How-to: SplitScreen with 2 monitors

[nemesisvm]

Two Monitor Splitscreen Guide

Ok going to try to keep this nice and simple .

Download and place this in your common\Portal 2\bin folder, and make sure to run the game at least once, and hit yes on the first time dialog box asking you to auto generate a config file.

I. If both monitors are the same format (either widescreen or standard):
We will consider x to be the width of your main monitor, And y the height. And we will also consider x-wide=x; y-wide=y;

II. If, like me, your monitors are not the same format (one widescreen and one standard):
We will consider x to be the width of your standard aspect ratio monitor, And y the height. We will also consider x-wide and y-wide the respective width and height of your widescreen monitor.

0. You can get these from:
-> Xp: Right click on desktop->Properties-> Settings tab, and there you will have the resolution in the drop down menu.
-> Vista/7: Right click on desktop -> Screen Resolution -> in a a drop down menu.
It will be in the form of witdh x height. Click on either on monitor 1 or 2 in order to get its respective resolution.

Now lets calculate the aspect ratio for the Portal 2/portal2/splitscreen_config.txt.
1. Go here and input your x and your y which we talked about earlier, hit CALCULATE.
2. Then divide x as well as y with the number the website gives you. This will be your aspect ration you put in the .txt just under "widescreen_vertical_split"
ex: if our x=1280 and y=1024, then
we get 256 and 1280/256=5, 1024/256=4, a 5:4 aspect ratio.
So our file will look like this

"splitscreenconfig"
{
	"nonwidescreen" // always split horizontally (top/bottom)
	{
		// twice as wide as 4x3
		"aspect"				"8 by 3"		

		// limit hud to exact bounds of 3d view?
		"insethud"				"0"				
		
		// fov of the main viewport that is shared between each splitscreen player.  Use cl_fov to get a good number to put here.
		"fov"					"80"			
		
		// fov for the various viewmodels.  This is shared between splitscreen players.  Use cl_viewmodelfov* to get a good number for this.
		"viewmodelfov"			"55"
	}

	"widescreen_horizontal_split"
	{
		// twice as wide as 16x9
		"aspect"				"32 by 9"		
		
		// limit hud to exact bounds of 3d view?
		"insethud"				"0"				

		// fov of the main viewport that is shared between each splitscreen player.  Use cl_fov to get a good number to put here.
		"fov"					"75"

		// fov for the various viewmodels.  This is shared between splitscreen players.  Use cl_viewmodelfov* to get a good number for this.
		"viewmodelfov"	"55"
	}

	"widescreen_vertical_split"
	{
		// half as wide as 16x9
		"aspect"			"5 by 4"		

		// limit hud to exact bounds of 3d view?
		"insethud"				"0"				
		
		// fov of the main viewport that is shared between each splitscreen player.  Use cl_fov to get a good number to put here.
		"fov"					"110"
		
		// fov for the various viewmodels.  This is shared between splitscreen players.  Use cl_viewmodelfov* to get a good number for this.
		"viewmodelfov"	"50"
	}
}

Make sure to always put the x/number FIRST followed by "by" and y/number.
ex: This would be very bad: "4 by 5".

3. Now to edit the Portal 2\bin\config.SoftTHconfig
NOTE: in order you have this file you must have started the game atleast once with the new .dll;

In order to get the same resolution on both monitors we will have to get the widescreen one to show the non-widescreen resolution of the other monitor. In case your monitor may "letterbox" this new resolution I have scaled it to its original one

I marked in red all the places you need to edit in the cfg, just copy this to a .txt then make the necessary replacements and paste it in your Portal 2\bin\config.SoftTHconfig.<2x> means you need to double x. NOTE that some other options have been edited as well (they appear in YELLOW).

[main]
renderResolution=<2x>x<y>
nonlocalFormat=RGB32
keepComposition=1
smoothing=1
debugD3D=0
zClear=1
vsync=1
tripleBuffer=1
screenshotFormat=jpg
dllPathD3D9=auto
dllPathDXGI=auto
dllPathD3D11=autol
[overrides]
forceResolution=0
antialiasing=0
processAffinity=0
FOVForceHorizontal=0
FOVForceVertical=0

[head_primary]
sourceRect=0,0,<x>,<y>
screenMode=<x-wide>x<y-wide>

[head_1]
devID=1
sourceRect=<x>,0,<x>,<y>
transportResolution=<x>x<y>
transportMethod=auto
noSync=0

NOTE: If you want to switch which monitor shows what, switch the two lines sourceRect , under the [head_primary] and [head_1] sections of the config.

ex:
x= 1280 x-wide=1920
y= 1024 y-wide=1080

[main]
renderResolution=2560x1024
nonlocalFormat=RGB32
keepComposition=1
smoothing=1
debugD3D=0
zClear=1
vsync=1
tripleBuffer=1
screenshotFormat=jpg
dllPathD3D9=C:\Windows\System32\D3D9.dll
dllPathDXGI=auto
dllPathD3D11=C:\Windows\System32\D3D11.dll
[overrides]
forceResolution=0
antialiasing=0
processAffinity=0
FOVForceHorizontal=0
FOVForceVertical=0

[head_primary]
sourceRect=0,0,1280,1024
screenMode=1920x1080

[head_1]
devID=1
sourceRect=1280,0,1280,1024
transportResolution=1280x1024
transportMethod=auto
noSync=0

4. Now start the game and chose from the menu Options -> Video -> Resolution -> the <2x>x<y> resolution we set earliear in the config.
5. Execute the following command in the console to set the splitmode to vertical:

ss_splitmode 2

This only has to be executed once.

Well now you have hopefully set up your Portal 2 to run on 2 monitors. In order to test run the following command in the console to load a map:

ss_map mp_coop_start

Also make sure to check this thread for info on how to set-up your controller, or just use my config which switches the keyboard rather than the controller to player two here. If you experience any problems, drop a comment in this thread. If your problem is display related, make sure to also specify the resolutions you are using and include your two config files in the post.

Pics:

Actual Image:
http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/3465/img3163t.jpg
Engine Output:
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8...apult10001.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6...apult10000.jpg

Known BUGS:

• XP is not supported, due to the fact that SofTH requires WDDM win7 drivers.
  -> Vista should work, but is not tested.
• Moving the mouse right, doesn't do anything/moves the view down.
  -> Just disable Windows' accelaration (Ignore) in Options, it's a problem with the .dll
• Videos aren't displaying corectly, or are in black&white. (This affects the intro videos)
  -> Again this is from the .dll, no fix as of yet.
• The portal gun animation seems a bit glitchy.
  -> This is due to the way the .dll handles calls to directx, there is nothing to be done about it.

[Bercon]

This works great! Thank you.

Step 4. didn't work for me. I can only choose single monitor resolutions (nvidia gfx560). However, I went to video.txt in cfg dir and changed the resolution there which works just fine.

[nemesisvm]

Originally Posted by Bercon

This works great! Thank you.

Step 4. didn't work for me. I can only choose single monitor resolutions (nvidia gfx560). However, I went to video.txt in cfg dir and changed the resolution there which works just fine.

It may only appear under widescreen 16:9 resolutions. Or under your default resolution aspect ratio.

[Roeltjuh]

I would just like to add that this is a lot easyer if you have ATI Cataclyst Control center and a graphics card that supports Eyefinity. If so, then all you need to do is open the advanced version of CCC, go to desktop & displays, right click one of your monitors and select create group. You need to disable extended desktop though, but you can easilly change it back when you are done playing

no need to download any files or change anything, the game wil simply think you only have one monitor and use both screens. though in my case I have two 16:10 monitors and the splitscreen_config file is defaulted at 16:9 aspect, that's all I had to change for a perfect set up.

has anyone tried just getting rid of the splitscreen_config.txt? it worked for me? or is that a bad idea?

[Streambeta]

Ok, I downloaded that .dll file and added into the directory. When i start Portal 2 it asks me if it wants to make a new file like you said, so I click "yes". Then for whatever reason Portal 2 won't start up, it's running in the processors but I can't bring it to the foreground. Am I missing something that I should have done first before starting? Because if I remove the .dll file the game will start up again normally.

Pics please.

Will not work for people using XP, since SoftTH 2.x does not support that OS. An older version (tested 1.08) will absolutly require 3 monitors. Didn't find any option to use only 2 monitors
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4...r2monitors.gif
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Roeltjuh]

Originally Posted by iGREKKESS

Will not work for people using XP, since SoftTH 2.x does not support that OS. An older version (tested 1.08) will absolutly require 3 monitors. Didn't find any option to use only 2 monitors
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4...r2monitors.gif
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I'm not entirely sure about this, but shouldn't windows XP users simply be able to turn on 'horizontal spanning' somewhere in their resolution options, and then run the game and pick the correct resolution for both screens combined in the options menu? Horizontal spanning was a feature in XP that allowed dual monitor gaming and such, but it was removed in windows 7.

[Eldrek]

I'm not getting the dialog box when I put the file in and start the game. What do I do?
Trying to run both monitors at 1360x768, but really I'll settle for just getting the thing working.

Edit: for anyone interested, I've been playing coop on the ps3 with my gf but I just can't stand using the controller, so I'm trying to set this up with my monitor+HDTV with her using the TV and a ps3 controller via bluetooth

[Acylus]

Dude, I will love you more if you have done this for L4D and L4D2.

EDIT: Also it didn't work for me. When Portal 2 starts up, it asks to create a file, then doesn't do anything.

Originally Posted by Roeltjuh

I'm not entirely sure about this, but shouldn't windows XP users simply be able to turn on 'horizontal spanning' somewhere in their resolution options(...)

DirectX won't, that's why we're using SoftTH I guess...

[Roeltjuh]

Originally Posted by iGREKKESS

DirectX won't, that's why we're using SoftTH I guess...

I don't see what DirectX has to do with your screen resolution. If the game runs at 1920x1080, it will also run at 3840x1080, won't it? I don't think you need DirectX at all for something as simple as horizontal spanning. But, again, I could be wrong.

[nemesisvm]

Originally Posted by Acylus

Dude, I will love you more if you have done this for L4D and L4D2.

EDIT: Also it didn't work for me. When Portal 2 starts up, it asks to create a file, then doesn't do anything.

Go to Steam -> Right Click on Game -> Properties -> Set Launch Options -> put in this string and see if the game starts that way.

-dxlevel 90 -w 1024 -h 768

You can also try another 2.X version from here and see if it launches.

EDIT: for l4d you should be able to just do the same thing as for portal 2. If you manage to get it to work just drop your portal 2 config files and .dll in l4d and it should work.

Originally Posted by Roeltjuh

I don't see what DirectX has to do with your screen resolution. If the game runs at 1920x1080, it will also run at 3840x1080, won't it? I don't think you need DirectX at all for something as simple as horizontal spanning. But, again, I could be wrong.

I'm in the case of two monitors not having the same size (1280x1024 & 1680x1050)...