DiRT 3 - Splitscreen with Eyefinity

DiRT 3 is yet another rally game in the cycle signed with Colin McRae's name. ... Bla bla bla.... This isn't yet another review. I'm pretty sure that most of you had some experience with this game or it's predecessors. So I don't see any point in writing about how many tracks/cars/play modes etc. are available in the game. Instead I will focus on something that is rarely mentioned in the reviews I've seen thus far. I'm talking about built-in Splitscreen mode! DiRT 3 is the first game from Codemasters which include this mode and today I am going to check how it performs combined with Eyefinity technology.

I. First look at Splitscreen mode.
II. Controller configuration.
III. Eyefinity setups.
IV. Results and summary.

I. First look at Splitscreen mode.

This is what it’s all about:

I must admit that I love the fact that more and more PC games get build in splitscreen. So I wasn't surprised when I ran DiRT 3 for the first time and found out that Codemasters gave us opportunity to play this way. Nevertheless I wasn’t expecting much from this mode - mainly because it's new for this series - I thought it would be buggy and hard to configure... Oh how wrong I was! I say this is the way that splitscreen should be made.
I mean don't get me wrong it could be polished here and there (like adding vertical split) but simplicity of configuration, types and quantity of events make this game enjoyable for many - and i mean MANY hours.
I can remember when playing DiRT 2 with my friends we were trying to beat each other’s times driving on the same track over and over again changing seat after each try.
Then when it wasn’t my turn, it’s just like looking from the "back seat" hoping that my friend will miss the brake point so that he will lose precious split-seconds. It used to be so exciting. Well... splitscreen is x100 that! Passing by your buddy with his car lying in the pit or getting rammed into other vehicles by the person sitting next to you is what this game is all about.

As far what SS has to offer you can play every single game mode available from Rallycross, Landrush to Gymkhana Events or even free ride around the Powerplant.
We can edit virtually everything. Discipline, amount of AI drivers, difficulty - You can even set how many and which tracks you will race on one after another.

There is even a possibility of setting handicap and damage options:

And the game itself looks simply great:

Player1 viewport is always the top one.

Hud is the same as in singleplayer - the same size for both players. However both players can customize theirs the way they like in game options. Player1 settings can be found with the rest of the game config and Player2 settings can be edited in the windows apearing before starting the event:

II. Controller configuration.

This is the part where most games suck... Usually you need atleast two Microsoft Xbox Controllers for Windows or you can forget about playing in splitscreen at all. But DiRT 3 shines in this area! You can use any controller in any combination you can imagine with this game. I have tried playing on Logitech Driving Force GT, Microsoft Xbox Controller, PS3 Controller, and couple of 2-3$ controllers from ebay. Every single controller worked without a glitch. You can have even both players using the same keyboard. Each and every key, button or axis can be configured both for player1 and player2 seperatly.
You can even set seprate Vibration and Force Feedback options - if for example you want to use two wheels.

Player1 will use the controller on which you pressed start button after the game starts and Player2 will be asked to press start on his controller when you enter splitscreen mode.

III. Eyefinity setups.

And now for the fun part :) Lets throw in Eyefinity to the mix and see what we will get.
Since the only split method is the horisontal split, In the first part id like to show you how does the game look like in the "traditional" tripple wide configuration:

There is no problems with menus - since this game is actually "Eyefinity friendly". And the gameplay is enjoyable this way. But since I own a wheel controller... Well lets say that Its not the best setup to be using wheel - aspecially if you want to sit in the middle between displays. Your buddy would be forced to look at the game from behind your shoulder. And it isnt really the best way to play. But if you have two controllers - or a controller and a keyboard combo you should be fine playing this way. And the crazy aspect ratio of each viewport gives an insane speed impression.

There is a little bug with hud - sometimes when you run the game its cantered and sometimes spanned to the side.

Excuse no AA - but single 6950 2GB is bit choppy in EF in this game and Splitscreen itself has a slight performance hit too. It’s not worth reducing your graphic settings but it’s still couple fps.
At this point I’d like to add some loading screens - simply because they look really badass!

Now for the more exotic setup. One display per player. Since game allows only to split the screen horizontally this is the Eyefinity setup I have used - in spite having monitors standing next to each other rather than one on top of another:

Once you start the game you will notice some minor bugs related to the strange aspect ratio. Some menus will be cut or not displayed. However it isn’t making moving through menus much harder. It’s still relatively easy to set the game to your likening.

Now for the game itself:

As you can see Hud is 2x as big as in singleplayer mode on one display - however it doesn’t really bother me much. The most important thing is that each player gets his own display.
This way you can play using two wheels without any problems, you can clearly see where you are driving and you are not getting distracted by whats happening on your friends viewport. This setup gives you truly competitive game play.

However... I think that most of us have theirs displays set next to each other - and won’t be bothered to stack displays on top of each other. So in this Eyefinity setup this is what you will actually see in the side by side config:

Navigating the menus need some getting used to. But the game itself looks brilliantly:

Other than progress bar being split in half :) game looks OK.

I’d like to try someday 3x2 Eyefinity setup... where both players would get 3x1 setups - however i have no idea what kind of a monstrous PC would be required to run DiRT3 in such a mode. But I imagine it would be quite EPIC!

IV. Results and summary.

For more screenshots go here

I must say that even thou I love playing this game in splitscreen - I would like to see some more options. Mainly vertical split - It would make this game so much easier to configure. For me - tripple-wide setup is ok for casual 15-30min sessions with a friend. But if you want a hardcore head to head competition you will need one display per player. And seting up Eyefinity and the game for each player to have his own display can be bothersome.

Also - Its a pity that there is no way to change Players2 name. It would be also great if there was a way to play in splitscreen online... or at least via LAN.

Other than that game performs really well in splitscreen with Eyefinity. Once you set the game up and start playing, you almost instantly get immersed. Using multiple displays you get the feeling like both players were playing on separate machines - which is great. If you are looking either to kill some time with a buddy or prove who is "the better rally driver" xD I can easily say go for DiRT 3! This is one of the best games to be played in splitscreen so far.