Mega Bezel Reflection Shader! - Feedback and Updates

RetroArch Additions Shaders
#1309

Mega Bezel is updated to V 2020-08-24

Changes:

  • @Duimon’s awesome new night lighting image has been integrated, it really looks great and gives it a great evening feel
  • Add Scaling and Y offset & scale for Decal Image
  • Renamed NightMode to NightLighting, Moved the parameters (Gamma, NightLighting, LEDImage) so they are near the bezel stuff in a [Static Lighting] section
  • The Decal Image is now called Frame Decal Image because that seems to be what we use it for, and I’ve hooked the scaling to the bezel/frame scale, so as the bezel changes size the decal rides along with the frame, and there is a scale and position parameter to adjust it

Here is the frame decal in use:

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8 Likes
#1310

Awesome my very busy friend! I can’t wait to update my presets. :grin:

2 Likes
#1311

Thanks for the update and the (previous) inclusion of the grade shader, superb :slight_smile:

I noticed the HSM version is missing the “Scanline Spike Removal” parameter from the default guest-venom shader. Is that intentional or could it possibly be added with a future update?

1 Like
#1312

Hi @rafan, glad you like the update and the inclusion of dogway’s grade!

I think I took that out just to save a parameter, now that we have more parameters I can put it back in. Do you have a good example of this in use? I couldn’t see exactly what it was doing.

#1313

Thanks, would be great if you could put it back in!

From the following post from guest.r and onwards he explains the scanline spike removal parameter:

https://forums.libretro.com/t/please-show-off-what-crt-shaders-can-do/19193/1018

If you look at the image comparison he posted (do mouseover at the tabs on the top), you can see what it does. The earlier behaviour was when bright pixels border on black background the bright pixel outlines become quite pointy where they edge - on the left or right - with black. (So it only has effect horizontally.) This could for example be easily seen with white text (or sprites) on black background, more often seen in 8-bit games. Guest.r calls these spikes.

From his post I understand it’s mostly noticable for scanline type 1 & 2 (I myself am using type 2). So if you’re using type 0 it would explain why you don’t notice any change.

5 Likes
#1314

Thanks for the explanation and example, now it’s clear to me what this does :slightly_smiling_face:

It’ll be back in the next update! :grinning:

5 Likes
#1315

Sneak peak at what’s cookin over here in the HSM kitchen

I used Tron assets kindly supplied by @Briball and @Dreamstate to test out a backdrop mode

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I think each layer will end up having an adjustable scale and position, and for the bezel and BG an option to follow the tube scaling.

14 Likes
#1316

That happened mighty fast my friend!!! :grin: You sir, are a magician!

2 Likes
#1317

@HyperspaceMadness Quick question on the scaling of the game screen.

I have the Mega Bezel configured with Duimon’s IBM image. With his preset the bezel and background look great full screen on a 16:9 monitor with RA scaling settings to 16:9 and integer OFF (especially with night lighting! :smiley: ).

Now my issue is that while this looks great, the game screen itself is scaled non-integer. I would like to have the game screen scaled integer, but when I use the integer scaling options from the mega bezel it also scales the bezel, which then hides the monitor outline that is part of the IBM background image (See the IBM example here: https://forums.libretro.com/t/duimon-hsm-reflection-shader-graphics-feedback-and-updates/28146/375 )

Is there a possibility to have the game screen scaled in a way that it’s like the H-Size and V-Size potentiometers on real CRT’s, i.e. the image scales within the existing bezel, without the bezel scaling along?

The only thing I could find in the mega bezel that comes close are the cropping options, which sort of function like H-Size and V-size potentiometers you find on real CRT (resizing that creates overscan or underscan within existing bezel size), but when doing so the game screen unfortunately doesn’t come out at integer scaling size.

Is there a solution to this with the current shader?

2 Likes
#1318

While I can’t answer about the shader, I can say that soon I will update the IBM graphic with a version that uses the Decal layer for the whole monitor frame. The monitor outline will no longer be part of the background graphic. I will try and get it up in the repo tonight after work.

2 Likes
#1319

Belay that. (I knew there was a reason I hadn’t done this yet.)

This will have to wait for a Decal layer masking option in a future shader update. :frowning_face:

1 Like
#1320

For this specific situation if the monitor surround, @Duimon’s fix of putting the surround in the decal image would be a good solution if we have the right masking options, I’ll check on that.

In the current shader you are right that the cropping is the only thing that allows you to scale the image within the screen.

I’ll have to think on this some to see if there would be a good solution to this. The main tricky thing is that when we choose integer scaling the tube size is driven by this. The reason that there are no normal potentiometer style controls is mainly because of being able to use integer scaling. The reason is that if you are in integer scale and you just scale the image on the screen a bit then it is no longer actually integer scale.

There might be a way to have the tube edge stay the same size independent of the screen content so the edge of the screen will actually clip mid Pixel but the image stays integer scaled.

I’ll think on this and see if there’s something we can do…

2 Likes
#1321

Hello @Duimon. I was wondering what parameters did you adjust to fix this problem with the HSM-Newpixie shader? I am having a similar issue with my games and I love how newpixie looks, but it does come off dark. I’d like it to brighten up slightly, but not get the colors washed out.

Also, thanks @HyperspaceMadness for this awesome Shader Pack! I came across this because I was trying to google the best shader settings to use for my retroarch build and I’m SO happy to have found this thread!

2 Likes
#1322

Welcome to the forum @micjgreene :slight_smile:

New Pixie just generally seems dark I agree. Probably the first thing to try is adjust the CRT Gamma parameter, this should be able to brighten it up.

If it starts to look a bit washed out go down the list to the main color correction section which uses Dogway’s grade shader. There are very detailed color correction parameters there, you can adjust contrast here.

At some point I’m going to do a pass on all the different presets so they have a consistent default brightness.

2 Likes
#1323

Hello again @HyperspaceMadness . Thanks for the tips, I’ve been wracking my brain just playing around with the color tweaks and contrast trying to brighten it up and just to get it to look as close as possible color wise to something like the colors for Easymode or Dr Venom, but its pretty difficult, lol. I dont have much experience on what each color setting does, but I keep playing around.

Anyways, I was checking out the LCD preset for my eventual use of GBA games, and question, is there a way to turn off the use of GBA Colors pallet? Its been years since I played Aria of Sorrow on a real GBA, but I’m not partial to the color change and I kinda like the darker looking shades of color when its first loaded fresh with no shader.

1 Like
#1324

Currently no there isn’t, but we could put a switch in.

We could also put in some other color palettes if that was interesting to people.

4 Likes
#1325

If you would like to see palette switching, which palettes would you want?

1 Like
#1326

If we stay with the one LCD shader I would love to see a Gameboy palette.

I would ask you to do a gameboy.slang preset but that’s a lot of work for one system. :frowning_face:(Although the MAME SL “Megaduck” has a similar screen. :innocent:)

1 Like
#1327

The idea of a DMG type gameboy version keeps crossing my mind every so often, it’s such a cool shader with the subtle shadowing and space between the pixel’s :slight_smile:

So if people are interested, I’d probably do it :slight_smile: with the new image stuff we can hook the scale of the background to the screen.

Although if we did it we’d definitely want an awesome graphic from you. :wink:

3 Likes
#1328

I agree on it’s coolness. I was just demonstrating the difference between it and other LCD shaders to my lovely wife.

I would love to!

(Though I’m not sure how much of a reflection we will get, I have committed to doing B&W LCD systems anyway. :grin:)