crt-pi shader users - reduce scaling artifacts with these configs in lr-mame2003, lr-fbalpha, lr-nestopia (and more to come)

dankcushions

@robertvb83 it should be /mame2003-plus/

robertvb83

@dankcushions i tried that but it is not loading the config on gamestart

dankcushions

@robertvb83 said in crt-pi shader users - reduce scaling artifacts with these configs in lr-mame2003, lr-fbalpha, lr-nestopia (and more to come):

@dankcushions i tried that but it is not loading the config on gamestart

sorry, this: MAME 2003-plus

robertvb83

thank you, thats working

thelostsoul

@dankcushions Is it possible to convert this somehow for 640*480 CRT VGA monitor (480p)?
I use a pc monitor with that resolution, but the monitors scanlines does not make a big difference at that resolution. It does not support 240p, the point where I wouldn't need any shader. Thats why I use some sort of shaders here and I really like yours. But it looks often very bad for this resolution.

Edit: Sorry, I saw the link with the script for creating the package myself. I will download and try it myself first.

Edit2: OH, but I think this will not help me with the other consoles right? I would need a shader specifically for 480p.

thelostsoul

@dankcushions Ok, done generating this. It does not work with 480p. I get following content for all games:

# Auto-generated crt-pi-vertical.glslp .cfg
# Game Title : dkong , Width : 224, Height : 298, Aspect : 3:4, Scale Factor : 1.61073825503
# Screen Width : 640, Screen Height : 480
# Place in /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/config/MAME 2003/
# Insufficient resolution for good quality shader
video_shader_enable = "false"

dankcushions

@thelostsoul didn't we already have this conversation? :) https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/4046/crt-pi-shader-users-reduce-scaling-artifacts-with-these-configs-in-lr-mame2003-lr-fbalpha-lr-nestopia-and-more-to-come/277

thelostsoul

@dankcushions Yes, I remember. Till then, I am not happy with the Arcade games. If I get an old 240p CRT, then I can leave this shader stuff behind me. Currently I use the shader named "scanlines" for all Arcade games and it works, but doesn't look good as it would with a correct crt-pi shader.

@caver01 said:
"
That's really interesting. I need to do a CRT build at some point.
"
Which is exactly what I am searching for, isn't it? Am I the only one asking for shader at 480p?

caver01

@thelostsoul said in crt-pi shader users - reduce scaling artifacts with these configs in lr-mame2003, lr-fbalpha, lr-nestopia (and more to come):

Am I the only one asking for shader at 480p

I think so, because with that low res, you won't have many pixels to simulate the scanlines or shadow mask effects. And for folks with a real CRT, well, no shader needed because you have the CRT we are trying to simulate.

Of course, if the CRT is a high-resolution (very fine dot-pitch) multi-sync PC monitor, your real scanlines could lack the vintage look and feel at 480 that a TV would have shown. You might as well run it at a HIGH resolution and enable shaders like the rest of us.

thelostsoul

@caver01 Hmm ok, I understand now it does not make any sense to produce such shader. Then I need a different CRT device. Thanks for your answers guys. :-) Never mind then.

cloudlink

Could this script be used to generate cfgs using zfast shaders?

dankcushions

@cloudlink it's an outstanding issue: https://github.com/dankcushions/crt-pi-configs/issues/11

no ETA on it.

AndrewH

@cloudlink If you're so inclined, it would be pretty straightforward to modify the script to use the zfast shaders.

The shaders are referenced in two places in the script - lines 93-96 and lines 105-108. In each instance, they look a bit like this;

                if curvature:
                    shader = "crt-pi-curvature-vertical.glslp"
                else:
                    shader = "crt-pi-vertical.glslp"

Just change the shader name to the one you want to use and then run the script to generate the .cfg files.

The main reason (I assume) it's on @dankcushions to-do list with no ETA is that the more 'official' way to do it would be to present the user with the option - via the command line - to use either shader, which would take more coding.

dankcushions

@andrewh for me it's more that i haven't had a chance to test the shaders - they're allegedly faster so if the image quality is equivalent, i would probably just wholesale replace crt-pi with them. we could have an option, i suppose, but i think anyone running the script could probably just as well edit it to suit whatever they wanted.

i say no eta as i've been meaning to test them for about 7 months now, and still haven't :)

caver01

@dankcushions I have been using zfast for a while now and I will say that moire patterns and rainbows are reduced. I have always used curvature so I have not really taken advantage of the configs, but with zfast, the artifacts may be harder to notice anyway. I am curious about the results @cloudlink might be able to share.

cloudlink

@andrewh said in crt-pi shader users - reduce scaling artifacts with these configs in lr-mame2003, lr-fbalpha, lr-nestopia (and more to come):

@cloudlink If you're so inclined, it would be pretty straightforward to modify the script to use the zfast shaders.

The shaders are referenced in two places in the script - lines 93-96 and lines 105-108. In each instance, they look a bit like this;
                if curvature:
                    shader = "crt-pi-curvature-vertical.glslp"
                else:
                    shader = "crt-pi-vertical.glslp"
Just change the shader name to the one you want to use and then run the script to generate the .cfg files.

The main reason (I assume) it's on @dankcushions to-do list with no ETA is that the more 'official' way to do it would be to present the user with the option - via the command line - to use either shader, which would take more coding.

Thanks.
I modified the python script to test it. I should be able to test it in a few hours.
Here's the modification if anyone else wants to try it:
https://pastebin.com/F1zp5qcz

AndrewH

@dankcushions said in crt-pi shader users - reduce scaling artifacts with these configs in lr-mame2003, lr-fbalpha, lr-nestopia (and more to come):

@andrewh for me it's more that i haven't had a chance to test the shaders

Ah, ok - fair enough.

I swapped them in quite some time back - several months now - and haven't noticed anything that caused concern.

That said, I'm not necessarily the most discerning, so don't take this as any sort of suggestion that you don't need to test them yourself :-)

cloudlink

I tested out the script generating standard and curved zfast shader configs for Mame 2003 and FBA. It works great and both standard and curved shaders look and run great. I'm very impressed with the zfast shaders.

rsn8887

Are the scanlines guaranteed to be always aligned with the games original pixels, regardless of my scaling settings? E.g. if the game is low-res and fullscreen, and the pixels are large, the scanlines are also thicker?

caver01

@rsn8887 said in crt-pi shader users - reduce scaling artifacts with these configs in lr-mame2003, lr-fbalpha, lr-nestopia (and more to come):

Are the scanlines guaranteed to be always aligned with the games original pixels, regardless of my scaling settings? E.g. if the game is low-res and fullscreen, and the pixels are large, the scanlines are also thicker?

In my experience, the scanlines do line up with the game's original pixels, but they look more like CRT phosphor dots when you run higher resolutions. If you run on a low-res display, you cannot get around the inherent stair-stepping that is visible at the display's native pixels. At higher resolutions you have more pixels available for the shader to use. Theoretically, with extremely high resolution, a shader could create visually perfect scanlines, but of course, there are performance concerns when the resolution gets too high. The current optimum will typically be to run as high res as you can before performance becomes a problem. The shaders have been coded to run at HD resolution. Yet, even at HD you get some artifacts--hence the config files which try to align at least one dimension with an integer scale factor of your display's native resolution.

You cannot just say "higher resolution is better" because of the performance impact, but higher does get you a better looking effect in my opinion. Do some tests and decide what you like best.