are a left over from last generation.

 

[zaftxx]

usually certain details are reduced in splitscreen that arent noticeable.
for instance in halo 3 the water is toned down, i only recently noticed while playing with a friend.

 

[2real4tv]

Slightly OT from the OP but I wanted to know about online co-op doesn't that affect game design?

 

[Mobius1aic]

With today's available fillrates, it's not too hard for devs to cut some things down, yet still get decent looking visuals. However in some games, the developers don't do as much as they should in order to maintain smooth framerate. Case in point: Left for Dead 2. It slows down some, enough to make me cringe, and frankly Valve should've just lowered the texture resolution even more so.

 

[Alucardx23]

With today's available fillrates, it's not too hard for devs to cut some things down, yet still get decent looking visuals. However in some games, the developers don't do as much as they should in order to maintain smooth framerate. Case in point: Left for Dead 2. It slows down some, enough to make me cringe, and frankly Valve should've just lowered the texture resolution even more so.

Any game can be made to support split screen, as long as you lower enough the graphics, what I’m talking about is when the support for split screen affects the graphics even when you are playing in single player. I found this interview from a Killzone 2 developer that shows what I’m talking about.

Even in the hugely comprehensive multiplayer (which allows a level of customisation rarely seen in a FPS), a high level of visual fidelity was always the aim, with the desire to create something that would be as equally pretty as its single player counterpart. “All the systems were developed with that in the back of our minds,” says Angie Smets, Senior Producer. “It was very difficult. It’s a balancing act in getting the most out of the hardware and making sure it runs smoothly, and we’re very happy with the result.”

While this meant sacrificing split screen gameplay, there may be some co-operative modes on the horizon to keep the excitement going. “We’re investigating [co-op] now for downloadable content,” she smiles.”We’re looking at what would be the nicest possible things for downloadable content. We’ve already started on maps… we’re not allowed to talk about anything else unfortunately!”

http://talkplaystation.com/co-op-mode-for-killzone-2/

 

[Svensk Viking]

One question that I have never thought about before...

Does the PS3/360 need to cut graphics down also when playing on a SDTV?

 

[homerdog]

usually certain details are reduced in splitscreen that arent noticeable.
for instance in halo 3 the water is toned down, i only recently noticed while playing with a friend.

Yep. Halo has always done a good job of maintaining solid performance in split screen modes. If you look closely you'll see some things missing (water as you mentioned, draw distance is closer) but on such a small screen it's not very noticeable.

With today's available fillrates, it's not too hard for devs to cut some things down, yet still get decent looking visuals. However in some games, the developers don't do as much as they should in order to maintain smooth framerate. Case in point: Left for Dead 2. It slows down some, enough to make me cringe, and frankly Valve should've just lowered the texture resolution even more so.

L4D split screen will put you at a significant disadvantage. Never really goes above ~25fps it seems - insufficient for such a fast paced game.

One question that I have never thought about before...

Does the PS3/360 need to cut graphics down also when playing on a SDTV?

Typically games are always rendered at the same resolution and then scaled down or up to the display resolution.

 

[Alucardx23]

One question that I have never thought about before...

Does the PS3/360 need to cut graphics down also when playing on a SDTV?

Most games just downscale from the native resolution, everything else remains the same.