Thanks fella 
So if I save this as PNG and use it an overlay I will get what you showed up above?
Here they are as seperate png files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_vJIjR__f0Q_z9K5U-8wqPA_w6qIvCYY?usp=share_link
I did some tests:
Hereās what it looks like as an overlay
Hereās what it looks like with the original image and the matte set to No Matte HSM_BG_SOURCE_MATTE_TYPE = 2
Hereās what it looks like with the 1% black image and the matte set to No Matte HSM_BG_SOURCE_MATTE_TYPE = 2 (Looks exactly the same as with the original image)
Hereās what it looks like with matte set to Black HSM_BG_SOURCE_MATTE_TYPE = 0
So it looks like if you set it to No Matte you will get something which looks similar to the overlay brightness on the glass reflection, so:
HSM_BG_BLEND_MODE = 1
HSM_BG_SOURCE_MATTE_TYPE = 2
Although it doesnāt look exactly the same, I should look into what might be different than what the overlay is doing.
Ok thanks for taking the time to test this, iāve had my base params set like this also when i was messing about with it.
On both the original overlay and the 1% black version iāve noticed that when the screen is black or dark the png looks good.
When the screen brightens up parts of the transparent section of the overlay disappear (including the drop shadow on the inside of the overlay cutout), i especially focus on the scratch which is located top/middle of the glass.
Ok well with this in mind Iāll most likely go down the regular overlay route for now. Iāll just copy the slang files from a similar overlay etcā¦
If you want can still use the placement image if you want it to place/scale the screen, and use the wildcards for that to avoid having to have use overrides on the video custom aspect ratio.
If you are using overlays you can probably change the retroarch video aspect ratio to core provided to improve performance.
Keep in mind though if you are using overlays that when I add additional lighting stuff to the whole viewport it will not affect the overlayā¦
I used the MegaBezel only for the size and placement. No more custom aspect stuff, Iāve not tried the placement image yet so Iāll definitely have a look at that.
Now youāve said that about the upcoming lighting features Iām kinda tempted to stop what Iām doing for now lol!
How does the core provided option differ from the āfullā option in terms of performance?
Short answer is its significantly faster.
But you can only use core provided if you are using an overlay.
This is because core provided will leave black gaps at the sides of the screen. When you have an overlay it covers these areas so you donāt see them.
Iāll try that thanks fella, Iāll be glad of the performance boost tbh as Iām using the adv preset!!
It would be useful if wildcards can also detect NDS/3DS core screen mode (single screen, top/bottom, etc).
Coding for Retroarch is uncommonly difficult. (Or so HSM tells me.)
All the wildcard features are general in nature, they arenāt core specific.
To set up an NDS or 3DS rom to automatically use one (or another) mode requires a game override.
Since user action cannot be avoided, I see no benefit for any wildcard feature.
Iām trying to use this wildcard: $GAME$.params It works fine with anything except game names that contain ā&ā. I tried replacing that with ā_ā and ā-ā and straight up āandā.
But nothing worked. Any tips?
Alright I solved this. It turned out that it was actually a long path/name problem, youāll need to first load the shader with a short content path, set the override, then you can load any content normally even with long paths or weird characters like ā&ā.
Can we see a little more info on exactly how you are using the wildcard?
If there is a path issue that shouldnāt exist it would be nice to call attention to it so @HyperspaceMadness can fix it.
I have a GBA_Auto.slangp preset which has the following wildcards to override the bezel color based on my game or direcory:
$CONTENT-DIR$.params $GAME$.params
In the referenced params/auto folder there are directory_name.params files like:
Game Boy Advance (Grey).params
Which has the override to change the bezel:
bg_over = āā¦/ā¦/ā¦/textures/GBA_textures/GBA_Grey.pngā
The games themselves are located in:
D:/Retro/Roms/Nintendo - Game Boy Advance/Game Boy Advance (Grey)/Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow (USA).zip
That wonāt load GBA_Auto.slangp, but if I pick something with a shorter name, and located in one less folder depth, it works fine.
That is two changes made at the same time, which is not best practice when troubleshooting.
Does it work with only shortening the name?
or
Does it work with only lessening the folder depth?
What does the log say when it fails to load?
If I may?
Iām not exactly sure what HSM had in mind when he created the $CONTENT-DIR$ wildcard but if I were doing this I might try naming the texture āGame Boy Advance (Grey).pngā and using
bg_over = āā¦/ā¦/ā¦/textures/GBA_textures/$CONTENT-DIR$.pngā
to eliminate the need for the āGame Boy Advance (Grey).paramsā file.
Hmm, I did more tests and it seems none of that works anymore, but hereās the log:
[WARN] [Shaders]: Could not load root preset for #reference entry: āD:\RETRO\RetroArch\shaders\koko-aio_packs\LodanZark\GBA_presets\params\auto$CONTENT-DIR$.paramsā. [ERROR] [GLCore]: Failed to create preset: āD:\RETRO\RetroArch\shaders\koko-aio_packs\LodanZark\GBA_presets\GBA_Auto.slangpā. [ERROR] [GLCore]: Failed to create filter chain: āD:\RETRO\RetroArch\shaders\koko-aio_packs\LodanZark\GBA_presets\GBA_Auto.slangpā. Falling back to stock. [INFO] [slang]: Building pass #0 (N/A) [INFO] [GLCore]: Not using frame history. [INFO] [GLCore]: Not using framebuffer feedback.
Edit: now I rememberd why Iām using a separate params file, it lets me or other users rename the params files to match their folder names without altering the image overlays, because those overlays are used by other non-auto presets (auto is just an optional preset and not practical for normal setups).