06.05.07 // 16:00

By: Aaron Ogus

What do you get when you play Forza Motorsport 2 over a network of up to five Xbox 360 game consoles with just as many monitors, and combine the view with an incredible VRX-style (see photo) racing cockpit? The result is one of the most immersive racing simulations available anywhere, as well as your own personal Forza 2 garage of more than 300 cars to test drive. When we set out to develop Forza 2, we wanted to reward the niche group of players out there who would go the extra six-thousand dollar mile to have ultimate rig for that over-the-top experience. Which is why we also understand that an article like this can not only serve as a useful guide for those who are hardcore enough to attempt a cockpit like this, but it's also good for all the rubberneckers out there who want a glimpse at lifestyles of a diehard Forza fan.

First, our multiscreen setup recommendations. In order to setup multi-screen functionality in Forza Motorsport 2 you will need the following equipment:

Required: 

• Multiple Xbox 360 game consoles, one per video display. 
  
• Multiple copies of Forza Motorsport 2, one per video display. 
  
• A network hub or switch, preferably a 100 Megabit or better switch. The hub or switch should have at least as many ports as you are setting up systems and one more for connecting to the rest of your network.
  
• Multiple video displays, for the three forward screens, (assuming you are setting up this way) the video displays must be identical.  The same size and from the same manufacturer, they should also be produced around the same time, as models do change over time.

Recommended:

• A racing seat that provides a stable platform.
  
• The Microsoft Wireless Racing Wheel.  As the APIs for the console have been released, we expect that by late 2007 or early 2008 there should be alternatives too.  The steering wheel and pedals should be mounted solidly to the base.  This can be accomplished with the provided clamp, but we recommend augmenting this with some strong double-sided tape, or with other hardware such as nuts and bolts.
  
• Furniture capable of positioning the forward viewing screens at the same level, and at eye level to the player.  Because different players are different heights, ideally the setup should allow the monitors to be adjusted up and down to line up correctly for the player.  Alternatively the racing chair can be adjusted up and down.

Click the pic to see an example of a triple-screen setup measured and lined-up correctly.

The Setup:

You can configure multi-screen through the in-game Options menu “Network Cockpit” in many different ways. On any different sub-network you can configure up to 12 different “Network Cockpits”, each, however, must be assigned a different “channel” numbered 0-12.  On each channel you can select up to 6 different views depending on your cockpit configuration. The “primary” view must be on the multi-screen “Host”, that is where the in-game HUD will appear. The primary view should be set to “Normal” or “Center”.

The available views per screen are:

“Normal” – the regular view you get when playing the game
“Center” – the center view of a three-screen configuration
“Right” – the right view of a three-screen configuration
“Left” – the left view of a three-screen configuration
“Replay” – a real time spectator view
“Rear” – a rear view mirror view

Some common view configurations:

3 screens: Center, Right and Left.
2 screens: Normal and Rear
2 screens: Normal and Replay
4 screens: Center, Right, Left and Rear

Set up your Xbox 360s and connect them to the hub or switch.  Then connect the hub or switch to the rest of your network and launch Forza Motorsport 2 on all consoles.  Your profile and Xbox Live account should be located on the primary screen.

If you set "Degrees Hidden" too high, you'll see the edges of the screens not lined up (e.g., the barriers here are not continuous).

If you set "Degrees Hidden" too low, you'll see objects between screens not lined-up and even double-up.

For setting up the three-screen view, you should angle your screens between 30 and 60 degrees to each other.  All the screens should be the same size and from the same manufacturer, they can be wide-screen or regular TVs.  The driver’s head should be located at the center of all 3 screens.  The driver’s head should also be located vertically in the middle of the screens.

Once all your 360s are connected and powered on, place the Forza Motorsport 2 discs in all consoles.  After the game launches, on the primary view go to the “Options” menu and select "Multiscreen Setup." 

1. In the options menu turn the ON/OFF to ON. 
   
2. Select the same “Channel” on all Xbox 360s.  The channel must be different than the channel selected on any other multi-screen setup on the same sub-network (e.g., if you were running two sets of multi-screen cockpits on the same sub-net).
   
3. Select Host on the primary screen of your 3 screen setup, select Client on all other screens.
   
4. Set the angle between screens to be the angle between the monitors in your setup.  The coverage angle of each monitor will be the same as the angle between monitors.  So for instance in the default configuration, there is 60 degrees between monitors and 60 degrees of coverage per screen.
   
5. The “Hidden Degrees” setting in the Multiscreen menu is the number of degrees of view that are hidden between the viewable areas of adjacent monitors.  This depends on the distance between the drivers head and the distance between the viewable edges of the monitors.  The formula for the actual degrees hidden is 2*atan(1/2*a/b) where “a” is the distance from the viewable edge of one monitor to the next, and b is the distance from the drivers head to the intersection of the two monitors.  Although this will give you a good starting value for “Hidden Degrees”, different monitors hide different amounts of the view generated by the game.  You will have to play the game to make further adjustments.  If you see elements appear double at the screen edges or you see things appear on the sides before you expect them to cross, then increase the degrees hidden.  If it takes too long for items to cross from the center to the side screens then reduce the degrees hidden.
   
6. If you are setting up a 3 screen view, set the “Hidden Degrees” the same on all 3 screens in the 3 screen view.  Set the middle screen to “Center” and left and right screens to “Left” and “Right”.
   
7. Exit the multi-screen setup, and select A to reboot all systems.

Click on this photo to get a better look at how your setup menus are supposed to look if you've configured all your Xbox 360s correctly.

What game modes are supported with triple-screen?

All game modes are supported including playing system link and playing over Xbox Live. However replays do not show up on the peripheral (side) screens.  When watching a replay after a race or in the replay theatre, it will only be viewable on the center screen.

Do I need to upgrade all my machines when there is an update from Xbox Live?

You will need to upgrade all your machines from Xbox Live when there is an auto-update. To do this you will have to roam your Xbox Live profile to each of the multi-screen clients and then launch the game and download the update over Xbox Live. You do not need a premium system to update from Xbox Live, but you will need some storage device (i.e., a memory unit). When you are done you will need to move your Xbox Live account back to the primary screen to play the game.

If you have any further questions (and we know you do!), please check our Troubleshooting Forum here at FM.net, or shoot over an email to forzafb@microsoft.com.

Good luck, and happy racing!

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