New CRT shader from Guest + CRT Guest Advanced updates

nfp0 · 11 May 2023 21:11

I see what you mean. Sometimes I see it in your video.

But I found it strange that it’s only sometimes and always on the same moments, so I went on and watched the video frame-by-frame on those moments when I see it and I noticed your video has frame-skips, for example at 1:07 and 1:21. There are probably more but I did not check further. A frame-skip makes the combing effect visible.

Do you constantly see the combing when looking up/down? Or is it sometimes? Make sure you’re not having frame-skips during emulation, or you’ll definitely see the combing even when it shouldn’t be there.

Cyber · 11 May 2023 22:34

There aren’t any frame skips in my video nor in the emulation. A frame by frame advance after first pausing the emulation then pressing the K key would display all frames. If the emulation appears to stop or pause, it would probably be because I either paused the emulation or the game itself.

It’s not a sometimes thing.

The purpose of this demonstration and reporting was to bring this to the attention of @guest.r and I think I’ve done enough to communicate and convey what I’m experiencing.

nfp0 · 12 May 2023 01:41

The video definitely does. I double checked. For example, you can see that frame 4077 and 4088 are duplicates, which makes the combing visible on the video when it wouldn’t in a normal scenario.
It’s possible this double frame came from the recording software, or it could have come from the emulation itself.

But regardless, yes! After looking carefully, l can definitely see the combing faintly when looking up and down indeed.
And I can see it on both your video and on Guest’s shader in Composite mode. It’s easier to see on the darker part of the background mountains. And I can only see it if I focus my vision on the square grid next to the waterfall.

I’m checking this on my pretty old LCD monitor which has horrible response time, which might mask the effect. It’ll probably be easier to see on my OLED TV, so I’ll make sure to check there and report back.

Cyber · 12 May 2023 02:17

Maybe you should because I use an LG OLED TV in Game Mode and it’s easily visible for thousands of frames for me, not just 4077 and 4088.

The issue is there from the start to the finish of the video.

Also, I don’t have to squint or focus on anything in particular to see it. I can spot it from across the room on my TV and I can also easily see it playing it back at 1080p on my mobile phone screen.

guest.r · 13 May 2023 02:56

The coloring effect is a consequence of the 2-phase temporal effect. Something similar happens with interlaced artifacts on ‘moving’ images.

As already noticed, it happens only on certain horizontal situations where an alternating color pattern is involved.

It could be vaguely explained as the chroma values are coming into an resonance instead of being normalized (as in the merge fields situation) as a combination of shifted input colors and the phase shift.

This is normal, same with the diagonal chromatic pattern discussed above with 3-phase filtering.

sonkun · 14 May 2023 01:50

Yo, @guest.r. So I’m finally ready to take a stab at the new updated grade shader. I go and replace the “pre-shaders-afterglow” pass with the new grade shader pass and the image ends up looking a little extra smoother than usual.

I kind of like how it looks even though that wasn’t my intention but I’m trying to figure out why that’s happening, I’ve tried to edit the shader file in about 5 different ways and they all end up looking the same as the screen shot. Is there a reason why I can’t get grade to play nice with your lastest shader update?

Here’s the last shader file I tried to edit:

shaders = "12"
shader0 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/stock.slang"
filter_linear0 = "false"
wrap_mode0 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input0 = "false"
alias0 = ""
float_framebuffer0 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer0 = "false"
scale_type_x0 = "source"
scale_x0 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y0 = "source"
scale_y0 = "1.000000"
shader1 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/stock.slang"
filter_linear1 = "false"
wrap_mode1 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input1 = "false"
alias1 = "StockPass"
float_framebuffer1 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer1 = "false"
scale_type_x1 = "source"
scale_x1 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y1 = "source"
scale_y1 = "1.000000"
shader2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/afterglow0.slang"
filter_linear2 = "false"
wrap_mode2 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input2 = "false"
alias2 = "AfterglowPass"
float_framebuffer2 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer2 = "false"
scale_type_x2 = "source"
scale_x2 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y2 = "source"
scale_y2 = "1.000000"
shader3 = "shaders_slang/misc/shaders/grade.slang"
wrap_mode3 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input3 = "false"
alias3 = "PrePass"
float_framebuffer3 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer3 = "false"
scale_type_x3 = "source"
scale_x3 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y3 = "source"
scale_y3 = "1.000000"
shader4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/linearize-hd.slang"
filter_linear4 = "true"
wrap_mode4 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input4 = "false"
alias4 = "LinearizePass"
float_framebuffer4 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer4 = "false"
scale_type_x4 = "source"
scale_x4 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y4 = "source"
scale_y4 = "1.000000"
shader5 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/crt-guest-advanced-hd-pass1.slang"
filter_linear5 = "true"
wrap_mode5 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input5 = "false"
alias5 = "Pass1"
float_framebuffer5 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer5 = "false"
scale_type_x5 = "viewport"
scale_x5 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y5 = "source"
scale_y5 = "1.000000"
shader6 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/gaussian_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear6 = "true"
wrap_mode6 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input6 = "false"
alias6 = ""
float_framebuffer6 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer6 = "false"
scale_type_x6 = "absolute"
scale_x6 = "800"
scale_type_y6 = "source"
scale_y6 = "1.000000"
shader7 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/gaussian_vertical.slang"
filter_linear7 = "true"
wrap_mode7 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input7 = "false"
alias7 = "GlowPass"
float_framebuffer7 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer7 = "false"
scale_type_x7 = "absolute"
scale_x7 = "800"
scale_type_y7 = "absolute"
scale_y7 = "600"
shader8 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/bloom_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear8 = "true"
wrap_mode8 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input8 = "false"
alias8 = ""
float_framebuffer8 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer8 = "false"
scale_type_x8 = "absolute"
scale_x8 = "800"
scale_type_y8 = "source"
scale_y8 = "1.000000"
shader9 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/bloom_vertical.slang"
filter_linear9 = "true"
wrap_mode9 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input9 = "false"
alias9 = "BloomPass"
float_framebuffer9 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer9 = "false"
scale_type_x9 = "source"
scale_x9 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y9 = "absolute"
scale_y9 = "600"
shader10 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/crt-guest-advanced-hd-pass2.slang"
filter_linear10 = "true"
wrap_mode10 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input10 = "false"
alias10 = ""
float_framebuffer10 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer10 = "false"
scale_type_x10 = "viewport"
scale_x10 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y10 = "viewport"
scale_y10 = "1.000000"
shader11 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/deconvergence-hd.slang"
filter_linear11 = "true"
wrap_mode11 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input11 = "false"
alias11 = ""
float_framebuffer11 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer11 = "false"
scale_type_x11 = "viewport"
scale_x11 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y11 = "viewport"
scale_y11 = "1.000000"
g_vignette = "0.000000"
GAMMA_INPUT = "2.399999"
gamma_out = "2.399999"
iscan = "0.549999"
SIGMA_HOR = "0.775000"
S_SHARP = "1.600000"
HSHARP = "0.000000"
spike = "1.500000"
m_glow = "1.000000"
m_glow_cutoff = "0.050000"
m_glow_low = "7.000000"
m_glow_high = "7.000000"
m_glow_mask = "0.875000"
SIGMA_H = "0.200000"
SIGMA_V = "0.200000"
SIGMA_HB = "0.250000"
SIGMA_VB = "0.250000"
warpX = "0.050000"
warpY = "0.070000"
csize = "0.035000"
glow = "0.500000"
bloom = "-1.000000"
bloom_dist = "1.000000"
halation = "-0.200000"
gamma_c = "1.400000"
gsl = "2.000000"
scanline1 = "20.000000"
scanline2 = "20.000000"
beam_min = "1.000000"
beam_max = "1.999999"
beam_size = "0.000000"
scan_falloff = "0.650000"
scangamma = "9.000000"
shadowMask = "6.000000"
maskstr = "1.000000"
mask_gamma = "1.500001"
slotmask = "1.000000"
slotmask1 = "1.000000"
slotwidth = "3.000000"
smoothmask = "1.000000"
smask_mit = "0.400000"
deconrry = "0.500000"
deconrgy = "-0.500000"
deconrby = "-0.500000"
post_br = "1.130000"
textures = "SamplerLUT1;SamplerLUT2"
SamplerLUT1 = "shaders_slang/reshade/shaders/LUT/32.png"
SamplerLUT1_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT1_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT1_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT2 = "shaders_slang/reshade/shaders/LUT/64.png"
SamplerLUT2_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT2_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT2_mipmap = "false"

Cyber · 14 May 2023 01:59

Could this be the culprit?

sonkun · 14 May 2023 02:15

Nope. Even if I default all of the guest parameters back to default it still looks the same. I’m almost certain it’s something simple that I either haven’t included in the shader file or something else I need to add in to get everything in sync.

guest.r · 14 May 2023 05:59

I reseted the parameters and with new grade the image was blurry. After using ‘old grade’ everything went to normal. Dunno yet where the catch is, but good news is old grade works.

sonkun · 14 May 2023 10:08

Yeah it’s probably something minor that needs to be ironed out possibly with the grade shader. I definitely don’t want you adding that into your guest shader at least not yet lol.

Interestingly I tried using the prepend feature to add grade as a first pass without replacing the “pre-shaders-afterglow” and it then works as it should.

shaders = "13"
feedback_pass = "0"
shader0 = "shaders_slang/misc/shaders/grade.slang"
wrap_mode0 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input0 = "false"
alias0 = ""
float_framebuffer0 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer0 = "false"
scale_type_x0 = "source"
scale_x0 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y0 = "source"
scale_y0 = "1.000000"
shader1 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/stock.slang"
filter_linear1 = "false"
wrap_mode1 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input1 = "false"
alias1 = ""
float_framebuffer1 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer1 = "false"
scale_type_x1 = "source"
scale_x1 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y1 = "source"
scale_y1 = "1.000000"
shader2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/stock.slang"
filter_linear2 = "false"
wrap_mode2 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input2 = "false"
alias2 = "StockPass"
float_framebuffer2 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer2 = "false"
scale_type_x2 = "source"
scale_x2 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y2 = "source"
scale_y2 = "1.000000"
shader3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/afterglow0.slang"
filter_linear3 = "false"
wrap_mode3 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input3 = "false"
alias3 = "AfterglowPass"
float_framebuffer3 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer3 = "false"
scale_type_x3 = "source"
scale_x3 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y3 = "source"
scale_y3 = "1.000000"
shader4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/pre-shaders-afterglow.slang"
filter_linear4 = "false"
wrap_mode4 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input4 = "true"
alias4 = "PrePass"
float_framebuffer4 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer4 = "false"
scale_type_x4 = "source"
scale_x4 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y4 = "source"
scale_y4 = "1.000000"
shader5 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/linearize-hd.slang"
filter_linear5 = "true"
wrap_mode5 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input5 = "false"
alias5 = "LinearizePass"
float_framebuffer5 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer5 = "false"
scale_type_x5 = "source"
scale_x5 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y5 = "source"
scale_y5 = "1.000000"
shader6 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/crt-guest-advanced-hd-pass1.slang"
filter_linear6 = "true"
wrap_mode6 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input6 = "false"
alias6 = "Pass1"
float_framebuffer6 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer6 = "false"
scale_type_x6 = "viewport"
scale_x6 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y6 = "source"
scale_y6 = "1.000000"
shader7 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/gaussian_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear7 = "true"
wrap_mode7 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input7 = "false"
alias7 = ""
float_framebuffer7 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer7 = "false"
scale_type_x7 = "absolute"
scale_x7 = "800"
scale_type_y7 = "source"
scale_y7 = "1.000000"
shader8 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/gaussian_vertical.slang"
filter_linear8 = "true"
wrap_mode8 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input8 = "false"
alias8 = "GlowPass"
float_framebuffer8 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer8 = "false"
scale_type_x8 = "absolute"
scale_x8 = "800"
scale_type_y8 = "absolute"
scale_y8 = "600"
shader9 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/bloom_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear9 = "true"
wrap_mode9 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input9 = "false"
alias9 = ""
float_framebuffer9 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer9 = "false"
scale_type_x9 = "absolute"
scale_x9 = "800"
scale_type_y9 = "source"
scale_y9 = "1.000000"
shader10 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/bloom_vertical.slang"
filter_linear10 = "true"
wrap_mode10 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input10 = "false"
alias10 = "BloomPass"
float_framebuffer10 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer10 = "false"
scale_type_x10 = "source"
scale_x10 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y10 = "absolute"
scale_y10 = "600"
shader11 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/crt-guest-advanced-hd-pass2.slang"
filter_linear11 = "true"
wrap_mode11 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input11 = "false"
alias11 = ""
float_framebuffer11 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer11 = "false"
scale_type_x11 = "viewport"
scale_x11 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y11 = "viewport"
scale_y11 = "1.000000"
shader12 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/hd/deconvergence-hd.slang"
filter_linear12 = "true"
wrap_mode12 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input12 = "false"
alias12 = ""
float_framebuffer12 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer12 = "false"
scale_type_x12 = "viewport"
scale_x12 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y12 = "viewport"
scale_y12 = "1.000000"
textures = "SamplerLUT1;SamplerLUT2;SamplerLUT3;SamplerLUT4"
SamplerLUT1 = "shaders_slang/reshade/shaders/LUT/32.png"
SamplerLUT1_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT1_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT2 = "shaders_slang/reshade/shaders/LUT/64.png"
SamplerLUT2_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT2_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/nec-lut.png"
SamplerLUT3_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT3_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/ntsc-lut.png"
SamplerLUT4_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT4_mipmap = "false"

guest.r · 14 May 2023 10:19

New Release Version (2023-05-14-r1):

Notable changes:

Mask Zoom feature added (all but fastest version, presets aren’t affected)

Works with scaling factor 1.5, makes some masks more viable for displays with higher resolution. Most other arbitrary scaling factors are prone to artifacts and i don’t want this feature to misbehave. Looks quite nice, adds some vintageness imo.

Download link:

https://mega.nz/file/o1w2AQoZ#NjLRPffKko13EOJ_SiSxOWEFdBrhcOcnXKJHJuDapII

HyperspaceMadness · 14 May 2023 13:04

This sounds nice!

So this is what I see in the shader

Does that mean when I set this parameter to 1 that the mask is scaled to 150%?

guest.r · 14 May 2023 13:57

Yes, the masks are sized to 150%. TVL rating is “divided” by 1.5. I could implement a custom arbitrary resize ratio, but it doesn’t make much sense due to artifacts which happen.

Here is an example of scaled mask 6:

RetroGames4K · 14 May 2023 19:48

What does mask zoom do and what is it for? I love the way it looks.

guest.r · 14 May 2023 20:00

It streches the current mask by 1.5x horizontally. Mask sizes of 1.0, 2.0…skipped this ‘middle ground’ and there could be a small trade off rooting in modern display technology, but i guess it turned out quite nicely.

nfp0 · 14 May 2023 21:18

Yeah, I’ve now checked on my LG OLED TV as well and it’s indeed there. It’s visible while looking up and down on both your video and on Guest’s shader when configured for NTSC Composite.
It’s much easier to see on the OLED compared to my old LCD monitor.

It’s also visbile even when Sonic is standing still or the game is paused if you blink rapidly.

But all that looks like normal Composite temporal artifacts to me.

I’ve also tested the built-in Blargg Composite filter from GenesisPluxGX but the combing effect is completely missing from that implementation, even when doing frame stepping with K.

guest.r · 16 May 2023 19:54

I’m currently playing around with the scaled mask. It can look really cool, can also give a lot of new mask options, especially for 1440p users.

RetroGames4K · 17 May 2023 07:57

Looks fantastic!! Does it work with 4k? Also which masks can be used with it?

guest.r · 17 May 2023 03:36

It can be used with any display resolution. Best looking masks are the ones with width 3 or 4.

Best to give it a try, see if it fits into a preset design.

guest.r · 17 May 2023 12:30

New Release Version (2023-05-17-r1):

Notable changes:

two mask zoom factors are available now, 150% and 167%
first works better with 2 or 4 width masks, second with 3 width masks
small tweak to the slotmask mitigation code

Download link:

https://mega.nz/file/YsAWwCQb#M_fITRb-AsFCjb469pAQ4PbsFt5VdkWcdwwmZU_5qTI