Running Multiple Instances of Games and Playing LAN With Them

Hello all,

Firstly, I would like to point out that I am quite computer savvy, so you wont need to give me tedious and detailed instructions, just point me in the right direction and I'll find my own way.

Anyway, onto my problem. I've been searching for a way to run multiple instances of PC games on seperate monitors, and then playing LAN with them. I realize that I would require two keyboards and two mice, I've already taken that into consideration. Additionally, I also realize that running two instances of a graphically intense game (in this case, Halo 2, Team Fortress 2, etc.) would be quite heavy on the computer. Not to worry however, the computer I'll be running it on is brand new, top of the line, and made from custom parts ordered off Newegg. Also, the computer is running Windows 7 Ultimate RC.

So, what do the users of this forum suggest? Is there a specific program made for allowing two instances of a program and changing the input devices for each one? If worst comes to worst one of them can use a gamepad while the other uses the mice and keyboard, however I'm hoping this won't be neccessary.

I appreciate any feedback on the matter!

Thanks,

-Joe

 

Running two instances is trivial either by starting the game again or using a virtual machine. Getting the keyboards and mice to each address one game is not. Look for Multboxing solutions on the Web. The only ones I have done is for WoW and Diablo2.

http://www.wowwiki.com/Multiboxing_software

should give you ideas - configure keys so they are ignored in one game but not in another. Use USB keyboards and all is well there. Mice on the other hand....

 

I asked a friend who works at Logitech about this and he confirmed the single cursor situation in Windows. Two mice will not work independently in two windows.
But not all is lost, he suggests searching for a gamepad type device that will address seperate windows. I have not seen an exact answer, but there is still hope.