Official Split-Screen Thread v4.0

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

<mark>Mod Edit: It was confirmed in February 2017 by Bonnie Ross that Halo “will always have split-screen support going forward”</mark>

Let’s start anew!

This time, let’s make a more noble effort to keep things clean.

Ground rules:

<mark>NO PETITIONS.</mark>
Be respectful and courteous!
Do not attack other members. This means no people attacking others for wanting splitscreen, and no people that want splitscreen attacking the ones that don’t want it/don’t care. Let’s keep this a friendly environment.

ALL OTHER FORUM RULES STILL APPLY. Like always!

2

Continuing my discussion with Hot Juicy Pie:
I can’t argue with your approach. You’re very logical and methodical, and we need more of that around here.

> 2661949065475413;1245:
> It’s not like they suddenly recalled all the older models of the car as well to be destroyed. You still have your '93 Camry. Just like you still have the old Halo games.

Very true. But for those of us who’d like to continue with this universe/franchise and still have what we consider an essential feature, surely you can see where protesting and fighting for it to be included are perfectly reasonable actions, so long as they’re done responsibly (I can’t speak for others on that one).

> 2661949065475413;1245:
> Gaming as a whole, and anything pertaining to it, is a luxury. You’re not going to die without it. It’s a hobby, plain and simple. Stop exaggerating like your life depends on it.

You cut me deep, Shrek. You cut me real deep just then. ;{)

Kidding aside, though, yes, we all get that we don’t need Halo to breathe. But if you think it’s inherently entitled to fight for things you want, but don’t necessarily need, then… well, that sucks. Also, many people do feel emotionally attached to the split-screen experience, and understandably so. This isn’t unreasonable or pathetic, it’s just human.

> 2661949065475413;1245:
> I’ve had my appendix since I was born. It really doesn’t serve a purpose. Infact, we tend to remove it when it causes problems.

This metaphor doesn’t follow. Split-screen isn’t like an appendix because 1.) we know its purpose and 2.) many people do use it. Also, 343’s pseudo-technical reasons given for why it causes problems have been thoroughly disassembled and rendered dubious at best. Perhaps these are the points that should be being debated, not whether or not it “should” be included.

> 2661949065475413;1245:
> As I’ve pointed out before, there are more unique users here and in google searches that care more about getting Elites put back in the game than there are of those who care about split-screen. Just google “no elite in halo 5” Same amount of propaganda posts from reddit, ign, kotaku, etc. Google can be tailored to make any point look popular.

Non sequitur, as I can bend this the other way. The view that Google can be tailored to make any point look popular (which I agree with) can be used to make popular ideas look unpopular, so let’s both agree to stop using the fact that many, many forums, blogs, and articles are almost unanimously complaining about it.

> 2661949065475413;1245:
> A superficial conversation between you and yourself isn’t “extensive” by any means. I don’t see what that link is supposed to prove.

That wasn’t meant to be the “extensive” part, but just a short recap of the tone of most conversations about Halo 5 splitscreen. It is a strawman, so is obviously not conclusive. However, the reasons given in that fake argument have indeed been given page after page in this thread, and it’s just comical that they continue to be used.

3

> Continuing my discussion with Hot Juicy Pie:
> I can’t argue with your approach. You’re very logical and methodical, and we need more of that around here.

Glad it hasn’t gone unnoticed!

> This metaphor doesn’t follow. Split-screen isn’t like an appendix because 1.) we know its purpose and 2.) many people do use it. Also, 343’s pseudo-technical reasons given for why it causes problems have been thoroughly disassembled and rendered dubious at best. Perhaps these are the points that should be being debated, not whether or not it “should” be included.

But we do know what the appendix was used for at one point, digestive enzymes and bacteria for ingestion of raw meat. Some people in some countries still use it, because that’s part of their regular diet, sure. But, on the other hand, if it’s causing us problems, does that not mean we should not remove it? Much like Split screen has caused problems for 343i in the past, I didn’t play split screen in Halo 4, but from what people said in the aforementioned thread, it was bad. And TMCC was a coding nightmare. As the saying goes, cut off the hand to save the arm.

That being said, would you rather have a problematic split-screen at launch? Or wait for it to be patched in?

However, let’s not kick this thread off on the same foot it’s predecessor was locked.

4

People wanting Split-Screen in Halo 5 is reasonable, mostly for the experience you get to play with someone in the same room. It sucks, but making petitions for that is just ridiculous, and even they said that they tried to make that happen, but since it’s a new engine, for the Xbox One, and purposly trying to achieve 60fps is really difficult to maintain that stability. If they put it in the game, we might as well have a bad experience from what we hoped to be. The game plays the same, that’s just something people want, but unfortunatly they can’t put it. The only way to have it in the game is to use an older engine, like the Halo 4 engine or the Halo 2 Anniversary, but from a lot of positive replies from the beta people wouldn’t like if it was removed. IMO split-screen isn’t a big deal, I don’t use it, but I understand those who do, it’s like 343i just decided to remove campaign, I would be disappointed.

5

> 2661949065475413;3:
> > Continuing my discussion with Hot Juicy Pie:
> > I can’t argue with your approach. You’re very logical and methodical, and we need more of that around here.
>
>
> Glad it hasn’t gone unnoticed!
>
>
> > This metaphor doesn’t follow. Split-screen isn’t like an appendix because 1.) we know its purpose and 2.) many people do use it. Also, 343’s pseudo-technical reasons given for why it causes problems have been thoroughly disassembled and rendered dubious at best. Perhaps these are the points that should be being debated, not whether or not it “should” be included.
>
>
> But we do know what the appendix was used for at one point, digestive enzymes and bacteria for ingestion of raw meat. Some people in some countries still use it, because that’s part of their regular diet, sure. But, on the other hand, if it’s causing us problems, does that not mean we should not remove it? Much like Split screen has caused problems for 343i in the past, I didn’t play split screen in Halo 4, but from what people said in the aforementioned thread, it was bad. And TMCC was a coding nightmare. As the saying goes, cut off the hand to save the arm.
>
> That being said, would you rather have a problematic split-screen at launch? Or wait for it to be patched in?
>
> However, let’s not kick this thread off on the same foot it’s predecessor was locked.

Agreed. And to answer your question, I absolutely think that the quality of the game as a whole should not be sacrificed for the sake of split-screen. It’s too little, too late. A post-launch patch is the only way to go at this point. They just need to communicate with us whether or not they intend to do this, and that would satiate a lot of the discontentment.

6

I don’t know if many people paid attention during that Gameinformer podcast interview with Marty O’Donnell and Jamie Griesemer when they were talking about the original trilogy.

Griesemer was one of the lead developers for the original games and he said that he actually wanted to cut splitscreen out of Halo 3 or limit it to 2 for many reasons with the main one being that when 2 players moved to far sides of the game world the game would crash. He himself said that they had to limit the scope of Halo 3 to solve the problem and it seems logical to infer that the teleporting that kept people together in loading zones was created to help mediate the problem as well. Now this was back in Halo 3; a much weaker engine running at 30fps.

While Halo 5’s engine is stronger it made everything bigger in scope especially with Warzone. Think about it if someone looked at each other from clear across Raid on Apex 7 which has been said to be the biggest Halo map ever. This could cause problems with the engine in splitscreen that would make the experience miserable.

I want splitscreen to, but I don’t think that parts of the game we’ve seen should be sacrificed. I think it’s better that we campaign for it to be in Halo 6. It’s different than the situation with elites because splitscreen is part of their vision for Halo and they were going to put it in until they just couldn’t make it work.

7

> 2533274833380875;6:
> I don’t know if many people paid attention during that Gameinformer podcast interview with Marty O’Donnell and Jamie Griesemer when they were talking about the original trilogy.
>
> Griesemer was one of the lead developers for the original games and he said that he actually wanted to cut splitscreen out of Halo 3 or limit it to 2 for many reasons with the main one being that when 2 players moved to far sides of the game world the game would crash. He himself said that they had to limit the scope of Halo 3 to solve the problem and it seems logical to infer that the teleporting that kept people together in loading zones was created to help mediate the problem as well. Now this was back in Halo 3; a much weaker engine running at 30fps.
>
> While Halo 5’s engine is stronger it made everything bigger in scope especially with Warzone. Think about it if someone looked at each other from clear across Raid on Apex 7 which has been said to be the biggest Halo map ever. This could cause problems with the engine in splitscreen that would make the experience miserable.
>
> I want splitscreen to, but I don’t think that parts of the game we’ve seen should be sacrificed. I think it’s better that we campaign for it to be in Halo 6. It’s different than the situation with elites because splitscreen is part of their vision for Halo and they were going to put it in until they just couldn’t make it work.

I think that’s a very fair stance. I, however, will keep fighting for it until well after Halo 5’s release, when we find out for sure whether it will be released post-launch or not. If the answer still ends up being no, here’s my process.

  • Rent Halo 5 for a week and play through the campaign, maybe a little Warzone.
  • After it’s returned, keep playing MCC so I can play with my wife and company.
  • Immediately start lobbying for #Halo6splitscreen.
8

> 2533274833380875;6:
> I don’t know if many people paid attention during that Gameinformer podcast interview with Marty O’Donnell and Jamie Griesemer when they were talking about the original trilogy.
>
> Griesemer was one of the lead developers for the original games and he said that he actually wanted to cut splitscreen out of Halo 3 or limit it to 2 for many reasons with the main one being that when 2 players moved to far sides of the game world the game would crash. He himself said that they had to limit the scope of Halo 3 to solve the problem and it seems logical to infer that the teleporting that kept people together in loading zones was created to help mediate the problem as well. Now this was back in Halo 3; a much weaker engine running at 30fps.
>
> While Halo 5’s engine is stronger it made everything bigger in scope especially with Warzone. Think about it if someone looked at each other from clear across Raid on Apex 7 which has been said to be the biggest Halo map ever. This could cause problems with the engine in splitscreen that would make the experience miserable.
>
> I want splitscreen to, but I don’t think that parts of the game we’ve seen should be sacrificed. I think it’s better that we campaign for it to be in Halo 6. It’s different than the situation with elites because splitscreen is part of their vision for Halo and they were going to put it in until they just couldn’t make it work.

yep, with their interview, I truly believe they laid the final nail on this coffin. The issue is now moot

9

> 2533274833380875;6:
> I don’t know if many people paid attention during that Gameinformer podcast interview with Marty O’Donnell and Jamie Griesemer when they were talking about the original trilogy.
>
> Griesemer was one of the lead developers for the original games and he said that he actually wanted to cut splitscreen out of Halo 3 or limit it to 2 for many reasons with the main one being that when 2 players moved to far sides of the game world the game would crash. He himself said that they had to limit the scope of Halo 3 to solve the problem and it seems logical to infer that the teleporting that kept people together in loading zones was created to help mediate the problem as well. Now this was back in Halo 3; a much weaker engine running at 30fps.
>
> While Halo 5’s engine is stronger it made everything bigger in scope especially with Warzone. Think about it if someone looked at each other from clear across Raid on Apex 7 which has been said to be the biggest Halo map ever. This could cause problems with the engine in splitscreen that would make the experience miserable.
>
> I want splitscreen to, but I don’t think that parts of the game we’ve seen should be sacrificed. I think it’s better that we campaign for it to be in Halo 6. It’s different than the situation with elites because splitscreen is part of their vision for Halo and they were going to put it in until they just couldn’t make it work.

This happened with Halo 4. They said that the game was made for the Xbox One, not the 360. They pushed to much, and we get to see it in the split-screen experience. For me, having or not having split-screen isn’t a big deal for me, but I had great memories playing with a friend of mine.

10

Splitscreen being gone is going too hurt Halo 5’s sales significantly and cut down a few million sales. For Halo’s longevity sake, I hope 343 adds it back, for their own good.

Btw why was the last thread locked? People getting too aggressive?

11

<mark>This post has been edited by a moderator. Please do not post comments that are discriminatory in nature.</mark>

*Original post. Click at your own discretion.

> 2533274803137071;8:
> > 2533274833380875;6:
> > I don’t know if many people paid attention during that Gameinformer podcast interview with Marty O’Donnell and Jamie Griesemer when they were talking about the original trilogy.
> > Griesemer was one of the lead developers for the original games and he said that he actually wanted to cut splitscreen out of Halo 3 or limit it to 2 for many reasons with the main one being that when 2 players moved to far sides of the game world the game would crash. He himself said that they had to limit the scope of Halo 3 to solve the problem and it seems logical to infer that the teleporting that kept people together in loading zones was created to help mediate the problem as well. Now this was back in Halo 3; a much weaker engine running at 30fps.
> > While Halo 5’s engine is stronger it made everything bigger in scope especially with Warzone. Think about it if someone looked at each other from clear across Raid on Apex 7 which has been said to be the biggest Halo map ever. This could cause problems with the engine in splitscreen that would make the experience miserable.
> > I want splitscreen to, but I don’t think that parts of the game we’ve seen should be sacrificed. I think it’s better that we campaign for it to be in Halo 6. It’s different than the situation with elites because splitscreen is part of their vision for Halo and they were going to put it in until they just couldn’t make it work.
>
>
> yep, with their interview, I truly believe they laid the final nail on this coffin. The issue is now moot

I watched that interview, I interpret it as Bungie tried really hard to get it in and they did in the end despite it being difficult. The really ironic thing is there were 3 follow ups to halo 3 and managed to get split-screen in. So 343 either:

  • are too incompetent at making video games and can’t get splitscreen in (very believable given the quality of the MCC and the fact that every previous title managed to do it and still look stunning for the times)
  • Want to move the franchise away from social game play to something it has never been which is to an online only competitive format - something none of the previous titles were
  • Too lazy to put in effort to put in split-screen, a combination of points 1 and 2
  • All of the aboveRegardless. Halo 5 is a souless product that I won’t be buying and I am encouraging anyone interested in video games to not buy. This is a terrible move and appears to be catering for the cancerous part of the gaming industry that only want top graphics and PVP multiplayer, ironically on the platform that can least handle it.

343 - why not release this on the pc which can at least give your vision of a stunningly beautiful game. The xbox one will always be that poor special cousin.

12

I have come to terms with the fact that Halo 5 won’t launch with split screen, however, I do hope that they add it in post launch. That would be the best way to go, a month or two after launch would be ideal but longer would probably be more realistic.
Split screen is an essential feature. Yes, there are plenty of people who no longer use it. But there are also plenty of people (possibly more, possibly equal amount) who are heartbroken of its absence. I myself am among them. I will still buy the game, I’m not one of those people who boycott the game over it. But I am way less hyped for this game. I will no longer be able to play Halo with my brother, or with my college friends. Some of my fondest Halo memories came from playing split screen.
It’s definitely still relevant, I run into people playing with guests every single day I go on matchmaking. It’s important.

13

> 2533274881201889;12:
> I have come to terms with the fact that Halo 5 won’t launch with split screen, however, I do hope that they add it in post launch. That would be the best way to go, a month or two after launch would be ideal but longer would probably be more realistic.
> Split screen is an essential feature. Yes, there are plenty of people who no longer use it. But there are also plenty of people (possibly more, possibly equal amount) who are heartbroken of its absence. I myself am among them. I will still buy the game, I’m not one of those people who boycott the game over it. But I am way less hyped for this game. I will no longer be able to play Halo with my brother, or with my college friends. Some of my fondest Halo memories came from playing split screen.
> It’s definitely still relevant, I run into people playing with guests every single day I go on matchmaking. It’s important.

I was going to buy it but then I thought about how often I will play it without split-screen and I realised that bar my first campaign play through it will sit there gaining dust. There isn’t even a PVE mode to continue to enjoy. If you are the same then I strongly recommend renting it, it will be a complete waste of 60-100 dollars otherwise. But if you will play some matchmaking then it may be a better buy.

14

> 2533274808782920;13:
> > 2533274881201889;12:
> > I have come to terms with the fact that Halo 5 won’t launch with split screen, however, I do hope that they add it in post launch. That would be the best way to go, a month or two after launch would be ideal but longer would probably be more realistic.
> > Split screen is an essential feature. Yes, there are plenty of people who no longer use it. But there are also plenty of people (possibly more, possibly equal amount) who are heartbroken of its absence. I myself am among them. I will still buy the game, I’m not one of those people who boycott the game over it. But I am way less hyped for this game. I will no longer be able to play Halo with my brother, or with my college friends. Some of my fondest Halo memories came from playing split screen.
> > It’s definitely still relevant, I run into people playing with guests every single day I go on matchmaking. It’s important.
>
>
> I was going to buy it but then I thought about how often I will play it without split-screen and I realised that bar my first campaign play through it will sit there gaining dust. There isn’t even a PVE mode to continue to enjoy. If you are the same then I strongly recommend renting it, it will be a complete waste of 60-100 dollars otherwise. But if you will play some matchmaking then it may be a better buy.

There may be a PVE that is yet to be announced. But if you primarily only play it split screen, then I understand only renting. I do play a lot of split screen but I do still play a lot on my own as well. I just have a lot more fun playing split screen. So I’m still buying it, but I do hope they decide post launch to patch it in. Then hopefully you can end up buying it after all.

15

> 2533274881201889;14:
> > 2533274808782920;13:
> > > 2533274881201889;12:
> > >
>
>
> There may be a PVE that is yet to be announced. But if you primarily only play it split screen, then I understand only renting. I do play a lot of split screen but I do still play a lot on my own as well. I just have a lot more fun playing split screen. So I’m still buying it, but I do hope they decide post launch to patch it in. Then hopefully you can end up buying it after all.

Fair enough. I will probably buy the game if they patch in split-screen, but only if they do, but it won’t be a sure thing. I may move on to something else entirely, if another franchise pops up and captivates me like halo did under bungie then halo will effectively be dead to me and all emotional investment in the series gone.

MS and 343 have really dropped the ball with this release, they are ostracizing alot of people, and only time will tell how big this mistake is. This could be the end of the xbox as that console and halo are tied closely together and if halo fails then so will the xbox. There are constant reports of MS shareholders being unhappy to finance the XBox division, if Microsoft’s prize franchise flops then that may be the straw that breaks the camels back. This decision is not like releasing a sub-par game, it is releasing a game that really is giving a big proverbial middle finger to traditional social and family gamers that I think 343 have grossly underestimated the number of.

16

I can’t believe we’re on the fourth incarnation of this thread… But here I go, one more time.

My wife and I were bitterly disappointed that split screen was removed. Halo has been our number one co-op gaming series and we were really excited to experience the story together, as well as team up and play some matchmaking. Speaking of “matchmaking” we actually met through Halo. Truly, this is a Halo playing household.

Sadly, that excitement has been lost as we can no longer even play it together, short of dropping almost a grand on a second Xbox One, HDTV and copy of Halo 5. Unfortunately to us, and many others I’m sure, that’s just not a realistic option. We ended up canceling our Limited Edition pre-order over this, though we will probably still pick up the standard edition for the story. But it’s sad times when your favorite series of the last 14 years goes from “must buy Limited Edition” to “probably buy standard.”

I can’t offer a solution, or too much insight. I’m not a programmer and I don’t work at 343 Industries. I don’t know if Microsoft’s deadline and budget made this decision for the developers. I don’t even know if split screen could be added in a post launch CU - it’d be amazing if it could. I also don’t know if we will ever see split screen in Halo again. That’s all speculation.

What I do know is that we’re two fans from the Combat Evolved days and we can’t play together like we used to anymore. And that sucks.

17

> 2533274809860074;16:
> I can’t believe we’re on the fourth incarnation of this thread… But here I go, one more time.
>
> My wife and I were bitterly disappointed that split screen was removed. Halo has been our number one co-op gaming series and we were really excited to experience the story together, as well as team up and play some matchmaking. Speaking of “matchmaking” we actually met through Halo. Truly, this is a Halo playing household.
>
> Sadly, that excitement has been lost as we can no longer even play it together, short of dropping almost a grand on a second Xbox One, HDTV and copy of Halo 5. Unfortunately to us, and many others I’m sure, that’s just not a realistic option. We ended up canceling our Limited Edition pre-order over this, though we will probably still pick up the standard edition for the story. But it’s sad times when your favorite series of the last 14 years goes from “must buy Limited Edition” to “probably buy standard.”
>
> I can’t offer a solution, or too much insight. I’m not a programmer and I don’t work at 343 Industries. I don’t know if Microsoft’s deadline and budget made this decision for the developers. I don’t even know if split screen could be added in a post launch CU - it’d be amazing if it could. I also don’t know if we will ever see split screen in Halo again. That’s all speculation.
>
> What I do know is that we’re two fans from the Combat Evolved days and we can’t play together like we used to anymore. And that sucks.

This post sums up my feelings almost exactly. I am really hoping for a patch for 2 player split screen

18

I see Official Split-Screen Threads leaves no place for sleep.

> 2661949065475413;3:
> It’s not contradictory to it, it’s just easier to remove a problematic feature all together. They won’t delay the game again, it’s too late. This close to release, it’s already in it’s printing phase. Everything they do now is post release patch content and DLC. Even if it were possible, MS wouldn’t allow them. Not this close to a Holiday release.
>
> And sure, hypothetically speaking in an ideal world where deadlines didn’t exist and everyone had the patience of a saint, optimizing splitscreen would be the better route to go. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world where such conditions exist. As a matter of fact, as far as I know there has only ever been one game that perfected split screen 60fps/1080p, and that was Mario Kart 8. Even then it wasn’t without it’s flaws.

So you’re for deadlines, or for better, polished games?

Nowadays I barely use 4-player split screen (once every few months), but still I think this feature should be included. Not only because when I, finally, have more friends around, I hate to play Fifa. Because if developer creates functional 4-player split screen, it’s sure that 2-player split screen will work better. With 2-player split screen working better, full screen works perfect etc. For some time 343i was neglecting split screen and few months before release (this “print phase”) there’s this sub-810p, 40~60fps thing that was supposed to finally show power of Xbox One.

I’m for developer to work harder on better game, as I’m customer - I don’t care if they have to take extra hours at work, or what deadlines are upon them. You’re about making excuses that eventually drags us all down. If you remove all “problematic” features all together, you’ll end up with bare-boned game that’s played by few. 343i cannot afford that, but that’s what Halo 5 seems to be right now.

19

I think this is the most discussed topic on the official forum of Halo,
3 threads over 1000 posts each, 343 can not be indifferent to all this …
It would be nice that some spokesmen of 343 intervenes in this debate and to give us some useful information on the possible release of a future implementation of split screen.
thanks 343

20

MonotoneFerret he wrote

I’ll add to that: your metaphor about people complaining about no split-screen being like people who have four cars but only needing one is off the mark. If a common, 4-seat midsize car that’s been a staple for years suddenly went on the market with a new model that could only fit one person inside, then people would obviously be upset. The difference is, there’s a million cars to choose from, but there’s only one place to experience Halo’s unique play style: Halo. So yeah, people are bummed about what is widely considered an essential feature, not a luxury. We cannot arbitrarily define what is essential and what is a luxury, because that varies person-to-person. Instead, let’s do three simple things:
Realize that it’s been with us from the start and is therefore essential for many
Realize that a very large crowd of people (pretty much the internet in general, just Google “no halo 5 splitscreen”) are very upset or confused by lack of split-screen.
Analyze the reasons given by 343 for excluding it (this has been done extensively, and their answers fall short).

I agree in this