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The Big Ol' Retroarch Shader Thread


alexis524

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Here's a new version that adds two more presets - slight changes to the Neo Tokyo and Night City presets that change the scanlines/aperture grille to be not quite as strong. There are a couple new files that were added into the shaders_cg folder so delete the previous folder if you've downloaded it previously.

Zombs Shaders.zip

Neo Tokyo:5a656e8797175_VagrantStory-Neo-Tokyo.thumb.png.ce24a554c517da8e588837129f40f67c.pngNeo Tokyo Lights:

5a656ea1b566f_VagrantStory-Neo-Tokyo-Lights.thumb.png.4754c7cfbf4577e14202874df1f22769.pngNight City:

5a656ea8e16ed_VagrantStory-Night-City.thumb.png.62903b9bb51bedb43dc7774892f79781.pngNight City Lights:

5a656eb08a7bb_VagrantStory-Night-City-Lights.thumb.png.6c5e85b0078a4cf323b1044fd696acbe.pngI've also been informed by @Lordmonkus that the Neo Tokyo and Night City shaders apparently have issues with the scanlines on 1440p monitors :( This is really unfortunate, and to make matters worse I have no way to test as I'm on a 1080p monitor, which is what these were all created on. Apparently the other two are okay. I have to assume it has something to do with how they're scaling, but I'm not entirely sure how to fix it.

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5 minutes ago, dragon57 said:

@Zombeaver, I really appreciate your efforts related to shader creation for the community. The subject and resulting options it gives users has always fascinated me.

 

 

Thanks! This has definitely been a huge learning experience for me, and I still feel like I'm fumbling through this stuff, but I'm getting there...

Zombs Shaders.zip

I've fixed a problem (for 1080p at least, can't comment on 1440p) with Neo Tokyo and Neo Tokyo Lights that was causing issues in certain circumstances. Take a look at the darkish vertical lines below:

5a6586fba27fa_SuperMarioWorld2-YoshisIsland-180122-013404.thumb.png.cd66b13105e57a0d8149082403e957bb.pngFixed:

5a65872b98f53_SuperMarioWorld2-YoshisIsland-180122-013420.thumb.png.bc961055cf0061fb1a8f0a4595d78996.png

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Not a whole lot of changes here, but I added a couple new presets - Neo Tokyo Nights and C64 Punk. Neo Tokyo Nights is basically the same thing as Neo Tokyo Lights but slightly darker. The C64 Punk preset is something I made completely by accident while experimenting with making a new preset completely from scratch. It's basically just a joke, but I thought it was kinda neat as sortof novelty thing.

Zombs Shaders.zip

No Shader:

5a67445e27152_ValkyrieProfile-1-NoShader.thumb.png.d62cf5971cfb1c3daddaa3b50f469bf3.pngNeo Tokyo Nights:

5a674471697b8_ValkyrieProfile-2-NeoTokyoNights.thumb.png.9f2e53ea11cf06b10de77db30d9a9f8c.pngNo Shader:

5a67448e5ab0e_StreetsofRage2-1-NoShader.thumb.png.cd46b9f7e1bd882865ee5348d22f8680.pngC64 Punk:

5a6744a02c37e_StreetsofRage2-2-C64Punk.thumb.png.36926b3fa274a8d56e9128253fc45c77.pngSecret of Mana:

Spoiler

No Shader:

5a674713993b8_SecretofMana-1-NoShader.thumb.png.35f4ffcd7052d2716465e07f065bfcf6.pngNeuromancer:

5a674723260ce_SecretofMana-2-Neuromancer.thumb.png.d2b85834383111640203331d663ec8da.pngNetrunner:

5a6747316162a_SecretofMana-3-Netrunner.thumb.png.c37bb4461bf2f34fc495e19b2172b9ae.pngNeo Tokyo:

5a67473f7d0dc_SecretofMana-4-NeoTokyo.thumb.png.4bd25ac6fe5688e7d237add7da57882e.pngNeo Tokyo Lights:

5a67474d25100_SecretofMana-5-NeoTokyoLights.thumb.png.3e64727d667f787bbad2680bb4cad6fa.pngNeo Tokyo Nights:

5a67475e28e08_SecretofMana-6-NeoTokyoNights.thumb.png.a68c40587715e6028b6b1d83fe9eab89.pngNight City:

5a67476b59c5a_SecretofMana-7-NightCity.thumb.png.2155ec15c303f07cf4373e7e41752c9c.pngNight City Lights:

5a6747856bfb2_SecretofMana-8-NightCityLights.thumb.png.a7d260460b235555f54ad624f86e80d2.png

Spyro The Dragon:

Spoiler

No Shader:

5a67479b7e8dd_SpyroTheDragon-1-NoShader.thumb.png.bf6b9ed0175bf26457248527045d2e70.pngNeuromancer:

5a6747afe5de5_SpyroTheDragon-2-Neuromancer.thumb.png.bad058942654f1652294f9da60ea84f7.pngNetrunner:

5a6747bf58fa9_SpyroTheDragon-3-Netrunner.thumb.png.962e0269f746d366e0ce6a6fcbbd1990.pngNeo Tokyo:

5a6747ce0be6e_SpyroTheDragon-4-NeoTokyo.thumb.png.18714b7275ed163cc0fbf96b0991cd79.pngNeo Tokyo Lights:

5a6747dce41cd_SpyroTheDragon-5-NeoTokyoLights.thumb.png.e64252a37ec356adf0944cca347eed11.pngNeo Tokyo Nights:

5a6747ec073ba_SpyroTheDragon-6-NeoTokyoNights.thumb.png.a9c434ea30d789b57c55756d72f201bf.pngNight City:

5a6747fe5ed7e_SpyroTheDragon-7-NightCity.thumb.png.28a7ffcfc30a06f966bb82070448369f.pngNight City Lights:

5a67480f70a56_SpyroTheDragon-8-NightCityLights.thumb.png.6050b31bc2ee287e509902d88d4eaebb.png

Vagrant Story:

Spoiler

No Shader:

5a67481f363f1_VagrantStory-1-NoShader.thumb.png.84c351da531c56ba1d75fd2e5e6dc139.pngNeuromancer:

5a674831e9bf5_VagrantStory-2-Neuromancer.thumb.png.f3fb741bdf70a3bb9887880465434bdc.pngNetrunner:

5a67484344dbe_VagrantStory-3-Netrunner.thumb.png.a12a0490f6b8548bf513d04640e87d0d.pngNeo Tokyo:

5a67485795863_VagrantStory-4-NeoTokyo.thumb.png.96d1503763b3431377c641ec414925f9.pngNeo Tokyo Lights:

5a67486e7761c_VagrantStory-5-NeoTokyoLights.thumb.png.7ace25ae89990bafc58a9bb4ea33e199.pngNeo Tokyo Nights:

5a67487e538cd_VagrantStory-6-NeoTokyoNights.thumb.png.6cb02dfe70ee884f551383d759f1b2d3.pngNight City:

5a6748adea639_VagrantStory-7-NightCity.thumb.png.df50b7f3221edba5bf5e30e552c37d25.png

Night City Lights:

5a6748bc608d1_VagrantStory-8-NightCityLights.thumb.png.784145aeb37c3ee3f7fdde0f4cd5a858.png

I've got several other games in the screenshot comparison zip.

Cyberpunk Set Comparison.zip

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I've made a couple more presets - Chiba City, Chiba City Lights, and Neuromancer Bright.

Chiba City is basically a higher saturation, slightly higher contrast, slightly higher brightness, and slightly higher sharpness version of Neo Tokyo Lights. I've added an adaptive sharpen pass at 0.55 strength (of a 0 to 2 range) - it still maintains the sortof soft look that I want while helping better define some things like text. It's become my preferred preset of the bunch. Chiba City Lights is a brighter version. Neuromancer Bright is a brighter version of Neuromancer.

Zombs Shaders.zip

New Presets Comparison.zip

No Shader:

5a6a0a737e356_LegendofMana-1-NoShader.thumb.png.8baa2e180c42dbd87e23742912d2b0d1.pngNeo Tokyo Lights:

5a6a0a88b001f_LegendofMana-2-NeoTokyoLights.thumb.png.3699550d44aff21de809cb5bc9c433d6.pngChiba City:

5a6a0a9e709f4_LegendofMana-3-ChibaCity.thumb.png.57b4152fb96d54ccc18b5529a6c70a49.png

Chiba City Lights:

5a6a0ac38e872_LegendofMana-4-ChibaCityLights.thumb.png.d8ac1f21047288326b114e1339314672.pngNeuromancer:

5a6a0ad74d37f_LegendofMana-5-Neuromancer.thumb.png.a426617691e4050c71848b8d4280f83f.pngNeuromancer Bright:

5a6a0aec30257_LegendofMana-6-NeuromancerBright.thumb.png.14725facd99159dcec8678ce1dad41cf.pngNo Shader:

5a6a0b05802e7_LegendofMana(2)-1-NoShader.thumb.png.1b3daa8e2300b5594c35b36bc1deb43e.pngNeo Tokyo Lights:

5a6a0b19be134_LegendofMana(2)-2-NeoTokyoLights.thumb.png.8d3340f589c52f19ef4fdc76eab3d04d.pngChiba City:

5a6a0b2bde4d0_LegendofMana(2)-3-ChibaCity.thumb.png.fc97c9a34f5fd17711dedca6a9c40596.pngChiba City Lights:

5a6a0b50ee5a9_LegendofMana(2)-4-ChibaCityLights.thumb.png.00ceb5e7167a2005a0f056a378e81cf5.pngNeuromancer:

5a6a0b6533e9e_LegendofMana(2)-5-Neuromancer.thumb.png.24c375bc73c4a3e970aeece134a438a3.pngNeuromancer Bright:

5a6a0b77b0a67_LegendofMana(2)-6-NeuromancerBright.thumb.png.a3fc8fefb083a9f92c13610fe8aa1aff.pngNo Shader:

5a6a0b825d7fb_VagrantStory-1-NoShader.thumb.png.f0e3214a891faf016e1ea9f0ccb3b784.pngNeo Tokyo Lights:

5a6a0b9845638_VagrantStory-2-NeoTokyoLights.thumb.png.71955379c0c05ab54f7e10d059023420.pngChiba City:

5a6a0bac68c2d_VagrantStory-3-ChibaCity.thumb.png.4305532c7b5b2ca0cfd624207d6522df.pngChiba City Lights:

5a6a0bc5228b4_VagrantStory-4-ChibaCityLights.thumb.png.facec12c83385d5ad98286ca63156b76.pngNeuromancer:

5a6a0bdc9bc64_VagrantStory-5-Neuromancer.thumb.png.f07b2bde05210406b4e8278ea0732f11.pngNeuromancer Bright:

5a6a0bf188873_VagrantStory-6-NeuromancerBright.thumb.png.f5e3f4f1f0ada10044f8034bddc4dc07.png

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Hey, I saw your post on r/emulation and decided show up. You are doing pretty nice job here. I have been busy with life lately, and have no time for this stuff. I'm happy someone is enjoying my work and keeping the torch lit, so to say.

 

About 1440p thing:

Yes, 199X and other presets were made on a single 1080p monitor and I have no idea how they are gonna look at other resolutions. Really bad I'd imagine.

About flattened colors/brightness thing:

As I've said I have only one monitor and it's pretty old at this point, so that must be the reason why it looks different. More over that, when working on 199X I wanted an even color space, but I guess my efforts just made it look gray-ish on other monitors. 

About the rest:

 You have to take into consideration that there is no one single perfect shader for everything. Well, maybe plain scanlines (but even then there are exceptions). 199X was made specifically for 2d games from Genesis and (S)NES, If it looks decent in 3d games - it is only a by-product of that. Honestly, I would not recommend using it in games with heavy dithering and low color palette. Silent Hill 1 and Metal Gear Solid look like hot garbage with 199X.

Anyway. You are doing well, keep it going.

 

PS. Your naming scheme is dope.

Edited by Birmm
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Understood! Thanks for your work on 199X as that was really the spark to get me to dive into this stuff! And you're definitely right about there not being any one perfect shader - I came to that conclusion really quickly working on these. What can look good in one scenario can easily look like trash in another.

I actually really like the effect of most of my presets on dithered and/or polygonal content though (not just 16-bit era stuff). It kindof depends on the specific game of course. I've been playing a lot of Vagrant Story and Dino Crisis lately, and am quite happy with them in those settings. I need to go back and retry Silent Hill with some of these. That's definitely a tough one for this stuff. Chiba City is the one I've settled on as my favorite for just all-round usage, and at this point I'm using it on basically everything 16-bit+

I have mixed feelings about these on 8-bit content. Something about it just doesn't quite work for me (but I've seen a number of comments by others saying that they loved them in that setting, so it just goes to show you how subjective all this stuff is). I'm still using CRT Hyllian Multipass for those currently.

Anyway, thanks again - this has been a fun learning experience for me. Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. Yeah, I've got a bit of a thing for cyberpunk haha

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56 minutes ago, Birmm said:

About 1440p thing:

Yes, 199X and other presets were made on a single 1080p monitor and I have no idea how they are gonna look at other resolutions. Really bad I'd imagine.

@Birmm welcome to the Launchbox forums.

They actually look fine on a 1440p monitor (barring the one issue with one of Zoms presets having weird lines), I have found that if there are problems with any shaders and resolution it was dependent upon the native resolution of the system being emulated. It's the lower resolution stuff like handhelds (GameGear and GBA)  that have the bigger issues as well as anything using internal resolution scaling like N64.

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27 minutes ago, Birmm said:

For me it was the original Analog Shader Pack by Solid12345 over there on RA forums. I think it might be contagious.

It's funny, I'd actually had that pack for quite a while but found that very little of it really appealed to me other than a few weird one-off presets like The Atari which looks awesome for 2600, but not so much for anything else. A lot of neat, creative stuff for sure, just not for me.

199X was already pretty close to what I wanted, so I just started tweaking numbers and fiddling with things. But one little tweak leads to another and another... until I my eyes started screaming at me to step away from the screen haha

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I've been working on a new preset that I'm calling Street Samurai. This one falls basically in between Chiba City and Neuromancer. I found myself flipping back and forth between those two, and preferring one or the other based on the game, so I thought I'd try something that falls somewhere in the middle. I don't know if I'm done with this yet. Working on these can be pretty tedious (many, many hours of making very small changes to numbers, comparing screenshots, doing this again for a variety of types of content in a variety of situations, then rinse and repeat), so I'm calling it close for the time being.

Zombs Shaders.zip

Street Samurai Screenshot Comparison.zip

No Shader:

5a73fa1cda317_VagrantStory-1-NoShader.thumb.png.283c04139f5ae22f9259f53f10d782a6.pngChiba City:

5a73fa34731df_VagrantStory-2-ChibaCity.thumb.png.3175ebd68f6388bbff83ff3f977d6fb6.pngStreet Samurai:

5a73fa48a3d44_VagrantStory-3-StreetSamurai.thumb.png.b0956253e1049512aff0e61a4de1bd9e.pngNeuromancer:

5a73fa6099271_VagrantStory-4-Neuromancer.thumb.png.c5c80ccf64dc269f8581fd610f53dfe4.png

No Shader:

5a73fab15b2c3_LegendofMana-1-NoShader.thumb.png.898a03af0b1890985d3a382d5dfafa5f.pngChiba City:

5a73fac631b54_LegendofMana-2-ChibaCity.thumb.png.d22862525a741c3a85ceaf7c53890abb.pngStreet Samurai:

5a73fb46af4f4_LegendofMana-3-StreetSamurai.thumb.png.0a8e210c7a005f4c508ea37fd6011e57.pngNeuromancer:

5a73fb5d060b3_LegendofMana-4-Neuromancer.thumb.png.3a3794ef894a4b160bf4ce55ad1bca3a.pngNo Shader:

5a73fba326963_DinoCrisis-1-NoShader.thumb.png.71b7babce1fea2a63013937503bc4cbd.png

Chiba City:

5a73fbb6265e6_DinoCrisis-2-ChibaCity.thumb.png.cc6db38f71fb0858d14d86163854d9ae.png

Street Samurai:

5a73fbc591213_DinoCrisis-3-StreetSamurai.thumb.png.0aa1e2c45553ba5c0c359c7506bfcfaf.pngNeuromancer:

5a73fbd782d67_DinoCrisis-4-Neuromancer.thumb.png.9233da4bf87706439a1a098f1cb04274.pngNo Shader:

5a73fbe59c16c_Cybernator-1-NoShader.thumb.png.3e7125769234016fb5be358311f00c80.pngChiba City:

5a73fbfa1ae8c_Cybernator-2-ChibaCity.thumb.png.fe8b2a0772b63375ff92728381ee7207.pngStreet Samurai:

5a73fc16c6dde_Cybernator-3-StreetSamurai.thumb.png.c615b97e597fe8982f3aebac96b81221.pngNeuromancer:

5a73fc3bc363b_Cybernator-4-Neuromancer.thumb.png.e01e2ac0effb8a742353ca6d51132e93.png

 

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I made some more adjustments to Street Samurai. I bumped up the contrast and saturation (and adjusted some additional gamma values) - whites were looking a little on the gray side at times, and things were a little muddier than I wanted.

Zombs Shaders.zip

I've got a huge album of stuff on Imgur that's mostly representative of the newest version, but I did make some final adjustments after taking all those (and didn't want to take a whole new set all over again) because I had to dial in the brightness a bit more - whites were getting a little bit blown out to the point that a little detail was lost. Examples of the adjustment are below.

Imgur Album

Version used in the Imgur album:

5a77a1a5cdc9b_StarOcean(Japan)EnbyDeJapv1.0-180204-185506.thumb.png.63a5f6ccd02d81d1350de299f58860ca.pngFinal version:

5a77a1daae817_StarOcean(Japan)EnbyDeJapv1.0-180204-185513.thumb.png.79e3b2c2d1645777fa2233f54a234bb1.pngVersion used in the Imgur album:

5a77a2067fcb6_ValkyrieProfile-180204-185719.thumb.png.591c156ba903a3e0f21cbc623777213a.pngFinal version:

5a77a21db925e_ValkyrieProfile-180204-185729.thumb.png.87d323571b3b57ff4c14afa2f934d169.pngVersion used in the Imgur album:

5a77a25730286_SecretofMana2-180204-190732.thumb.png.c15f2246ac19aed93e4e796b1e2e8d55.pngFinal version:

5a77a270d7aa4_SecretofMana2-180204-190739.thumb.png.718ea4421f965ff2c1643d6543ae02e4.png

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