GT4 Multimonitor Blues (Solved)

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Mr.T

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Hi all! This is my first post. Anyhow, I'll skip right to the matter at hand.

After a successful night of playing GT4 over LAN with a friend. I decided to try using GT4 with 3 monitors. Should be painless I thought.

As you now might have guessed, it didn't work out :(. We all know this is possible and this thread proves it:

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=54249&page=2&pp=20&highlight=multimonitor

So, I must be doing something wrong setting this up.

Basic Hardware Setup:

- One 8-Port Ethernet Switch. Nothing else on it but PS2's.
- 3 PS2's, 1 Slim and 2 Old Ones.

GT4 LAN Connection:

- Auto Connection : yes
- ID : 1,2 and 3 (PS2 with ID 1 will be used to host)

GT4 Lan Play Settings:

The name of the machines are censored (profanity). Using Station1, Station2 and Station3 in the config example.

Host:

- Machine name : Station1
- Host : Yes
- No. of players : 1
- No. of monitors : 3
- Monitor position : center
- Monitor type : normal
- Network traffic : heavy

Slaves:

- Machine name: Station2 and Station3
- Host : no
- Style : monitor
- Replay target : Station1
- Monitor position : Left & Right
- Monitor type : normal

When I go into Arcade -> Multi LAN Play the PS2's connects to the network. The lights on the switch lights up indicating that it has link with each of the playstations. Now I get to stare at three waiting for connection screens until I get bored.

Each of the PS2's get a little dot(s) near the cancel button. My guess this is the indication of the node number. Station1 gets 1 dot, station 2 gets 2 dots and station3 gets 3 dots.

If anybody reading this forum has tried this and been successful or have spotted some glaring configuration mistake, please let me know. Some pictures might show up if I manage to get this working


Best regards...

Mr.T
 
About the dots...

One dot marks the host console. As there may only be one host, only one screen should have one dot. Two dots stand for a successfully established network connection. Three dots mean that no connection was established yet.


This is how it should work when everything is set up properly:

The host must connect to the network first. Wait until you see the "waiting for connection" screen showing one single dot. Then connect the next console, which one doesn't matter. When the "waiting for connection" screen appears, it should show three dots at the bottom, which will jump to two dots after a few seconds. If it remains at three dots, your network isn't set up properly, a cable might be broken or the switch may be incompatible.
Anyway, if the second console has connected to the network succesfully (by showing you two dots), you can connect the third console. It should also show you three dots at first, then jump to two dots after a few secs. Right after that, the track selection should show up implying that the network is running.

Oh, and try the setting network load = small! Nobody knows why but this is known to work much much better than large.

Cheers,
the Interceptor
 
Thanks for the dot information.

The connection phase happens as you described. I changed my config and tried with two monitors last night. I start hosting, then I connect with the slave monitor, at first it displays three dots, then two. Host displays one dot. Problem is, nothing happens after that :(

I'll try changing the network load settings on the host when I get back from work today. Guess I'll have to try with manual network configuration too. Maybe I got some duplex problems.

I'll post updates to this thread.
 
the Interceptor
About the dots...

One dot marks the host console. As there may only be one host, only one screen should have one dot. Two dots stand for a successfully established network connection. Three dots mean that no connection was established yet.


This is how it should work when everything is set up properly:

The host must connect to the network first. Wait until you see the "waiting for connection" screen showing one single dot. Then connect the next console, which one doesn't matter. When the "waiting for connection" screen appears, it should show three dots at the bottom, which will jump to two dots after a few seconds. If it remains at three dots, your network isn't set up properly, a cable might be broken or the switch may be incompatible.
Anyway, if the second console has connected to the network succesfully (by showing you two dots), you can connect the third console. It should also show you three dots at first, then jump to two dots after a few secs. Right after that, the track selection should show up implying that the network is running.

Oh, and try the setting network load = small! Nobody knows why but this is known to work much much better than large.

Cheers,
the Interceptor
Click to expand...


About the network load settings:

Small = low traffic network or "6 lane motorway with 1 car", "one man standing on a soccer field"

Large = high traffic network or "1 lane gravelroad with loads of cars", "100 men standing in a squash booth"

Catch my drift?
 
Was this just a typo?


Mr.T
Host:

- Machine name : Station1
- Host : Yes
- No. of players : 1
- No. of monitors : 3
- Monitor position : center
- Monitor type : normal
- Network traffic : heavy

Slaves:

- Machine name: Station1 and Station3
- Host : no
- Style : monitor
- Replay target : Station1
- Monitor position : Left & Right
- Monitor type : normal
Click to expand...
 
helseth
About the network load settings:

Small = low traffic network or "6 lane motorway with 1 car", "one man standing on a soccer field"

Large = high traffic network or "1 lane gravelroad with loads of cars", "100 men standing in a squash booth"

Catch my drift?
Click to expand...

Yup..

Mr. Tornado is that you?
 
helseth
About the network load settings:

Small = low traffic network or "6 lane motorway with 1 car", "one man standing on a soccer field"

Large = high traffic network or "1 lane gravelroad with loads of cars", "100 men standing in a squash booth"

Catch my drift?
Click to expand...
nope! :dunce:
 
Been spending some time after work to get the triple head setup working. No solution found yet.

About network load:

After actually reading what the menu system says about the Network load option, it has become clear that previous assumptions were wrong? As far as I can tell its a parameter on how much bandwidth GT4 will consume/take up. If you play on a slow link you should select "Light" if you have a fat pipe and bandwith to spare you should opt for "Heavy".

About monitor type:

Does anybody have an idea what this option actually does. It has two choices "Normal" and "S type".

The dots:

Works as mentioned above in this thread. To bad I cant get this working even if the slave displays actually connects and shows two dots.

This is just a bit frustrating :). So please bear with me.

Anyhow, is there anybody out there who have tested multimonitor on the euro/pal release of GT4? Am starting to believe it's not working at all. Am desperate for success stories.
 
As far as I have tried this until today, the network load option "light" has always, and I mean always, worked better than "heavy". Even with six people LANing, we've had terrible lags and slowdowns using "heavy", and almost no problems at all using "light". This option may be a relict of the disabled online functionality, at least it sounds like that for me regarding the text you talked about.

I'm afraid I haven't heard of anyone who has tried a multi-monitor game with GT4. Anyway, I'll keep on visiting this thread and help you as much as I can. 👍

Cheers,
the Interceptor
 
Hãt©h
This may be a stupid question but..

Do you need a copy of the game running on each machine?
Click to expand...

Yes, you basicly need 3 of everything. Guess that explains why there seem to be very few people that have actually tried this. Actually, you only need two of each to test it. But you need 3 for the ultimate panoramic feel.
 
We couldn't get LAN play to work unless monitors was set to "0"

I think the "monitors" option is more of a spectator thing, not the number of TVs you are using. Otherwise there wouldn't be an option to have 0 of them. Also, the game won't connect unless all players and monitors/spectators/whatever have filled their allocated spots.
 
the Interceptor
As far as I have tried this until today, the network load option "light" has always, and I mean always, worked better than "heavy". Even with six people LANing, we've had terrible lags and slowdowns using "heavy", and almost no problems at all using "light". This option may be a relict of the disabled online functionality, at least it sounds like that for me regarding the text you talked about.

I'm afraid I haven't heard of anyone who has tried a multi-monitor game with GT4. Anyway, I'll keep on visiting this thread and help you as much as I can. 👍

Cheers,
the Interceptor
Click to expand...

Using Xlink or a switched/hubbed LAN? I have not had any problems either way with "Light" or "Heavy". I have no idea how much bandwith a GT4 session with 6 players actually consume though. Could be interesting to know. Maybe I should get myself a managed switch so I could clone the host ps2's port and do some packet sniffing. Or an old hub would do the trick.

Maybe somebody screwed up the translation from japanese :)

You dont need three ps2's to see if the multimonitor support works, two is enough.

Anyhow, thanks for the support.

Guess it's time to contact Sony support. Wish me luck :)
 
leizar
We couldn't get LAN play to work unless monitors was set to "0"

I think the "monitors" option is more of a spectator thing, not the number of TVs you are using. Otherwise there wouldn't be an option to have 0 of them. Also, the game won't connect unless all players and monitors/spectators/whatever have filled their allocated spots.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure I got regular LAN play to work with Monitors set to 1 and 0. I'll try to confirm this later. It says "Set this to 2 or more to use Multi Monitor mode." in the configuration menu. My guess is that 0 and 1 are basicly the same. And that the somewhat unintuitive result is because the widget type used in the GUI only supports a linear scale.
 
triple

Host:

- Machine name : Station1
- Host : Yes
- No. of players : 1
- No. of monitors : 2
- Monitor position : center
- Monitor type : normal
- Network traffic : heavy

Slaves:

- Machine name: Station2 and Station3
- Host : no
- Style : monitor
- Replay target : Station1
- Monitor position : Left & Right
- Monitor type : normal

******************************************************

--machine names dont really matter
--not sure if replay target matters either because its for "Live" view
--you can probably try it with 2 ps2, 2 tv's; just set "No. of monitors" = 1

werd!
 
qazsz
triple

Host:

- Machine name : Station1
- Host : Yes
- No. of players : 1
- No. of monitors : 2
- Monitor position : center
- Monitor type : normal
- Network traffic : heavy

Slaves:

- Machine name: Station2 and Station3
- Host : no
- Style : monitor
- Replay target : Station1
- Monitor position : Left & Right
- Monitor type : normal

******************************************************

--machine names dont really matter
--not sure if replay target matters either because its for "Live" view
--you can probably try it with 2 ps2, 2 tv's; just set "No. of monitors" = 1

werd!
Click to expand...

Thanks a bunch! It seem to work perfectly now. Although am pretty sure I tried any number of monitors setting :)

The rule is: Number of Monitors = Total Number Of Monitors - 1. (The host does not count.)

I now have a new switch, because i ran into duplex problems with the old one. And now everything works much better.

Anyhow.. here are some pictures of my current setup:

(Sorry about the rather crappy looking pictures, difficult light conditions.)















 
Thats CRAZY! :scared:
Love the set up, and after thinking of what kind of time and effort, along with money, went into making that, you should give yourself a pat on the back. 👍
 
SRV2LOW4ME
Thats CRAZY! :scared:
Love the set up, and after thinking of what kind of time and effort, along with money, went into making that, you should give yourself a pat on the back. 👍
Click to expand...

It got kind of expensive, yes. :) But if you cant act on impulses, what fun will you have?

Am currently looking for 3 identical tv's that I can strip down. Mixing and matching a 16:9 tv with a couple of dell 20" monitors are not all that good. The difference in aspect makes it impossible to get the alignment correct. Luckily the 20" Dell's have zoom on the composite input so it turns out pretty good after all.

Three flat 25" TV's should do the trick. And hopefully not kill my bank account. Guess the project will outgrow my living room soon :/
 
Now we need to make Polyphony enable multimonitor play for Gran Turismo mode or all game modes for that matter.

They must know there are crazy people out there who want this :)
 

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