This thread is about my collections of original overlays and ready-to-go CRT presets powered by @HyperspaceMadness Mega Bezel Reflection Shader technology.
Collection are organized in out-of-the-box thematic packs:
- Mega Bezel Commodore Pack focuses on famous Commodore hardware, including Amiga, Commodore 64, VIC20, Monitors and some extras
- Mega Bezel CRT experience simulates “holy grail” professional monitors selected by the r/crtgaming community for top quality pixel-art retrogaming soon to be released!.
Releases
Mega Bezel: Commodore RC4.1 (October 9th, 2022)
Download it while it’s still hot on the Official DevBlog
Minimum software requirements:
Features
- Vector-based original illustrations rendered at 300dpi
- Bicubic sharper resampling from 300dpi to 72dpi for crispy, super-sampling anti-aliased visuals
- 16:9 aspect ratio, horizontal, optimized for 1080p and 4k resolutions
- Adaptive support for horizontal ultrawide displays
- Photorealistic-like hand drawn shading
- Historically based details taken from actual hardware, advertising and manuals
- Remixed familiar elements (ever dreamt about integrated data units?)
- Perceptive dis-proportion between elements and fan-based branding
- Retro-modding original alternative designs
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
Included in current public Release Candidate 4 (October 2nd, 2022): SYSTEMS & VARIATIONS
- Commodore Amiga series: A1000, A500, A500 Plus, A600, A600HD, A1200, A1200Synth, Amiga CD32, Amiga CDTV
- Commodore 64 series: Silver Label, Breadbin, G Series, ALDI, DreanComm
- Commodore VIC20 series: Golden Label, Mark2, Mark3, VIC-1001
- Commodore 264 Series: Commodore16
DISPLAYS
- Classic Monitors: C1080, C1201 Monochrome, C1702, C1902, C1084, C1084S-D1, C1084S-D2 CDTV Black Edition
- CRT TVs: Philips 21PT3326-V7
- Procedural Mega Bezels: Cream, Beige, Darkgray, Black
DATA UNITS
- Disk drives: Internal Chinon FB-354 (A500/600/1200), External A1010 (A1000)
- CD-ROM: Proprietary MKE drive (CD32)
- Drive Simulator: GoTek-like interface, LCD display, multi-floppy, sd-card and usb (A1200Synth)
- Datassette: 1530 C2N, 1530 C2N-B (C64, VIC20)
- Datassette: DC-120 DreanComm (C64 DreanComm)
- Datassette: 1531 (C264 series)
MODULAR DISPLAYS
You are free to choose from an array of fully modelled classic devices including:
- COMMODORE: Commodore 1201 Monochrome, Commodore 1702, Commodore 1902, Commodore 1084, Commodore 1084S-D1, Commodore 1084S-D2 CDTV Black Edition
- BEZELTRON CRT SERIES: Philips 21pt3326-v7
- PROCEDURAL MEGA BEZELS: light (beige, cream) and dark (black, darkgray) variants with per-system custom decals.
Which CRT display would you choose for gaming: a modern FLAT one, or a classic CURVED device? You got variations for each display preset to choose from:
-
CURVEDsimulates the typical barrel distortion from CRT surface. Bezel and frame are realistically arranged to minimize overscan. May introduce artifacts. -
FLATstraightens things out, making pixels perfectly orthogonal like expensive last-gen CRTs and modern LCD/OLED panels. Prevents artifacts.
Textures layers logic will automatically take care of resizing for the best gaming experience:
-
NEAR SCALINGis a fine-tuned sweet spot between gaming area and a zoomed-in display, the ideal solution for gaming -
NORMAL SCALINGfull display chassis is visible, trading a smaller gaming area for a beautiful retro-scenery -
INTEGER SCALINGautomatic display zoom for cleanest pixels and less artifacts
AMBIENT LIGHTNING
Let your retrogames shine! Day lightning makes you enjoy a full lit room showing all accurately rebuilt graphics details.
If you prefer to turn off the lights, Night lightning is easier on your eyes as it simulates a soft, warm lit room full with LEDs lightning from your retrogaming systems.
System presets come with day and night variants for each display out-of-the-box so you can instantly choose the best solution with zero configuration.
Each display comes with it’s own lightning and LEDs layer for a realistic experience fine tuned for both day and night lightning.
Retro-modding
Some special “visual mods” are included to enhance retrogaming experience:
-
DATASSETTE LIGHTBULBnothing is better than an old incandescence bulb casting light on yout audiocassette game compilation -
EMBEDDED DATA DEVICEfloppy disk drives and datassette are embedded in the chassis for a compact, all-in-one design -
AMIGA 1200SYNTHis an original concept for an advanced Synthwave Amiga, equipped with a dark chassis, backlit keyboard, embedded multi-floppy data simulator and optical disk drive. A little cyber, a little punk
*Note: AMIGA 1200SYNTH is also available as FS-UAE Amiga emulator theme, sporting exclusive advanced features:
- Blinking LED indicators
- Functional multi-floppy data simulator
- Disk presence switches, track display, access notification
- Audio indicator
- Basic curvature and scanlines postprocessing effects
For more info about my FS-UAE themes visit https://retrogamingpacks.blogspot.com/p/features-fs-uae-amiga-themes.html.
PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS
Retrogaming Packs enable Mega Bezel Reflection Shader graphic caching by default, getting a consistent performance with SMOOTH-ADVANCED, ADVANCED or STANDARD presets. Nevertheless, POTATO alternatives provide accessibility for less powerful machines.
-
ADVANCED (ADV)is a full customizable experience with modular layouts for display scaling and positioning, glass reflections and ambient lightning. This is the way to go to have customization flexibility and performance, with high visual quality and unaltered original artworks -
SMOOTH-ADVANCEDenhances the experience with post-processing passes: ScaleFX smooth resample, fast sharpen, fake scanlines, MDAPT de-dithering for pseudo-transparencies. Post-processing produces higher quality 2D game artworks, while maintaining authentic CRT texture and a little graininess. Truth is: once you taste SMOOTH-ADV, you will never go back! -
STANDARD (STD)is a faster alternative to ADVANCED and includes CRT postprocessing effects like color grading and display scaling/positioning personalization -
POTATO (POT)is an insanely performing overlay solution with easy-go CRT masking based on lighter shaders
Note: remember that if you find my shader presets to be too heavy for your rig, you can toggle unwanted features and save your custom simple-presets.
THANKS GO TO…
- My father Rocco, for introducing me in Commodore computers gaming at the age of four
- My girlfriend Sabrina for supporting me in doing something funny, just for fun sake
- HyperSpaceMadness for his impressive shader and friendly support
- Duimon for the inspiration and for setting excellent design quality standards
good job i love them.do you have an idea for the next realease of retroarch?
Ahahah
