This guide will show you how to get split-screen running on your PC. Make sure you read through each step carefully and follow the instructions in the ‘things you need before you get started’ section. ..
Things You Need Before You Get Started
You’ll need to gather the following items before you can start:
- A computer with internet access
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- A printer
- A copy of the study guide
- A pen or pencil
- A calculator
- A paper clip or clothes pin The full list of items you’ll need is as follows: 1) a computer with internet access; 2) Adobe Acrobat Reader; 3) a printer; 4) a copy of the study guide; 5) a pen or pencil; 6) a calculator; 7) a paper clip or clothes pin ..
ASTER is a software that makes it all happen. It lets you multi-instantly play Steam games on two different computers, and it comes with a high end gaming PC. It takes around 1-2 hours to set up, test, and get to grips with the software.
ASTER Multiseat is a software that allows you to have two separate experiences on one computer. This can be useful if you want to watch different shows or use two different browsers at the same time. We’ll walk you through the process of setting it up below. ..
The 30-day free trial of ASTER can be a good way to try the software before you buy it. ASTER is a bit expensive, with a lifetime license costing roughly $60. A 1-year license is available for roughly $17.
Sandboxie is a software that lets you run multiple games on the same platform. This is important for being able to play two games at the same time.
If you want to play a game like Grand Theft Auto 5 or Rust, both of which have a price tag, you’ll need to have two copies of the game. ..
This split-screen gaming tutorial will show you how to use two monitors to create a split-screen gaming experience. This will be especially useful if you want to play two games on separate screens at the same time.
If you want to play two games at the same time on your computer, you’ll need a powerful graphics card and a high-end processor. You can play most games at lower settings on a midrange graphics card and CPU, but if you want to experience the best graphics and performance, you’ll need a high-end card and processor. ..
Getting Everything Set Up
Now it’s time to install Windows. First, insert the Windows 10 installation media into your PC. Then, start the installation by clicking on the “Start” button and selecting “Windows 10 Installation.” After the installation is complete, you will be prompted to restart your computer. Do not restart yet! Now it’s time to set up your account. First, sign in to your Microsoft account using your login credentials. Then, click on the “Accounts” icon in the Start menu and select “Microsoft Accounts.” Next, click on the “Sign In” link next to your current Microsoft account and enter your password. After you sign in, you will be prompted to create a new password. Make sure that you remember this password! Now it’s time to set up your devices. Click on the “Devices and Printers” icon in the Start menu and select “Devices and Printers.” Next, click on the “Add a device…” link next to your keyboard or mouse and follow the instructions onscreen. After you add a device, make sure that it is connected to your computer using a USB cable! Finally, it’s time for some software setup! Click on the “Software” icon in the Start menu and select “Software Update.” Next, click on “Check for updates.” If there are any updates available for Windows 10, they will be downloaded and installed automatically. ..
After you have plugged in all of your hardware, you can visit the ASTER: Multiseat download page and go through the installation process. ..
Please create a restore point before you begin using ASTER. Unfortunately, the option to do this is built into the ASTER installation wizard.
Restart your computer and then use the ASTER: Multiseat software to restore your video and audio files.
NVIDIA GeForce Experience is a program that can be used to improve the performance of your NVIDIA graphics card. If you are using an NVIDIA graphics card, please uninstall Geforce Experience. Using Geforce Experience alongside ASTER can cause some unintended consequences, including incompatibility issues or system crashes.
Getting Started With Aster
After you have restarted your PC, open ASTER: Multiseat and follow the steps in this section. When you first open, you’ll be asked to perform an update. Click OK.
Next, either click to activate your license if you purchased ASTER, or click I do not have an ASTER activation ID to start the trial process.
The Aster UI is a simple, intuitive interface that makes setting up your new Aster server easy. You will be able to access the main menus and tools from the left sidebar, while the right sidebar provides more detailed information about your server and its settings.
If you want to disable Display Login Dialog, select the Disable button.
The Workplaces tab will require most of your attention from within ASTER. Once ASTER starts up, this will be where you’ll control which workplace has control of which hardware.
Windows 10 is essentially a single operating system that will run alongside each other in different workplaces. This is what makes playing two instances of high-end games like GTA 5 possible.
Multiple hardware nodes have been detected in the image above. You’ll see keyboards, mice, monitors, and also separate audio hardware here. ..
Your job is to move one keyboard and mouse to Place 2, alongside one monitor. Place 2 will be used as Player 2’s hardware. You can determine which keyboard and mouse is which by using them. When you type on a keyboard or move a mouse, you’ll see the corresponding graphic be highlighted with a blue square on ASTER.
Once you’ve determined which mouse and keyboard you’d like for player 2, drag and drop the corresponding graphics over to Place 2. You should also move over player 2’s monitor. This should be 1.2 by default. If you’re unsure, you can hover your mouse over each monitor graphic to see its name. ..
When you drag over a monitor, you may get a warning message about sharing monitors, but you can ignore that. You should now have something that looks like the image below. ..
There may be excess keyboard graphics in place, but you can ignore them. They are likely to be other USB ports that are in use by other hardware. ..
Apply at the bottom left to save changes
To enable ASTER workplaces, click on the General Settings tab and then under “Workplaces,” select “Enable ASTER.” ..
If you want to start your own workplaces using ASTER, I’d highly suggest clicking on the ‘How to start workplaces’ dropdown box and selecting “Manually by the ‘Run ASTER workplaces’ button.” This will ensure that ASTER will only run manually and you won’t run into any issues when trying to run your PC without ASTER. After, click Apply to save the settings.
Once you are ready to run your split screen PC, you can enable ASTER and reboot PC. Please note that every time you want to enable or disable ASTER, it will require a restart via the ASTER general settings tab.
Steps to Take After Restart
The general settings tab in ASTER has been changed to show that the computer is now active.
You can now click the Run ASTER workplaces button to split your PC into the separate workplaces you had set up before you restarted.
You should now notice that your second monitor has been switched on. It will ask you log in to Windows. You now have both of your PC instances set up. It’s time to start playing some games.
Running the Games
To multi-instance Steam with Sandboxie, you will need to download and install Sandboxie.
Navigate to your Steam folder on your PC. It should be C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam by default. After that, right click and copy your SteamApps folder. Next, open Sandboxie and click the “Create a new sandbox” button. Next, open Sandboxie and click the “Create a new sandbox” button. In the “Name” field, type in “My First Sandbox” and press enter. In the “Name” field, type in “My First Sandbox” and press enter. ..
Next, open the Sandbox folder and right click > create shortcut. This will create a shortcut to the game you just installed in the Sandbox folder.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sandbox C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sandbox\steam_app_1 C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sandbox\steam_app_2
To complete this step, you will need to create a Steam account and copy the Steam_steamapps\common\Valve\SteamApps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo_user.txt file to your clipboard. Then, open Counter-Strike Global Offensive and paste the following into the console: steam://clipboard/id/5e4f2c8b-a1d9-4fbf-bdd7-5c3aacbcdcba
Next, open the Sandboxie installer and go through the Sandboxie installation wizard. Once complete, run Sandboxie. A tutorial will start, but you can simply close that. I’ll take you through the steps necessary to get off the ground.
To create a new sandbox, click Sandbox at the top of the program, and then click Create new Sandbox. ..
Your new Sandbox is called ‘splitscreen’.
In the Sandbox Settings screen, you will find the following:
- The name of the sandbox: Sandboxie
- The location of the sandbox: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Sandboxie
- The type of sandbox: Offline or Online
- The time limit for the sandbox: 10 minutes
On the settings page, click the ‘+’ next to the Resource Access option. After, click the ‘+’ next to File Access. Finally, click Full Access. This is what you should see.
To apply a new ad campaign to your sandbox, follow these steps:
- Open the Ad’ button and navigate to the previously created sandbox folder.
- After clicking OK, Apply, then OK. Close down any pop-up notification if it appears. ..
Player 2 can now run the Steam Sandboxed application by right clicking Steam and clicking Run Sandboxed. Choose the option you created earlier.
Player 2 will now have their own sandboxed version of Steam where they can log into their own account and play any games they own. Player 1 can also do the same and play their own games. ..
You can now open any games together, including titles like GTA 5, ARK: Survival Evolved, Counter Strike, Dota 2, and more. For games on other launchers, like Battle.Net or Epic Games, you must use the same Sandboxie steps above but for the files and folders for the other launchers.
Potential Issues and Summary
Some games will not allow two instances of the same game to be played at the same time. This is because the game may need to save data for one instance and then reload it for another. Games with Easy Anti-cheat will not allow this, so you can be sure that your game is playing as it should. Games with high performance may still experience some limitations, depending on your hardware.
Your in-game settings can affect how your workplace performs. If one workplace has poor performance, try lowering the in-game settings on the other workplace.
Some users of a method for bypassing Valve’s VAC system are concerned that it may lead to unfair bans when playing games like Counter Strike and Dota 2. We suggest using this tool at your own risk. ..
To avoid data loss, make sure you disable ASTER before turning off your PC. ..
Do you have any questions about how we’re going to write the story? If you do, please let me know and I’ll answer your queries in the comments section.
