New CRT shader from Guest + CRT Guest Advanced updates

[KainXVIII]

As soon as text window shows shader in Rudra’s Treasure will become sharp and image starts flicker…

[HyperspaceMadness]

@KainXVIII

crt-guest-dr-venom2-hires shader is for 4k resolutions i presume? It looks pretty blurry compared to crt-guest-dr-venom2 on my 1080p display.

Hi, I think the Hires refers to the core output rather than your display resolution, so for instance a core which outputs 640x480 would probably be considered highres compared to something like standard snes which is I think 256x224

[GemaH]

Is there a way to make the scanlines look like a normal SD resolution on a high-res image?

For instance, the N64 is the only console i use upscaling 2x. But that causes the scanlines to look hi-res.

Also, is there a way to reduce black levels a tiny bit so scanlines appear on black backgrounds?

I also noticed there are no overscan options. Like, ins ome NES games, it would be nice to be able to cover some of the overscan areas.

[guest.r]

@KainXVIII

In some “hi-res” SNES games (you know, like Seiken Densetsu 3, Marvelous or Rudra’s Treasure) u have curious issue with crt-guest-dr-venom2, these game are like switching resolutions from slightly blurry image to more crisper (i’m using Mesen-S or BSNES cores). Marvelous game even have slight flickering in the main menus. All is normal if i don’t use any shader at all or use interpolation shader (like pixellate or bandlimit-pixel). I will post screenshots later… Thanks in advance!

That’s quite normal if the resolution increases. You can check if the core you use supports down scaling of the hi-res mode, since applying absolute scaling with the stock shader doesn’t work with gdv2. Flickering is a part of the interlacing effect, which is introduced to mimic real crt behaviour, even if the source is progressive. These games fall into the category of games which occasionally change resolution, thus a compromise is to be sought. If you don’t want to notice the changes, then limiting the resolution is your best option.

@GemaH

Is there a way to make the scanlines look like a normal SD resolution on a high-res image?

The hires and ntsc versions support downscaling/internal resolution on the vertical, so you can have normal scanlines. It’s set under the [ INTERLACING OPTIONS: ].

@GemaH

Also, is there a way to reduce black levels a tiny bit so scanlines appear on black backgrounds?

This one is a bit tricky because of conflicts with the afterglow effect, a version with black level added also exists in this thread. Current normal version is using noise instead of black levels in the deconvergence-slang shader (no scanline effect though), which can be added to hires/ntsc verisons as the last pass manually.

@GemaH

I also noticed there are no overscan options. Like, ins ome NES games, it would be nice to be able to cover some of the overscan areas.

It could be tried to add the image-adjustment.slang as the last pass, should work well with high output resolutions. For 1080p and NES using the built in integer scaling does some overscan, plus scanlines look much nicer.

[KainXVIII]

@guest.r

If you don’t want to notice the changes, then limiting the resolution is your best option.

Thanks! I think that some of BSNES cores can do that…

[Syh]

@guest.r @HyperspaceMadness I’m going to wait until you seem done updating again before attempting to update my branch.

Is it possible if I can bother either of you when I go to update it? (if I need help anyway)

The main issue I had last time when going to update was if I used your (guest) masks shader will fail to load when using the bloom/halation method I was using.

@HyperspaceMadness The reason I pinged you, is I’m having issues updating the curvature lol.

[GemaH]

@guest.r

I can’t seem to be able to add the “image-adjustment” shader at the end of the chain (using the ntsc version of the shader). When i do and hit “apply” it just gets vanished.

Edit: Ok, i managed to make it work by repeating the process a couple of times for some reason. But still. Because it’s the last shader in chain, i can’t see the the scanlines when i reduce the black level

Is there a way to add a shader in a different part of the chain, without painstakingly editing the shader preset in the editor?

[guest.r]

New Release Version (22.01.2021-r1):

Notable changes:

Nevertheless i added the option to increase the black level before the main shader pass. It also means that it will be influenced by brightness/gamma corrections and mask application. Advantage of this implementation is that it goes nicely with afterglow and it’s a quite simple code change. Scanline effect will also be present.

Download link:

https://mega.nz/file/N9AAWDbK#ej9lfkyC5PIIP-idfVp2t-1_lL3qDx-JR6LKdfwWpzQ

[Dante]

@guest.r With all your wonderful work you are doing to the guest-dr.venom shader, do you consider updating the guest-dr.venom fast version as well?

[guest.r]

It’s a very adequate question, a very nice overhaul is actually possible with the slang version. Most probably is that i will focus on a new slang implementation.

[guest.r]

New Release Version (23.01.2021-r1):

Notable changes:

• Fast version updated, preset added
• looks much better compared with old fast version, most features updated
• curvature, TATE, corner, color altering not supported
• stock pass can be replaced with grade etc.
• speed comparison with regular version (256x224 image) - vulkan: 1750 vs. 3350 fps.

Download link:

https://mega.nz/file/hgpWRKzY#5pZduj9G3J3rpFgv9MYcdKVBKp30AGKji3SGGIQJY5M

Feedback is welcome, although most features were tested.

Edit: integer scaling fixed

[HyperspaceMadness]

Hi, I noticed this line in your crt-guest-dr-venom2.slangp

float_framebuffer4 = true # comment this line for max precision

I was under the impression that the float_framebuffer did give the most precision, and that if you didn’t use this you would get 8 bits per channel.

Also on another thread we were talking about the srgb_framebuffer which seemed to fix some color clipping (I think mostly in dark areas) happening in @Hyllian’s preset when doing the linearize in one pass then adding the gamma back on in another.

Do you have any thoughts on these?

[guest.r]

@HyperspaceMadness

“float_framebuffer4 = true # comment this line for max precision”

I was under the impression that the float_framebuffer did give the most precision, and that if you didn’t use this you would get 8 bits per channel.

It’s a true statement, but with some background. The preset directive overrides the shader file texture format directive, which is set to 32 bit per color component. It’s a nitpicky situation and more a proof of concept.

@HyperspaceMadness

Also on another thread we were talking about the srgb_framebuffer which seemed to fix some color clipping (I think mostly in dark areas) happening in @Hyllian’s preset when doing the linearize in one pass then adding the gamma back on in another.

Do you have any thoughts on these?

sRGB buffers are a nice invention for linear color space representation, but are somewhat limited in precision. Also an exact conversion is recommended. With my testing glow looks better with float framebuffer, plus a variety of gamma combinations are valid.

[hunterk]

@guest.r

The preset directive overrides the shader file texture format directive, which is set to 32 bit per color component. It’s a nitpicky situation and more a proof of concept.

This is a clever idea

[guest.r]

New Release Version (23.01.2021-r3):

Notable changes:

• Fast version updated
• Speed increase is about 80% with 256x224 content compared with regular version
• Curvature, corner, color altering now supported - it seems it’s possible to have curvature with proper coordinate handling, which is really a great improvement.
• first pass can be replaced with grade etc.

Download link:

https://mega.nz/file/d9AgVbbD#XBOxWWJrkvl7W_LXqL5apXUFXgCHrggd-wsVswoz3-k

Feedback is still welcome, especially with gpu’s, which can’t run the default version at full speed. Also bug report.

[kamen]

Is the CRT Color Profile option too much for the fast shader?

[Dante]

First of all the updated fast version looks unbelievable! The down side is that it runs slower than the old one on my pc. Speaking of which it’s a museum specimen, an Intel [email protected] with 2GB RAM and a GT 610 graphic card…But nevertheless thanks for the effort, who knows maybe there’s room for more improvements in the future!

[guest.r]

@kamen

Is the CRT Color Profile option too much for the fast shader?

You can use the excellent grade shader for more grading options, if you run it on decent fps. That’s why i kept the first pass a bit more modest.

@Dante

First of all the updated fast version looks unbelievable! The down side is that it runs slower than the old one on my pc. Speaking of which it’s a museum specimen, an Intel [email protected] with 2GB RAM and a GT 610 graphic card…But nevertheless thanks for the effort, who knows maybe there’s room for more improvements in the future!

Have you tried the glcore driver with threaded video enabled? It seems to give a decent boost in performance. Otherwise i’m a bit curious if the GT 610 reaches at least the required fps for normal gaming.

[Dante]

@guest.r Yes I tried it but unfortunately it still struggles. I get a maximum 55fps all the way down to 30fps when the game moves…

[Tatsuya79]

I noticed a slight difference between older crt-guest-dr-venom2 versions (before bloom changes) and the current one.
Pixels on the borders of the viewport get cut a bit.
Here is a zoom from the bottom of the screen:

left is older version (also fast version is like this), right is the new one

The last line is now less visible, in a way that the whole viewport extreme borders seems trimmed slightly.