Mega Bezel Reflection Shader! - Feedback and Updates

RetroArch Additions Shaders
#7001

For me, the easiest method is to create a ZIP file with all the Drivers and Redist you need for “one-time run” after installing the OS… This is an awesome feature, Dosbox_pure has a cool feature to read ZIP files and mount them as a disk drive, the easiest way is to download the S3, 3DFX, SoundBlaster and DirectX9 drivers and then install everything :slight_smile:

PS: With DosBOX_pure you can even compress disk images inside a ZIP, be they BIN, CUE, MDS, ISO, etc., which can be read and mounted automatically inside the operating system as an optical or hard disk drive.

The PhilsComputerLab website (he also has a Youtube channel) has everything you need to config a perfect OS for old PC gaming.

PS: PhilsComputerLab has a vast knowledge of old PCs, I really like his videos of him, because there is a lot of knowledge being shared.

I really like his videos, because there is a lot of knowledge being shared. Another really cool channel is LGF (LazyGameReviews).

Windows 3.11, for example, can be used in two ways: a custom installation or a ready-made version. All you need to do is compress a ZIP with the OS files and insert the game image or its files into this ZIP, as you can see below :slight_smile:

Below is a really cool link, the user The Fifth Horseman made to a portable version of Win3.11 created for Dosbox

http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?t=27770

You can DL it to run some old Win Games! This compact version of Win3.11 comes with several pre-installed fixes and drivers, making it easier to use :slight_smile:

Other useful sources for finding tips, drivers, etc. are Vogons.org and Archive.org

3 Likes
#7003

Hi @WaffeSS, I wanted to share with you and the community my experience with DosBox Pure starting from what were your tips. Unfortunately with the 1920x1080p I found a crt mask that was too coarse using the presets MBZ_0_Smooth_Advance. I can’t explain why this:

Heroes2_Gold-240826-202514
Heroes2_Gold-240826-2025141920×1080 1.34 MB

So I opted to buffer the problem with the selection of CRT Mask 0 within the shader options obtaining the following result

Heroes2_Gold-240826-202604
Heroes2_Gold-240826-2026041920×1080 772 KB

Heroes2_Gold-240826-202635
Heroes2_Gold-240826-2026351920×1080 989 KB
Heroes2_Gold-240826-202719
Heroes2_Gold-240826-2027191920×1080 1.07 MB
Heroes2_Gold-240826-203031
Heroes2_Gold-240826-2030311920×1080 1.11 MB

Since I don’t like to modify things as they are created, because there are several tests behind them and the Mega Bezels are designed as basic for the resolution I use, if you have any advice to give me about it I would be grateful to you to use the default settings correctly. With DosBox Pure I am now using Windows 95 with a resolution of 640x480

2 Likes
#7004

I also encountered another problem, again running the test with the modification I made to the CRT Mask as I said in the post before: if I try to set the resolution to 800X600 this happens:

Heroes2_Gold-240826-203850
Heroes2_Gold-240826-2038501920×1080 815 KB
Is there any solution for this scenario to use the 800x600 without breaking the shader and without going through the DREZ presets? It would be absolutely great if you could solve or at least mitigate these problems, if you intend to switch to Windos 98SE it would further open up a crazy world (Someone said Diablo II ??? :smiley: ). I take the liberty of asking the creator of the Mega Bezel @HyperSpaceMadness for help with both problems. Thank you very much for what has been done, created, shared with all of us, whether they are shaders, programs, or simple informative posts. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

3 Likes
#7005

Which game is Ergon the Barbarian screenshot from, and the one below?

I am now getting an itch to play HOMM. :slight_smile:

1 Like
#7006

While we are waiting for HSM to find time to respond (He is an extremely busy man these days.) allow me to give an opinion.

I am by no means an expert, but if I were to get serious about a PC monitor preset I would forget about scanlines. (PC monitors didn’t have them.)

They also had a dot mask. While I don’t think there is any good way to emulate a dot mask on less that a 4K display, I have had the best experience using the “Easymode” base preset.

I loaded it, tweaked it, and saved a preset. Then I created a second reference to one of my “Params” presets.

win98_desktop-240826-210644
win98_desktop-240826-2106443840×2160 1.99 MB

#reference "shaders_slang/bezel/Mega_Bezel/Presets/Base_CRT_Presets/MBZ__3__STD__EASYMODE.slangp"
#reference "Mega_Bezel_Community\Duimon-Mega-Bezel\Params\Standard\DOSBox\DOSBox-[STD]-[Guest]-[Bezel]-[Night].params"
ESM_SCANLINE_STRENGTH_MAX = "0.000000"
ESM_SCANLINE_BEAM_MAX = "0.250000"
ESM_MASK_TYPE = "7.000000"
ESM_MASK_SIZE = "1.000000"
ESM_MASK_STRENGTH_MIN = "0.500000"
ESM_MASK_STRENGTH_MAX = "0.500000"

This is using a 1024x768 shot of the Win98 desktop as content.

You can play with the Mask Size parameter and see how it looks on your display.

5 Likes
#7007

@Duimon’s solution is right on. I read back through your posts and understand that you are avoiding running at 4k to reduce resource usage, so at 1080p Duimon’s solution is great.

The reason you get artifacts with 1080p is partially because you end up with slightly less than 1 pixel per scanline, (which is one light part and one dark part), then there’s the curvature which bends the scanlines across the final pixel grid

To get scanlines on a core resolution of 1024x768 you will get much better results with 4K there you would have almost 2px per scanline.

5 Likes
#7008

First of all thanks for the help and your work. @Duimon’s solution is definitely great, seeing the screens it reminds me exactly of what my computer was like at the time. @HyperSpaceMadness I have the maximum limit of 1920x1080p on this machine, being a laptop it has this type of panel, and now I understand that on the “smooth_adv” presets I have problems with mask 1 because of my resolution as well as with the scan lines with resolutions higher than 800x600. Since I am very fond of the “MBZ_0_GDV_Smooth_ADV” preset, now after years having a machine capable of running them easily and loving its smooth but vintage effect (I apologize for my nitpicking and please be patient) so I was wondering if there was a way to have a similar result with this setting? I would “settle” for an 800x600 just to use that preset. Thank you very much. (All things considered, I haven’t tried the Double Scan option yet, I don’t know if it would be wise to also play with the trigger value for the interface, maybe I’m just raving :smiley: )

#7009

PS Of course to help me I will try to deactivate the curvature, unfortunately I will be able to do these tests in the late afternoon.

Update - as shown in the attached images, removing the curvature and using the classic 0 mask (more suitable for my resolution) the result obtained using “gdv_smooth_advance” is excellent to my eye (the test carried out on HOMM II is always in 640x480 resolution). The problem remains of figuring out how to set a correct value to see “correct” scan lines on 800x600 content - aware that PC monitors did not contemplate this, but with the “smooth” preset the scan lines are essential to balance the image. In addition, this approach could also help me on other types of content. I don’t know if I have to play on the “trigger interlaced” option but I don’t know how to start …

Heroes2_Gold-240827-212156
Heroes2_Gold-240827-2121561920×1080 935 KB
Heroes2_Gold-240827-212247
Heroes2_Gold-240827-2122471920×1080 1.12 MB
I am open to any advice on crt masks for 1080p

2 Likes
#7010

You can also try keeping the main curvature on to get the rounded bezel around the screen, and set CRT Curvature Scale Multiplier to 0 which will remove the curvature from the scanlines, while keeping the rounded bezel.

4 Likes
#7011

@MrBlastman Is Heroes of Might and Magic I

@Duimon How wonderful my friend, I will test these parameters in Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon II which can only be run at 1024x768 :slight_smile:

@HyperspaceMadness True my friend, PhillsComputerLab has a very interesting video where he addresses this subject, there we have very comments from visitors about the use of monitors with higher resolutions like 4K for example, which offer more fidelity in the reproduction of these filters. Like this one from user MikkoRantalainen…

Emulating CRT monitor details up to shadow mask details indeed requires insanely high resolutions. That’s because there were up to 8 shadow mask holes per pixel and each hole is one of R, G or B. If you want to render that correctly, you need high enough resolution to render that many images of R, G or B holes. And if you want to render the shape of the hole, that would require even high resolution. (Older CRT monitors used round holes but triniton displays used rectangular slots.)

@ROBMARK85 Hello my friend, I’m happy that you’re reliving your past and being able to enjoy the PC games that are part of your life, it’s an incredible feeling to relive those memories, isn’t it ^.^

PS: Did you see that Ubisoft recently announced a new HoMM? It seems like they intend to go back to the roots and build on the titles I, II and III that made the franchise the success it is ^.^ maybe after seeing the success of Songs of the Conquest on Steam :slight_smile:

I see that you are trying to find the best Shader configuration parameter, right? Here are some cool articles that can help you in “side by side” comparisons so you can find the desired fidelity :slight_smile:

Below we have a very interesting article about some technical details regarding the Resolution of old PC/DOS Games…

https://www.dosdays.co.uk/topics/dos_game_resolutions.php

Back in the days of CRT/Analog Monitors where there was basically no native Resolution, all this randomness of Resolutions didn’t really matter… After many frustrations, for me the simplest way to solve the problems is in this case replicating the same experience from the past, that is, being as precise as possible in the way of running the legacy Software, running the Game within the capabilities of the Hardware of the time ^.^ that was the way I found to speed everything up xD

A very interesting example to analyze is DosBOX-Staging, which brings a very interesting FORK of the Original. It comes full of Shaders and Features like Synthesizer Emulation that everyone loves, which make Games visually very cool and even more so in the Audio part… Below we can get an idea of ​​this wonderful work, using several examples and classics from the PC’s past…

Heroes of Might and Magic — 640×480 SVGA

heroes-of-might-and-magic
heroes-of-might-and-magic2880×2160 2.02 MB
Death Gate — 640×480 SVGA
death-gate
death-gate2880×2160 1.42 MB
Dark Seed — 640×350 VGA
dark-seed
dark-seed2880×2160 1.86 MB
The Legend of Kyrandia — 320×200 VGA
legend-of-kyrandia
legend-of-kyrandia2880×2160 1.16 MB
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis — 320×200 VGA
indy4
indy42880×2160 1.31 MB
Ultima VI — 320×200 VGA
ultima-vi
ultima-vi2880×2160 1.58 MB
Space Quest III — 320×200 EGA
space-quest-iii
space-quest-iii2880×2160 1.21 MB
Spellcasting 201 — 640×350 EGA
spellcasting-201
spellcasting-2012880×2160 1.57 MB
The Secret of Monkey Island — 320×200 EGA
monkey-island
monkey-island2880×2160 1.32 MB
Targhan — 320×200 CGA
targhan-cga
targhan-cga2880×2160 1.45 MB
Gods — 320×200 VGA Arcade (15 kHz)
gods-arcade
gods-arcade2880×2160 1.09 MB
Elvira — 320×200 VGA
elvira-arcade
elvira-arcade2880×2160 917 KB

There on the website you can find more demonstrations and details of this magnificent work… https://www.dosbox-staging.org/

Here is a video from PhillsComputerLab demonstrating and addressing this older CRT monitors, and how filters/shaders that can be use, such awesome MegaBezel HSM to improve the visuals on modern LCD monitors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEqinYQ0RtI

Even as mentioned by @HyperMadness and @Duimon, the use of Monitors with higher Resolutions such as 4K for example, seems to have greater visual gain in the reproduction of these Filters.

One of the aspects I really like about Duimon Presets is that with the native resolution adjustment in Core, you can get very good fidelity, basically just activate the Shader and enjoy the games ^.^

5 Likes
#7012

@WaffeSS thank you so much also to you that you made me want to explore RetroGaming PC again and for your tips. HOMM II was the reason for so many hours in front of the screen as a boy, and if Ubisoft intends to return to its glorious origins I would be very happy. Song Of Conquest has been on my radar for a while now and is on my future wishlist!!! From the videos and review it’s a masterpiece!!!

My problem remains mitigating the scanlines on 800x600 content - I fully understand that it’s a stretch with PC content due to different display systems, but the “Smooth” presets desperately need those lines to have a smooth, not too washed-out image. If I want an “original” and realistic look I use the kokoaio presets, which are also designed for 1080p - but since mega Bezel I like to take advantage of its full support for the miraculous ScaleFX that makes games practically remastered. I understand my limits in the type of screen, but in the sea of configurations there should be something that helps me. I will search the forum but in any case I renew my request for help to @HyperSpaceMadness and @Guest.r - I would be grateful even if I am already grateful to you for your help. You would make my dream of playing Diablo II at 800x600 with the gdv_smooth presets come true.

PS the rest has been brilliantly solved - changing the value @HyperSpaceMadness told me and using CRT Mask 0 on the Smooth presets, with resolutions from 640x480 and below, has improved the quality of life in emulation across the board, not just in PC emulation, thanks a lot.

3 Likes
#7013

I blame you for my new evening obsession. :stuck_out_tongue: I never played HOMM in the 90s, and now I am sad because this is really great!

20240828000402_1
20240828000402_15120×1440 1.34 MB

3 Likes
#7014

Edit: I figured out how to get ScummVM to render in 320x200 by going into Core Options and turning Hardware Renderer off.

Question: Is there any setting/way to force MegaBezel to filter the image as if it is 320x200, regardless of the Retroarch core’s output?

I have a core–ScummVM, that is stubborn and will only output in 640x480. My shader preset that I wish to use, however, depends on 320x200 output, otherwise will simply look wrong. I cannot seem to force ScummVM to go to 320x200, however the games being played are 320x200 and ScummVM is forcing upscaling to 640x480.

I want to MegaBezel shader around this, and ignore that output and treat it as lower.

1 Like
#7015

You should be able to use the resolution scaling at 50%, or use cropping and resolution scaling.

If you turn on the resolution debug which is first in the list you can see the resolution of everything.

2 Likes
#7016

Using the Soqueroeu presets, is there any settings I should adjust to for 4K OLED?

2 Likes
#7017

I’m definitely not an expert, but generally speaking…

Adjust the “Mask Size” from the default setting of 2k (1.00) to 4k (2.00).

Depending on your OLED design you may also need to change the “Mask Layout” from the default RGB (0.00) to BGR (1.00).

In the end all parameters are subjective… if it looks good to you… it’s correct.

1 Like
#7018

Nice. Not sure about the mask layout, I have the LG CX. Thanks for the info Duimon!

#7019

If you’re using my Soqueroeu-TV-Backgrounds CyberLab Special Edition Presets you don’t have to adjust anything since they were designed on a 4K LG OLED TV.

Other than that, due to the small size of the viewport, I’d advise you to treat it as an effective 1080p display but it all depends on the TVL and look you’re going for.

So Mask 12, Size 1 will net you some chunky phosphors but you can definitely try Mask 6 Size 1.

Mask 6 Size 2 is also chunky as well.

You can also try Mask 10, Size 1.

Mask Layout should be BGR if you want the Mask to look anything like a CRT.

#7020

Excellent. I changed the layout to BGR and ended up going with Mask 10, Size 1. Sorry for posting in multiple areas about this, I just wanted to get some clarification from the pros. Everything looks really nice. Got HDR turned on in Retroarch and dialed in for the LG CX on top of these amazing shaders and backgrounds. Paper white set to 200 and peak brightness at 800 for anyone stumbling across this. Retro games never looked better. I wish I could run some of my native PC games or standalone emulators through retroarch for the shader support… Anyways, thank you.

#7021

This seems a bit low. What happens when you turn it up? I can understand it being this low if using presets which aren’t tuned with HDR in mind though.

You can using the Window Cast core. You can also turn up the Mask Strength and if it gets dark, turn up your Paper White Brightness.

There are shaders available for ReShade which can also give you an excellent experience but you won’t get the reflective bezel.