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Modern Vintage Gamer: N64 - 4 Player Split Screen Was Revolutionary
- Thread starter IbizaPocholo
- Start date
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RetroGamingUK
Member
Such as?
cireza
Member
Street Racer
rm082e
Gold Member
Eh, I guess.
It was mostly Mario Kart and Smash Bros. Don't get me wrong, I loved both of those games and spent many long sessions playing them with friends. But we had the multitap on SNES, so it was a logical convenience to put 4 ports on the next console.
I was actually surprised Sony didn't do it with the PS2.
It was mostly Mario Kart and Smash Bros. Don't get me wrong, I loved both of those games and spent many long sessions playing them with friends. But we had the multitap on SNES, so it was a logical convenience to put 4 ports on the next console.
I was actually surprised Sony didn't do it with the PS2.
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
And Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Mario Party, F-Zero... good times, sucks that modern games no longer bother with split-screen.
RetroGamingUK
Member
Especially considering the size of TVs and resolutions we have today.
The loss of local multiplayer is a disgusting aspect of modern gaming.
Again, another reason why Nintendo is winning the console wars.
Warspite
Member
And you could break that up with the occasional game of Starfox 64 and Duke Nukem 64
vodka-bull
Member
Nintendo isn't even fighting bro…
RetroGamingUK
Member
They don't need to, the competition is shitting the bed.
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vodka-bull
Member
Again, no one's competing with Nintendo. They're playing their own game since the NDS…
RetroGamingUK
Member
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Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
What a load of bollocks.
We had 4 player split-screen on Quake 2 on the Playstation no issues. And that came from an abandoned game we started in 1997/98 called Hassle Castle which being a kind of Spy-vs-Spy derived idea was specifically built around multiplayer. A key gimmick being that you could literally pick another player's screen to throw bombs and stuff into, on top of interacting with them inside the view frame like any other first/third person action game.
The only real issue with doing stuff like this is load balancing when every other player is visible simultaneously on every player's view - an issue you generally only have to worry about when movement is free. In a racing game where every player is always looking ahead on the track, its much less of an issue because whoever's in front always has less load than the players behind them.
We had 4 player split-screen on Quake 2 on the Playstation no issues. And that came from an abandoned game we started in 1997/98 called Hassle Castle which being a kind of Spy-vs-Spy derived idea was specifically built around multiplayer. A key gimmick being that you could literally pick another player's screen to throw bombs and stuff into, on top of interacting with them inside the view frame like any other first/third person action game.
The only real issue with doing stuff like this is load balancing when every other player is visible simultaneously on every player's view - an issue you generally only have to worry about when movement is free. In a racing game where every player is always looking ahead on the track, its much less of an issue because whoever's in front always has less load than the players behind them.
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nkarafo
Member
vodka-bull
Member
I mean you can argue whos plastic box is better like it's still 2010, but please spare us your console-warring, will you? Mods don't like it anyway.
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cireza
Member
This is just a detail though. The technical achievement of 4 players split screen on these 16 bits consoles is just as interesting, in my opinion. The very fact of supporting 4 players through only 2 inputs is also an interesting feature.
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Power Pro
Member
Super Bomberman. That was fun times
RetroGamingUK
Member
Split screen 4 ways?
kevboard
Member
StereoVsn
Gold Member
And PC Engine.
Team Andromeda
Member
8 -player Split screen in the Saturn version tooStreet Racer
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
you did the meme
too bad you didn't post it on twitter.
Premise of thread as written in title/OP: "Modern Vintage Gamer: N64 - 4 Player Split Screen Was Revolutionary"
My factually accurate response: What a load of bollocks!
Because it is.
Furthermore I explained my position, and how I know based on experience of game development at that time in history.
Was it a drive-by ? Sure, but I at least added something of actual substance to rebut the argument that it was revolutionary.
I'd also add that the anecdote I raised was particularly relevant because although split screens existed prior to that generation, the idea of "viewports" as mentioned in the OP has little relevance to older hardware.
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StereoVsn
Gold Member
Halo not having proper split screen is especially wild to me
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Power Pro
Member
kevboard
Member
it was revolutionary because it was the first console to actually focus on it by having 4 controller ports.
no other console ever did this, it was always a feature locked behind an additional addon
StereoVsn
Gold Member
That's at best evolutionary. Considering all major consoles in previous generation had 4 port options, "revolutionary" terminology simply does not belong here.
kevboard
Member
it was revolutionary on a social level. I haven't met a single person who ever played a 4 player split screen game on a PS1.
while everyone and their mom played Mario Kart or Goldeneye in 4p split screen on N64.
if someone in your friend group owned an N64, that was the multiplayer machine everyone gathered to play.
the presence of 4 controller ports as the default instantly makes you see a console in a different light.
could we have played Crash Team Racing with 4 players? sure... technically... did anyone go out and buy a multitap and have that laying around? nope.
the same was true a generation later. I have never known anyone who owned a PS2 multitap. but we sure as hell played Halo, TimeSplitters 2, Nightfire, Mario Kart DD, and Cel Damage in 4p splitscreen on Xbox and/or GameCube... as well as 4p Smash Bros Melee of course, but that's not splitscreen related.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
I mean considering N64 sales, clearly not "everyone and their mom played Mario Kart or Goldeneye in 4p split screen on N64".
And it's still evolutionary. Revolutionary means new and/or radical change in this context. Putting 4 ports on N64 ain't it.
cireza
Member
The screen is not split. People are mixing things here. Having to display a single map and 4 players, is not the same as displaying 4 times the map at different locations and 4 players.
And because of how 16 bits consoles work and scroll, having a proper 4 players split screen that splits vertically and horizontally would be an incredible challenge. Not even sure you can do it at all. This is why Street Racer is split horizontally 3 times, and why it would be interesting technically to look at it.
Also this is why the split screen in Sonic 2 on MegaDrive, in 320x448 interlaced, is super impressive because it is full stages, two views at once, two entirely different scrollings both vertically and horizontally at the same time.
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kevboard
Member
you didn't have to own an N64 to play N64.
if you have a friend group of 6 people, and 5 of them own a PS1, while only 1 of them owns an N64, all 6 of them still went over to that 1 guy with an N64 to play GoldenEye.
it radically changed how prople played local MP imo
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MadchesterManc
Member
Back in the day I thought the Micro Machines cart I had for Mega Drive with 2 extra controller ports built directly into the cartridge was pretty revolutionary for 4-player games, shame it didn't seem to catch on much
Deerock71
Very Poor Hoice of Wor
While this may be true, the SNES only had two controller jacks. Maybe the fact the N64 had 4 controller ports built in was the revolution.
Calverz
Member
I remember playing a lot of 4 player split screen quake 2 on ps1. I thought it was really fun and ran pretty well iirc. I did play more goldeneye and perfect dark split screen though.
CentralScrutinizer
Member
Sony dabbled in a feature whereas Nintendo made it standard and a main focus of their console. I know which one I'm more likely to give credit to.
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
For the life of me, I can't remember how we could play 4-player split screen MK64 or CTR on a 21" tube TV.
Nowadays, if me and friends play 4p Mario Kart on a 43" TV, those who don't know the tracks well can barely understand where the track turns at times.
We didn't use to sit 2 feet from the TV like you always see in those photos from the 90s either, so it's even more baffling how we could play so well.
Nowadays, if me and friends play 4p Mario Kart on a 43" TV, those who don't know the tracks well can barely understand where the track turns at times.
We didn't use to sit 2 feet from the TV like you always see in those photos from the 90s either, so it's even more baffling how we could play so well.
CentralScrutinizer
Member
Better eyesight. Not spoiled by modern accessibility's in technology. Not giving a fuck and just having fun.
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
Better eyesight ain't it. Been wearing glasses since way before the PS1 was even a thing.
Xdrive05
Member
Def one of my biggest laments about the course of gaming is the plummeted split screen popularity.
Halo: CE on the original Xbox was the last time anything was important for its split screen support. Even though so many other games have tried to support this feature since then (including today), none of it has really stuck in the same way, except for a couple lingering Nintendo properties: Smash and Mario Kart. And Mario Kart split screen is meh now compared to how important it was back then. So really just Smash. It's a shame too, because we have SO MANY PIXELS now to make four-player split screen a much better experience than it was back then. Everyone can have their own 1080p screen effectively.
I wish more people sat next to each other when they compete or campaign together in today's games.
Halo: CE on the original Xbox was the last time anything was important for its split screen support. Even though so many other games have tried to support this feature since then (including today), none of it has really stuck in the same way, except for a couple lingering Nintendo properties: Smash and Mario Kart. And Mario Kart split screen is meh now compared to how important it was back then. So really just Smash. It's a shame too, because we have SO MANY PIXELS now to make four-player split screen a much better experience than it was back then. Everyone can have their own 1080p screen effectively.
I wish more people sat next to each other when they compete or campaign together in today's games.
notseqi
Gold Member
I loved to play N64 with three mates even tho I had the smallest TV. We did Turok2, Goldeneye, Mario Kart and later Mario Party.
Amazing stuff and I wasn't aware that anything else was made for this kind of MP.
I went over to another mate to play Doom, one of us did the movement-part, the other did the shooting. Never very satisfying.
Amazing stuff and I wasn't aware that anything else was made for this kind of MP.
I went over to another mate to play Doom, one of us did the movement-part, the other did the shooting. Never very satisfying.
The Atari 5200, released in 1984 did feature four controller ports. No idea on any split-screen games, I'm guessing players would control everything off one screen/viewpane. I think what MVG was discussing was having multiple different POV rendered onto one screen. I suppose you could do the same with the PS1/Saturn if you were willing to make sacrifices, there were plenty of two player split-screen games
kevboard
Member
ok... some models (not all 5200s had 4 ports) of a failed console had 4 ports before, sure... but let's be honest, noone gave that thing any attention lol.
I bet even people who lived through that era didn't know there even was a 5200. the only Atari systems that ever got mainstream attention were the 2600 and the Atari ST... the Jaguar got attention for being a meme I guess, so that counts at least for something
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nkarafo
Member
It helps that games back then were graphically simpler, there wasn't as much fine geometry and texture detail to become a mess when zoomed out at 1/4 screen.
The N64 specifically helped as well. There is no texture wobbling or any other unnecessary movement/artifacting that would look 4x more terrible on a 4 split screen. It also helped that N64 games didn't have the grainy/pixellated textures other consoles had and the smoother look (and often lower fine detail) of N64's textures didn't strain the eyes as much when zoomed out.
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March Climber
Member
N64 crawled, so that Dreamcast could walk, so that Original Xbox and GC could run, so that PS360Wii could fly.
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Some people just can't give the N64 a win, it's like they would drop dead 4 controller ports and the couch gaming aspect became a major selling point for the console. It's known for it and it's part of it's core appeal. No one said it was the first to have 4 ports. Sega loved it so much they copied it for Dreamcast. Out of the box 4 players no additional multi tap, who else has that other than the Atari 5200.
The video is interesting, the technical aspects of how it all works is pretty unique.
One thing is clear you can pick up out those who lived the N64 experience, those who didn't have any friends and those who are talking out their asses and missed entire the generation. N64 living rent free in your heads.
The video is interesting, the technical aspects of how it all works is pretty unique.
One thing is clear you can pick up out those who lived the N64 experience, those who didn't have any friends and those who are talking out their asses and missed entire the generation. N64 living rent free in your heads.
apple_of_enlightenment
Member
These points cut through the noise. The thoughtfulness behind the 4-port revolution on a console that, while not having half the sales as competitor, underpinned their now position in the social gaming mainstream that was only fully realised with Wii and Switch.you didn't have to own an N64 to play N64.
if you have a friend group of 6 people, and 5 of them own a PS1, while only 1 of them owns an N64, all 6 of them still went over to that 1 guy with an N64 to play GoldenEye.
it radically changed how prople played local MP imo