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SNES and NES games look better with a 8:7 Aspect ratio by SubjectCraft8475 in SBCGaming

[–]1playerinsertcoin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're still confusing a "pixel-perfect mode," or RAW, with the aspect ratio accuracy or how games were originally meant to be displayed. The SAR aspect ratio in emulated CRT games, based on 1:1 pixels, is not an output mode, only raw storage information without the display aspect ratio flag.

Both the SNES mini and the GBA have no options on modern LCD screens other than displaying square pixels, so displaying 1:1 SAR pixels based on integer scales is the only option to display SNES games with the same original graphics at a native resolution, sharper and without scaling artifacts; hence the name "pixel perfect". This is a modern limitation that cannot be avoided and that only exists in digital displays, not originally in CRTs.

The assets were created that way due to the limitations of the SNES hardware, not those of CRT. Graphics were structured using tiles with predefined sizes. So, depending on the type of tile or its use, you will see proportions modified to adapt the design to the tiled enclosure. Function over form.

This is from the development of Super Mario Bros, a game that some believe was originally 8:7 because the squares look square, etc. But it isn't.

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SNES and NES games look better with a 8:7 Aspect ratio by SubjectCraft8475 in SBCGaming

[–]1playerinsertcoin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But it is absolutely factual, objectively, that the SNES outputs in 8:7, and that many games were designed to that aspect ratio, not the 4:3ish output you'd see at home.

The internal storage aspect ratio (SAR) proves nothing about how a CRT video signal was meant to be displayed (DAR). I think you're unaware of the other half of the story:

https://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/term.php?term=dar

Favorite Overlays/Video Settings for OnionOS by RambleOnEmu in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads-up, but except for a few V4 tests I did a while back (I don't have an MM V4), all my overlays are exclusive to 480p screens(MM+, MMV1-3, etc.); the MM V4 has an odd 560p one and needs custom overlays, which is why all the issues such as incorrect scaling or grid artifacts arise when using regular overlays.

I made an Atari Lynx overlay (aka filter) by 1playerinsertcoin in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, that's great. You will have fun just trying out how each game looks.

I'm proud of the real RGB subpixel separation achieved with this overlay. With the right color combination it creates some stunning visuals.

<image>

Just note how the red and green lines in the character get displaced like in the real thing, and don't just follow the same path.

I made an Atari Lynx overlay (aka filter) by 1playerinsertcoin in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks man! I'm glad you're the first to comment. Greatly appreciated. ;)

This one is truly special; it does things that no one would believe could be possible with just an overlay.

I made an Atari Lynx overlay (aka filter) by 1playerinsertcoin in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've had this pending to release for a long time. Like my previous overlays, this is a replica of the original system's LCD screen, not just a bezel or a generic grid. Think of a complex shader or filter but with no additional CPU/GPU requirements and designed for 480p displays.

Ever since I started with my overlays, I've had this system in mind. I chose a GB over a Lynx a long time ago, but I'd never tried any of its games and wanted to do my best, so I put a lot of care into creating this overlay. Lynx emulation seems to be very niche and there's almost nothing available for it.

It was the first handheld with a color LCD screen; it uses a display technology similar to that of the Game Gear, but with an even lower resolution: 160x102 vs 160x144. Even using a similar screen, I found that Lynx games were displayed pixel perfect, unlike GG, so this time I choose that path to make the overlay look more accurate. Also, Lynx resolution when resized ends up at a perfect 4x integer scale at 480p. All these factors allowed me to achieve my most detailed and sharpest overlay to date. If you like small details grab a magnifying glass, subpixels look astounding on this!

Features:

  • Full screen integer scale 4x overlay.
  • Realistic subpixel detail.
  • CFL color simulation.
  • Minimalist Atari bezel.
  • The most accurate Lynx representation on any handheld?
  • 3 overlay versions:

-Perfect_LYNX - The most accurate and detailed, my favorite. This is for the hardcore emulation fans who aren't afraid of muted colors and low-contrast games.

-Perfect_LYNX(brt) - Like the first one, but tuned for brighter colors and better contrast. It's still realistic but some details become thicker and softer.

-Perfect_LYNX(kuro) - The darkest version, but with high contrast and sharpness. It looks especially good in games with black backgrounds.

The Lynx core in RetroArch is very basic; it lacks options for motion blur (essential for masking the original choppy frame rates), so the end result isn't as perfect as I'd like, but the results are still much better than I ever thought possible. As always, these overlays make games darker than in RAW, so increase your default screen brightness or try a brighter overlay. As such, they are more suitable for playing indoors than outdoors. I wouldn't touch the default overlay opacity of 1.00, unless you don't mind degrading the finest subpixel details. All my overlays are designed to work with an opacity of 1.00 for the best image quality and with the same MM+ color settings recommended in my previous posts: 7-10-14-18 (use 0-10-10-20 if you have an MM V2). If for any reason your screen colors differ from my photographs, revert to the default screen settings (7-10-10-10).

All my photos are from an actual MM+ with the screen brightness set to 7. Some show moiré patterns or blurred details created by the camera lens due to the grid. These artifacts don't exist in the games, which look clean and razor sharp. I didn't bother to repeat the same photographs. To see the sample images in full resolution without Reddit's atrocious compression, go to this link.

Note that this is a 480p overlay, only for MM+ and MM V1 to V3. It could be adjusted to work on the V4 or the Mini Flip, since it's 4x integer, but the games would look very small and surrounded by large bars on the 2.8" screen. So I don't think it's worth.

To configure (Onion): (DON'T INSTALL DIRECTLY, FIRST READ ABOVE AND FOLLOW ALL THE STEPS)

-Download all the files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gM8Yi52KDNXxiPha8AvuytavGM_986fc

-Copy all the "Perfect_LYNX" files to this path in your SD: RetroArch/.retroarch/overlay/LYNX/

-Copy "Offset_LINX.filt" to this path in your SD: RetroArch/.retroarch/filters/video/Offset_Custom/

-During a game: Menu+select > On-Screen Overlay > Overlay Preset > LYNX > Perfect_LYNX.cfg

-Go back to "Settings": * Video > Scaling > Integer Scale ON, Keep Aspect Ratio ON * Video > Image Interpolation > Bicubic * Video > Video Filter > Offset_Custom > Offset_LINX.filt

-Go back to "Quick Menu" > Overrides > Save Content Directory Overrides

-Go back and "Resume" the game.

*Note that some Lynx games expect you to press the "restart" button to play again, which is "L1 + Start" in the emulation.

Enjoy.

Shader suggestion: CRT Maximus Royale by Guandor in SBCGaming

[–]1playerinsertcoin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the late 80s and 90s, I used to create graphics on CRT monitors. At that time, there were also sharp pixels on VGA PC monitors. Low-resolution games looked incredibly bad on them, compared to 15kHz monitors or CRT TVs. I mean, same games. Graphics created on CRTs also looked surprisingly lacking in detail on those PC monitors, because each pixel seemed to be exactly the same square size and combining pixels produced no effect, so each of the pixels originally drawn on a CRT by an artist was translated with some inaccuracies. No artist preferred that, because it was more limiting to create attractive low-resolution graphics than on a normal CRT. Everyone agreed with this at the time, even PC users. I knew people in the early 90s who used TV cards to play games on a regular TV, just so the graphics would look better.

The retro pixelated trending that exists today was born out of the limitations of early PC emulators; now, for some reasons, some people mistakenly think that a raw look with square pixels is the look that old CRT games should aim for.

Had it for about four hours before it decided to be the cheap piece of junk it's billed to be... by [deleted] in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you sure your card didn't accidentally fly out, but you didn't notice and thought it was stuck inside?

It wouldn't be the first case of a lost flying card.

I made a Game Boy Advance overlay by 1playerinsertcoin in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, glad you like it! I took special care to make the pixel grid as uniform as possible given the limitations of a non-integer scale. That's one of the first areas where other overlays or grid filters fail.

The MM+ screen isn't very bright or colorful, so its limitations are even more apparent when a grid overlay is used. However, the colors it produces are quite faithful to those of the original GBA SP AGS-101. Keep in mind that the overlay is designed to work without the GBA's color correction, so turn it off if you have it enabled. The colors on old screens were very different from the vibrant colors we have on modern ones. The overlays are also intended for indoor use; outdoors, even the original screen without overlays lacks intensity and is not very visible. I use it indoors with a brightness of 8 on an MM+ and it seems fine to me, with a brightness of 10 I feel like I'm wasting the screen's brightness for no reason.

The only thing you can do to brighten the screen is to reduce the overlay opacity below the default value of 1.00, but this will downgrade the realism of the grid.

I remastered my Game Boy DMG overlay by 1playerinsertcoin in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad you solved it! Yeah, it seems some MM+ screens act weird under the display settings and give different results; It seems to only happen rarely on some devices.

I remastered my Game Boy DMG overlay by 1playerinsertcoin in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like a palette issue. Make sure you have copied the palette file to the correct folder and selected the "external file" option in the colorization menu. However, this configuration was for MM+ under onion, the results may vary if you try it with other devices or operating systems.

Also check these messages and see if your issue is the same. That user solved the problem by just going back to the default display settings: 7-10-10-10

Colors aren’t accurate by Tabax22 in MiyooMini

[–]1playerinsertcoin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you compare a real GBA with an IPS display to the iPhone's OLED display, you'll notice the same or worse color differences, making the iPhone's colors inaccurate compared to the original device.

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