Mega Bezel Reflection Shader! - Feedback and Updates

[HyperspaceMadness]

Mega Bezel is updated to V1.7.0_2022-12-21

This has also been merged into the libretro shaders repo, so they are now up to date as well.

Changes:

• POTATO
  • Fixed Background Masking and Blend Modes
  • Added Colorize & Brightness
  • Show Passes Feature
    • Added switch to enable/disable applying scale and curvature to raw passes
      • This allows you to compare the passes all with the same curvature or what the pass actually looks like
    • Moved Show Passes parameters right underneath the AB Compare parameters so they can both easily be used together

Go to the first post here for links to the package and install instructions. Please make sure to read the install & setup instructions

Mega Bezel Reflection Shader! - Feedback and Updates

[Mega_Bezel_Logo] This thread is about the Mega Bezel Reflection Shader for Retroarch! Here you can tell me what’s working for you and what could be better. If you are wondering “What is this thing?” here’s a nice little overview up sharing our ideas around the project and some of the Mega Bezel features: RetroArch – Introducing the Mega Bezel Reflection Shader – Libretro This shader package is meant for you to experiment with and make your own creations if you like. Try adjusting the shader …

POTATO Vectrex with the image coloring the vectors

Here are stepping through the Show Pass indexes

Final

Reflection

Tube Effects

CRT Pass

Linearize Pass

ScaleFx Pass this is where the 3X upscale happens in the chain

DeDithering Pass

Before Dedither

Without the scaling and curvature added

Before Dedither

After De Dither

After Color correct and ScaleFx, this is where the 3X upscale happens in the chain

After Linearize downsample Blur

AB Compare

[HyperspaceMadness]

@Neofuuma

@HyperspaceMadness has the shader undergone any major changes the past couple of months that would make my setup (with 1050 4GB)go from running stuff with ease using STD and most ADV shaders, to now them barely getting 15 fps? I tried both the genesis GX core and the Beetle PCE core. Both had run great back around October. I even tried a fresh install, with RA 1.14 - no change in betterment.

No that’s really not expected, nothing really big was added performance-wise, and we haven’t had any other reports like this, so I’m not sure what would be going on with your setup.

[Cyber]

Welcome Back @Neofuuma!

You can try HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader v1.5.0 and see if you get back your performance. From 1.6.3, I started having some issues with my GeForce GTX 970 not being able to load Smooth-Advance presets anymore.

[Neofuuma]

@HyperspaceMadness

I’m not sure what would be going on with your setup.

What ended going on was that somehow my laptop decided that everything should go back to running on the integrated graphics, instead of the 1050! Once I switched it back in the NVidia Control panel to using the 1050 by default when running RA, works like a charm again, even with the latest update. Guess I best check my other programs as well, since I don’t recall ever changing to integrated for anything.

Whew, thought I was going to have to go learn how to fly those silly dragons in WoW.

Thanks @HyperspaceMadness and @Cyber!

[RetroGames4K]

@RetroGames4K

Last version is stunning, I love the snes how it looks, this pic looks better than my last one I posted above…

I also posted a Gameplay in the same post…

[Cyber]

Greetings @HyperspaceMadness,

Noticing some strange behaviour with the Scanline Direction Multiplier setting in v1.6.3 and also v1.7.0 using MBZ__0__SMOOTH-ADV__GDV-NTSC.slangp.

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 100

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 0

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 200

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 300

It seems to be affecting my attempts to get more accurate NTSC “rainbow” artifacts.

Update: I’ve been able to get pretty good rainbow effects using v1.6.3 so far despite the different behaviour of the Scanline Direction Multiplier setting in the NTSC base preset.

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 0

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 100

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 200

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 300

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 600

Scanline Direction Multiplier = 1600

In HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader v1.7.0, the setting doesn’t seem to work at all.

[HyperspaceMadness]

Were you able to check the output of the different passes with the show path parameter?

In the last couple of releases 0 is no longer a valid option for the multiplier. So 600 scanline Dir mult is supposed to look similar to the non-NTSC preset, with additional blur and color fringing in top.

I’ll have to take a look to see what’s going on.

[Cyber]

@HyperspaceMadness

Were you able to check the output of the different passes with the show path parameter?

No, I haven’t reached that far in my troubleshooting and debugging mojo yet as I’m still on 1.6.3 perfecting a few preset ideas and mentally preparing myself to update my now hugely expanded shader preset pack (thanks to me including more performance tiers).

Notepad++ works fine for finding and replacing across many files but what would you suggest I use to add or append completely new lines of parameters across multiple files?

@HyperspaceMadness

So 600 scanline Dir mult is supposed to look similar to the non-NTSC preset

How do I get the equivalent of 100 (native resolution) before the recent changes to the Scanline Direction Multiplier settings?

I’m now wetting my feet with the NTSC preset so not yet familiar with all of the nuances.

[HyperspaceMadness]

@Cyber

How do I get the equivalent of 100 (native resolution) before the recent changes to the Scanline Direction Multiplier settings?

100 has been and continues to be what should be used for a native resolution look.

[Cyber]

Thanks, just when I’ve begun to get a hang of this MBZ__0__SMOOTH-ADV_GDV-NTSC.slangp base preset, trouble has struck.

I tried loading it in Super Mario World using the BSNES Core and it hangs a few seconds into loading. There’s a click sound as if you’re navigating through the menu that can be heard.

ESC works to close RetroArch.

This is on my GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB GDDR5 graphics card. No upsampling being done in the BSNES core. Core is set to native 1x.

This is on HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader v1.6.3.

MBZ__1__ADV__GDV-NTSC.slangp loads though.

[HyperspaceMadness]

Thanks for the report, but when you want to report an issue please test with the latest version.

About the SMOOTH-ADV__GDV-NTSC issue you found, I looked into it and found the problem, so should be fixed when I do the next release.

[HyperspaceMadness]

Hi just FYI, I just tested the latest version 8n my android phone (S20) using the Vulkan video driver and the shader is working.

Even the SMOOTH-ADV was working on a 512x512 core image. Although for the SMOOTH-ADV it was running at 20fps. ADV__GDV was running at 70fps

So I guess the point is that it is running properly on Android, but your gpu needs to be strong enough

[Cyber]

@HyperspaceMadness

android phone (S20)

Merry Christmas! This is great news. Which version of RetroArch do you recommend for Samsung phones, Galaxy Store or Play store or was,this a manual apk sideload that worked well enough for you?

[ROBMARK85]

Hello HyperspaceMadness, first of all happy holidays to you and to the whole community. My question arises to be able to make the best use of your fantastic shaders together with the works of the community with the mini PC I have available. I wanted to know what values ​​I have to act on in order to disable the reflection effects in order to have maximum performance. I’m well aware that your shaders have lots of presets for all tastes, but with some works like Duimon’s I’m forced to use the potato presets because even the standard ones have reflections. If you could turn it off somehow and teach me how I would be really grateful. In the meantime, many thanks to you, Guest and the entire community for your irreplaceable and incomparable work and for sharing it with users.

[ROBMARK85]

Finally I wanted to ask you if in the future, it would be possible to lighten your standard presets without reflection, for a few fps I don’t reach 60 and with this economic crisis I can’t afford a new PC, it would be fantastic for those like me who don’t have big gaming machines for the moment. I consider your work the best in the community and I would like to squeeze it to the maximum of my possibilities. Thank you.

[Duimon]

There already exists a set of no-reflect base presets.

[ROBMARK85]

I apologize in advance since I’m a noob on the subject and I’m learning now, where do I find your Duimon presets without the reflection? Thank you

[Duimon]

They don’t exist, but you can manually edit the preset file and change the base presets to a no reflect version. See my response on my thread for future plans.

The same thing for your Guest ADV request. Where available you can manually edit the base presets for the potato.

[ROBMARK85]

So there remains the last question standing for HyperspaceMadness: are there any future plans, where possible, to lighten the presets in general in terms of performance demands, and the standard ones in particular? Thanks for your patience with me.

[Duimon]

The way I read your question was as a request to remove the reflections from the Standard, to lighten them up.

We’re you actually asking about lightening up the no reflect presets?

That’s what Guest-mini is for.