What’s the latest version of this reshade shader?
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Are you referring to this?
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I love this kind of Photos, they look really good, also to compare it with shaders.
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Hello, I was checking out these presets and found them quite awesome. However, as I was experimenting with the parameters, I noticed something that got me confused as to what is their intended behavior and appearance. All the presets mentioned on this post are the 1080p optimized versions from the “MBZ__1__Advance_Full_Reflections” folder. By the way this is a long post, sorry for that and it’s understandable if you’re not up to reading it. I also apologize for any mistakes, I’m not a native speaker.
I referenced the images with MEGA links, as the forum doesn’t allow me to post more than one image directly. Unfortunately they are not actual hyperlinks, as it also doesn’t allow me to post more than 2 hyperlinks, so they gotta be copied and pasted. The visualization on the MEGA website is not quite good, and the details can only be seen clearly if the image is downloaded. Sorry for that, can’t do much about it.
This started when I was testing the “CyberLab__Computer-Monitor-Raw__1080p__ADV” preset on the DOSBox-pure core, where I was emulating Windows 98 SE. Yeah, likely an unusual choice for using these presets on. I realized that by disabling the integer scaling and increasing the non-integer scale, dark, evenly spaced lines started to appear over the screen. Progressively more of them as the scale was increased. Here’s a series of screenshots that compare the screen with the integer scaling enabled, 56% non-integer scale and 100% non-integer scale respectively:
mega.nz/file/879iVK4b#EC2YtJQwiGQkXQT2mfUutSLcZGtffDLkEbWbBbD8lAc mega.nz/file/kqdiBBjY#s9tLbMGmmT1hsobVQ2jlmov51j8v_Oq0Dd4J_r_lnx8 mega.nz/file/kmVygJ6S#1kFk-U1fvJNM6kl9yndbnZxNCNFH7r-xRz91Ams5l7k
In the last screenshot, the lines are rather thin, so for a moment I thought this was the intended appearance and it just had to be set at 100% scale to look right, but as I zoomed in, I then concluded that it’s just too bizarre of a pattern for it to be intended. Here I ask the main question, is that the intended appearance? If it is, then this post is moot.
I was messing around with the parameters and this issue got completely fixed by changing “Opposite Dir Multiplier” from the default 100 to 125. But here comes the part I found quite bizarre: I kept reducing it one by one from 125 to try and find the exact point where it gets fixed, and I found that 109 was the ‘magic number’; if it got set to 108 the issue would suddenly come back. And this fix didn’t happen progressively, it’s pretty much a switch. Here’s a screenshot of that same screen at 100% scale and Opposite Dir Multiplier at 109:
mega.nz/file/07Ul2ZZC#U20LBUi2sU2LdawlH05CXLGbZkHKNLvO9HMjYwD_w1A
After noticing this, I immediately went to different cores on other systems and tried out increasing the Opposite Dir Multiplier to see if anything changed, and it did. Here’s an example with The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time on the Mupen64Plus-Next core with the “CyberLab__N64__ADV” preset. The screenshots represent Opposite Dir Multiplier at the default 100 and 136 (the ‘magic number’ changes with each system) respectively, both at 100% non-integer scale:
mega.nz/file/hrsgFYRK#lQp24mbpaOf1JZ-QkS87j3P6Pg72mRtQyYwpKrVU_Tg mega.nz/file/4y1WFKSY#C3beoRj7OpS8bnrJ5QDR1cshUAquwBLr-tHsYPI7zD0
In this example, the behavior is different. It’s not dark lines showing up, but a pattern in the RGB triads that I found quite strange. The difference between the two can be particularly noticed by zooming in. The game is also quite brighter in the second screenshot, something that I felt was lacking when I first checked out the presets with their default parameters. Again I must ask: which of these looks right?
I think it’s worth noting that the exact same happened on all examples if I left the integer scaling enabled and increased the viewport zoom.
This behavior shows up in every system I tested, which also includes SNES, PSX and Sega Genesis. But the seemingly weird pattern is different in each one, I assume that’s because of the different presets I tested on each one, not because of the systems themselves. Well, all this got me very curious on whether this behavior was known or ever documented at all. Thanks very much for your attention!
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@ViniciusRTrindade Which version of the Mega Bezel Reflection Shader are you using?
Also, are you using 1080p desktop resolution and did you follow all of the Mega Bezel setup instructions to a tee?
The Computer Monitor referred to in the name of this preset is not a typical PC monitor and has never been tested using DosBox. It’s actually an early 80’s Commodore Computer Monitor or similar that I was actually going for which has more in common with TVs at the time than VGA PC Monitors of the 90’s and beyond.
The TVL/Dot Pitch/emulated resolution of that preset might be too low for what you would like to use it for. Not to mention assuming you’re using a 1080p you might also be limited by your display resolution in terms of what can be achieved. All is not lost though I’m sure people have done some great PC Monitor emulations at 1080p resolution, just not me, at least not yet.
You would simply have to find a way to get the dots smaller if you want stuff to look right. You can probably try one of the other Lottes CRT Mask Types and it’s possible that one will fit the bill. Other than that you can maybe try my Composite Pure Preset and make sure the Mask Size is set to 1 then play around with Mask Stagger until you get something that looks good. You can also experiment with different masks, for example Mask 5 or other B&W Masks.
You can also try one of My CyberLab Shadow Mask Presets, you might have to look in the 4K_Optimized folder or CyberLab Neo-GX folder and lower the Mask Size to 1 then you might have to play around with the Mask Stagger again and see if you get something that looks like a fine pitched dot mask.
No bueno
At least if you keep experimenting you might learn something.
You really should leave Integer Scale On and Opposite Dir Multiplier alone as the former helps avoid uneven scanlines and moire patterns while the latter is supposed to be calculated based on the vertical resolution of the image onscreen at the time.
If you interfere with that you’ll mess up the proper alignment of the scanlines and on screen elements.
If you’re running a Windows 98 resolution of 640 x 480 or higher the scanlines might be too fine for us to see and they might also be too fine for your display to render them properly at 1080p. You might have to try no scanline mode in a case like this. It’s not currently available in all presets though.
If the default looks good why mess with it?
Why are you messing with this now?
I suggest you start over. Matching Console Specific Presets with said consoles and desktop resolution to the presets optimized for that resolution.
This is generally the way the preset pack is intended to be used. Also, be sure to read the first post and match the Mask Layout setting with the Mask Layout of your display.
If you’re using the preset pack as intended and then run into an issue, then fine, post it up here and we can see what we can do.
I can’t fault you for trying the Computer Monitor Presets on DosBox, that’s on me though.
You can look here for some DosBox friendly settings which you can plug into the presets.
You can also try some of the Mega Bezel Base presets and variations as well as the ones that came with the Mega Bezel Extra Examples download.
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If you mean the version of the Mega Bezel shader pack itself, it’s the latest one from GitHub. My resolution is set to 1920x1080 and I’m quite sure I followed the instructions correctly: Vulkan driver, aspect ratio set to full in the RetroArch settings, integer scale off in the RetroArch settings and the rotation part too. I also should probably have clarified that I removed the bezels and reflection via the parameters in the image examples I provided.
I messed around with the parameters because I found that the screen sizes available in the integer scaling mode are either too small or big to the point where it overflows. I wanted it to occupy the full space, but then those oddities appeared.
It hasn’t become clear to me whether that default look in my examples, such as in the first Zelda screenshot, is looking as intended. I brought this here because I found it quite odd and I thought it was unintended, but I couldn’t confirm that by myself. You obviously know what the presets are supposed to look like, as you made them. If I got confirmation that it’s correct, I wouldn’t bother messing around with the Opposite Dir Multiplier. I just did because I genuinely thought it looked better after doing so. But again, if it’s looking right then I know it’s just me not liking the author’s intended result, and not a bug of sorts.
Thank you.
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Integer Scaling is a necessary evil sometimes when fiddling with multiple fine interacting patterns like these as you’ve seen when you tried to disable integer scale and run into all sorts of anomalies. We always work within some sort of limitations. With 4K and 1440p vertical pixels there are things you can do that you can’t do with 1080p vertical pixels for example.
You really think so eh? This is not necessarily how it works.
In the first N64 screenshot I saw the game image and a Trinitron Mask pattern applied to it. No visible scanlines is expected because that screen is probably running in 640 x 480 mode if you want visible scanlines then run the game at 320 x 240.
What else is not correct about the screenshot?
The second screenshot has bands of uneven scanlines which is what you’ll get when you change the Opposite Direction Multiplier.
So everything you see is working within certain limitations. As you can see there are many presets in the preset pack so I suggest you experiment with different ones until you find something that you like.
You can try the Computer Monitor with N64 for example or my Ultimate Slot Mask series. Play around with them.
Do match the Mask Layout with your screen.
Another thing you can try is enable DSR or VSR in your graphics card settings and set your desktop to 4K and try my 4K_Optimized presets. You’re graphics cards would need to be powerful enough to handle the higher resolution though. Anything around an AMD RX 6600 or nVIDIA Geforce GTX 1070 or better should be fine.
Most of these presets are designed to be relatively plug and play so if one doesn’t behave as you like try another one. They span years of experimentation and learning so there would be distinct differences between presets that I made a year or two ago and presets made last week.
Have fun!
Eventually you’ll be able to post screenshots so that should help with your communication. It doesn’t take long to build trust levels in this forum. Just use it more often.
You can use irfanView to compress your images to within the 4096KB limit or imgbb to host them.
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Well then I assume I’ll just have to go with it, it’s just that in some systems the screen gets so small that it’s hard to read anything, like in Windows 98.
That’s enough confirmation to me that it’s just me not liking that preset, as if it was an issue you would obviously point it out as such. It’s just that I had found this pattern in that screenshot kinda odd:
That’s what led me to prefer the Opposite Dir Multiplier change, because I thought the following looked better than that: But you clearly said the Opposite Dir Multiplier is not supposed to be messed with and so the second screenshot doesn’t look right. I’ll just leave it alone and search for a preset that better suits my liking and check out the recommendations you gave me.Thanks very much.
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It’s not something that I mess with but you’re free to experiment if you wish.
I agree the second one looks better than the first and it’s the second one I was describing when I asked what was wrong with the first screenshot. The images were probably downloaded in a reverse order in my phone.
So there appears to be uneven scanlines. You said you changed Opposite dir multiplier but what that did was probably increase the number of scanlines to the point where they were no longer visible.
In some presets there is an option to disable scanlines called No-Scanline Mode which is something you could try. You could also increase the Integer Scale Offset but that would probably cut too much of the image off for your liking.
You can try setting your emulator to 320 x 240 resolution and see if you like that. Another option is to increase the Mask size but if what you showed me with those uneven scanlines is how it looks out of the box then I’ll definitely take a look the preset itself and see if I can resolve it.
For this, try one of my more modern Shadow Mask Presets like Arcade MK Max in the Neo GX Folder and reduce the Mask Size to the lowest. You might have to play around with the Mask Shift/Stagger though.
I guess at some point I might make some of my own presets suitable for DOS and VGA CRT Monitor emulation.
Thanks for taking the time to bring these to my attention.
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I now see the Opposite Dir Multiplier problem. It straight up removes the scanlines in some cases and washes out the colors. In the N64 case I set the resolution to 320 x 240 and it looked right with actual scanlines unlike with the Opposite Dir Multiplier change. So then I guess that specific preset was not made to work with 640 x 480. I revisited other systems and tried similar tweaks, some messing around with the parameters but never with the Opposite Dir Multiplier and I got them to look nice too, actual scanlines and all that. I’ll just need to find a good Windows 98 preset now going from all you said here.
Just for comparison in Zelda OOT:
Res is set to 640 x 480 and Opposite Dir Multiplier is changed
Res is set to 320 x 480 and that param is unchanged Thanks again for your help and for these amazing presets. I would say their extensive customization options and specialization in each system and resolution is what makes them quite different from any of the standard RetroArch shaders. None of those looked quite nice on my system.
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CyberLab Guest…?
Tap on image then zoom in for best viewing. Desktop users, right click then Open in New Tab, then press F11 for FullScreen. Non 4K users, zoom in until it looks correct.
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It’s not so much that the preset was not made to work with 640 x 480 it’s just that when rendering 640 x 480 you need a certain amount of vertical pixels to render the scanlines and the Mask detail properly and the bezel and gap around it uses up some of these pixels.
So at 1080p and at that Integer Scale level there’s just not enough pixels to render everything correctly so the easiest and best solution might be to increase the Integer Scale Offset by 1. Even if some of the Bezel is cut off that can be adjusted and even if some of the game is cutoff thats actually how a real CRT deals with OverScan.
I’ve been playing around a bit with CRT-Guest-Advanced and other shaders.
Tap on image then zoom in for best viewing. Desktop users, right click then Open in New Tab, then press F11 for FullScreen. Non 4K users, zoom in until it looks correct.
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Here are some screenshots (jxr for HDR) of my modified version (glass, 67% mask, no curvature)
Best viewed with HDR + WCG
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Just some further experimentation.
Tap on image then zoom in for best viewing. Desktop users, right click then Open in New Tab, then press F11 for FullScreen. Non 4K users, zoom in until it looks correct.
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Looks fantastic!!! Thanks for posting this. I realize that some games look darker than others, and not necessarily has to be bright. This gives me an Idea how they really look in reality, Final Fantasy VII looks quite darker than Megaman. So I don’t have to be scared if using the same gamma, games look darker than others. It’s one of the things that made me go back and forth. Now, if this happens, I will realize it’s a normal thing.
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I would like to take a moment to thank Cyber for his great work, it has been one of the most important reasons why I just registered in this great community!
I’ve been using these fantastic presets for a few days now and I can only say that they look fantastic on my 32 inch LG 4K monitor (which admittedly is not the best panel, it’s a VA, but I use it with sRGB picture mode and I can’t complain about the colors).
However, the truth is that for someone with limited knowledge of CRT panels like me (who enjoyed in childhood playing games on a Sony Trinitron and LG Cinemaster), I find the amount of presets available a bit overwhelming and would love a curated list of “expert recommendations” based on platform, even though I ultimately choose what I find most visually pleasing (I’ve only played NES games so far and really liked CyberLab_NES_for_Core_Blargg_S-Video_Filter, CyberLab__NES__ADV, CyberLab__Blending-And-Transparency__PVM-Edition__ADV), mostly so I know what’s closest to the original experience. 
I would also like to know if there are any recommended settings for Steam Deck (which uses 1280x800 resolution), as the presets at 1080p make the bezel look very small, like this:
And when zooming the viewport, I don’t know if the original preset arrangement is preserved (sorry for the link, I can’t post more than one image as I’m new here):
Do you think it looks okay?
Thank you very much for your time and hard work! 
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