If games had looked like that in the 8 bit era we never would have shut up about how ugly they were.
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Do you use CRT filters when you play retro games?
- Thread starter Leo
- Start date
If games had looked like that in the 8 bit era we never would have shut up about how ugly they were.
Always.
Make sure you are using integer scaling too, though. Most 240p games will not fit neatly into your typical 1080p screen, so set it to 720p, 1440p, or 2160p if you want it to fill the screen. Otherwise your scanline filter won't fit quite right and you'll also get shimmering artifacts.
Make sure you are using integer scaling too, though. Most 240p games will not fit neatly into your typical 1080p screen, so set it to 720p, 1440p, or 2160p if you want it to fill the screen. Otherwise your scanline filter won't fit quite right and you'll also get shimmering artifacts.
No. I usually give them a short go, but I find scan line filters to be more distracting than anything. Scanlines on real consumer-grade CRTs were never that obvious at a normal viewing distance.
I'd like to consider myself a pretty big retro enthusiast. I still have all of my consoles dating back to the NES, and they all get some level of occasional play. I've bought a lot of high-end RGB/upscaling equipment along the way, and I have a CRT laying around for use as well.
I have also always considered scanline fetishists to be extremely weird, and I think the vast majority of "retro" filters on modern pixel games/emulators are incredibly poor at capturing an authentic retro look anyway.
I have also always considered scanline fetishists to be extremely weird, and I think the vast majority of "retro" filters on modern pixel games/emulators are incredibly poor at capturing an authentic retro look anyway.
Yes, crt-geom in retroarch, makes genesis games look like genesis games and PSX games look like PSX games.
I think beyond nostalgia, it genuinely helps make the images cohesive rather than being a series of semi-abstract blocks.
I've mentioned a few times here that I detest scanline emulation as I think it gets in the way and offers no real benefit, but I do like a good minor pixel blur like the composite filter that Kega Fusion has, because it's a good way to deal with some games' more aggressive dithering.
Yes, I prefer scan lines with retro games. I don't like anything that blurs or warps the image though.
^this. Filters are getting super advanced and impressive, but nothing compares to the real deal.
Hell no! Give me those razor-sharp pixels, like God intended. I see no point in needlessly emulating flaws of older technology. Give me original aspect ratio, no borders, and beautiful, sharp pixels.
I also do not listen to music with the hiss, and pops of dirty vinyls, but some crazy folk dig that.
I also do not listen to music with the hiss, and pops of dirty vinyls, but some crazy folk dig that.
I like the 720P hybrid one on the Mega SG where you can dial in a luminescence level which will pass through the scanlines.
I like playing my retro games on my actual CRT but in the instances where I have double dipped on a game to play on a modern console, I always play without filter to get the sharpest looking graphics. Why?
Because it looks complete dogshit compared to the real thing and on top of that it dims down the brightness of the game. They can take their garbage smoothing filter and F' off too.
Because it looks complete dogshit compared to the real thing and on top of that it dims down the brightness of the game. They can take their garbage smoothing filter and F' off too.
That's the good shit. What shaders / overlay?CRT filters and more
I'm a bit of a CRT guy. My main (PC) monitor is a high-quality CRT from right before they stopped being manufactured and I have a few decent CRT televisions for console gaming.
I don't use the CRT filters generally because I think they look silly and not much at all like an actual CRT unless you play your games on a PVM, which has a look that is something of an acquired taste and, to boot, not really what I would consider the typical CRT look.
What I will do, however, is use an interlaced resolution if the original console wasn't progressive scan; I'll also render in the native resolution (or close to it) because otherwise the sharpness on my 2k(ish) CRT simply doesn't look right.
I don't use the CRT filters generally because I think they look silly and not much at all like an actual CRT unless you play your games on a PVM, which has a look that is something of an acquired taste and, to boot, not really what I would consider the typical CRT look.
What I will do, however, is use an interlaced resolution if the original console wasn't progressive scan; I'll also render in the native resolution (or close to it) because otherwise the sharpness on my 2k(ish) CRT simply doesn't look right.
I used to exclusively use raw pixels since most filters annoyed the shit out of me, until more recent retro styled games and the Retroarch filters. A lot of them do well to enhance the artwork and graphics.
Only if there is a really good trinitron filter, like this one I use for saturn games in mednafen:
*old games
And yeah, when possible. Decent CRT filters look better, hands-down, and I'm not even making that claim from an intent or accuracy angle.
And yeah, when possible. Decent CRT filters look better, hands-down, and I'm not even making that claim from an intent or accuracy angle.
Whenever a game has filter options like that I try them all out and pick whichever I like best on a game by game basis. Often that means the scanlines but not always.
I get that it's going for the aperture grille look - but that doesn't look anything like a Trinitron, the active colour should be so bright to make the others more or less invisible. That said I don't even understand what kind of Trinitron that filter is going for as there are no scanlines either - so I guess maybe it's going for a hi-res VGA CRT?
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Scanlines are essential. So many games look terrible without them.
Everything else is a bit hit or miss though.
Everything else is a bit hit or miss though.
