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General Emulation Discussion

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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 50,806 CMod ✭✭✭✭Retr0gamer


    That's some sexy shadering.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,848 ✭✭✭Steve X2


    Retr0gamer wrote: »
    That's some sexy shadering.

    Cheers, still need to play around with the Beam min and max sigma config to get the scanlines a bit nicer, but I'm fairly happy with it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere




  • Registered Users Posts: 8,950 ✭✭✭Doge


    Steve X2 wrote: »
    Cheers, still need to play around with the Beam min and max sigma config to get the scanlines a bit nicer, but I'm fairly happy with it.

    Please share it with us peasants when you're done! (If you'll ever be done that is! ;))


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,848 ✭✭✭Steve X2


    Doge wrote: »
    Please share it with us peasants when you're done! (If you'll ever be done that is! ;))

    Here's where I am at the moment. Feel free to copy the code and save it as a .glslp file and test it out(make sure you're on the latest Retroarch build and have all shaders installed and updated). It's made for 240p content on 4k screens, so anything else might need some tweaking. Also, not sure if it'll run well on low end systems due to the amount of shader working going on.
    shaders = "12"
    shader0 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-first-pass-linearize-crt-gamma-bob-fields.glsl"
    filter_linear0 = "false"
    wrap_mode0 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input0 = "false"
    alias0 = "ORIG_LINEARIZED"
    float_framebuffer0 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer0 = "true"
    scale_type_x0 = "source"
    scale_x0 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y0 = "source"
    scale_y0 = "1.000000"
    shader1 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-scanlines-vertical-interlacing.glsl"
    filter_linear1 = "true"
    wrap_mode1 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input1 = "false"
    alias1 = "VERTICAL_SCANLINES"
    float_framebuffer1 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer1 = "true"
    scale_type_x1 = "source"
    scale_x1 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y1 = "viewport"
    scale_y1 = "1.000000"
    shader2 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-bloom-approx.glsl"
    filter_linear2 = "true"
    wrap_mode2 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input2 = "false"
    alias2 = "BLOOM_APPROX"
    float_framebuffer2 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer2 = "true"
    scale_type_x2 = "absolute"
    scale_x2 = "320"
    scale_type_y2 = "absolute"
    scale_y2 = "240"
    shader3 = "shaders_glsl/blurs/blur9fast-vertical.glsl"
    filter_linear3 = "true"
    wrap_mode3 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input3 = "false"
    alias3 = ""
    float_framebuffer3 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer3 = "true"
    scale_type_x3 = "source"
    scale_x3 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y3 = "source"
    scale_y3 = "1.000000"
    shader4 = "shaders_glsl/blurs/blur9fast-horizontal.glsl"
    filter_linear4 = "true"
    wrap_mode4 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input4 = "false"
    alias4 = "HALATION_BLUR"
    float_framebuffer4 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer4 = "true"
    scale_type_x4 = "source"
    scale_x4 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y4 = "source"
    scale_y4 = "1.000000"
    shader5 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-mask-resize-vertical.glsl"
    filter_linear5 = "true"
    wrap_mode5 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input5 = "false"
    alias5 = ""
    float_framebuffer5 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer5 = "false"
    scale_type_x5 = "absolute"
    scale_x5 = "64"
    scale_type_y5 = "viewport"
    scale_y5 = "0.062500"
    shader6 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-mask-resize-horizontal.glsl"
    filter_linear6 = "false"
    wrap_mode6 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input6 = "false"
    alias6 = "MASK_RESIZE"
    float_framebuffer6 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer6 = "false"
    scale_type_x6 = "viewport"
    scale_x6 = "0.062500"
    scale_type_y6 = "source"
    scale_y6 = "1.000000"
    shader7 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-scanlines-horizontal-apply-mask.glsl"
    filter_linear7 = "true"
    wrap_mode7 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input7 = "false"
    alias7 = "MASKED_SCANLINES"
    float_framebuffer7 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer7 = "true"
    scale_type_x7 = "viewport"
    scale_x7 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y7 = "viewport"
    scale_y7 = "1.000000"
    shader8 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-brightpass.glsl"
    filter_linear8 = "true"
    wrap_mode8 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input8 = "false"
    alias8 = "BRIGHTPASS"
    float_framebuffer8 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer8 = "true"
    scale_type_x8 = "viewport"
    scale_x8 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y8 = "viewport"
    scale_y8 = "1.000000"
    shader9 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-bloom-vertical.glsl"
    filter_linear9 = "true"
    wrap_mode9 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input9 = "false"
    alias9 = ""
    float_framebuffer9 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer9 = "true"
    scale_type_x9 = "source"
    scale_x9 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y9 = "source"
    scale_y9 = "1.000000"
    shader10 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-bloom-horizontal-reconstitute.glsl"
    filter_linear10 = "true"
    wrap_mode10 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input10 = "false"
    alias10 = ""
    float_framebuffer10 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer10 = "true"
    scale_type_x10 = "source"
    scale_x10 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y10 = "source"
    scale_y10 = "1.000000"
    shader11 = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/src/crt-royale-geometry-aa-last-pass.glsl"
    filter_linear11 = "true"
    wrap_mode11 = "clamp_to_border"
    mipmap_input11 = "false"
    alias11 = ""
    float_framebuffer11 = "false"
    srgb_framebuffer11 = "false"
    scale_type_x11 = "viewport"
    scale_x11 = "1.000000"
    scale_type_y11 = "viewport"
    scale_y11 = "1.000000"
    parameters = "crt_gamma;lcd_gamma;levels_contrast;halation_weight;diffusion_weight;bloom_underestimate_levels;bloom_excess;beam_min_sigma;beam_max_sigma;beam_spot_power;beam_min_shape;beam_max_shape;beam_shape_power;beam_horiz_filter;beam_horiz_sigma;beam_horiz_linear_rgb_weight;convergence_offset_x_r;convergence_offset_x_g;convergence_offset_x_b;convergence_offset_y_r;convergence_offset_y_g;convergence_offset_y_b;mask_type;mask_sample_mode_desired;mask_specify_num_triads;mask_triad_size_desired;mask_num_triads_desired;aa_subpixel_r_offset_y_runtime;aa_cubic_c;aa_gauss_sigma;geom_mode_runtime;geom_radius;geom_view_dist;geom_tilt_angle_x;geom_tilt_angle_y;geom_aspect_ratio_x;geom_aspect_ratio_y;geom_overscan_x;geom_overscan_y;border_size;border_darkness;border_compress;interlace_bff;interlace_1080i"
    crt_gamma = "2.500001"
    lcd_gamma = "2.200000"
    levels_contrast = "0.937500"
    halation_weight = "0.000000"
    diffusion_weight = "0.000000"
    bloom_underestimate_levels = "0.700000"
    bloom_excess = "0.000000"
    beam_min_sigma = "0.025000"
    beam_max_sigma = "0.200000"
    beam_spot_power = "0.330000"
    beam_min_shape = "2.000000"
    beam_max_shape = "4.000000"
    beam_shape_power = "0.250000"
    beam_horiz_filter = "0.000000"
    beam_horiz_sigma = "0.350000"
    beam_horiz_linear_rgb_weight = "1.000000"
    convergence_offset_x_r = "0.000000"
    convergence_offset_x_g = "0.000000"
    convergence_offset_x_b = "0.000000"
    convergence_offset_y_r = "0.000000"
    convergence_offset_y_g = "0.000000"
    convergence_offset_y_b = "0.000000"
    mask_type = "1.000000"
    mask_sample_mode_desired = "0.000000"
    mask_specify_num_triads = "0.000000"
    mask_triad_size_desired = "3.000000"
    mask_num_triads_desired = "480.000000"
    aa_subpixel_r_offset_y_runtime = "0.000000"
    aa_cubic_c = "0.500000"
    aa_gauss_sigma = "0.500000"
    geom_mode_runtime = "0.000000"
    geom_radius = "2.000000"
    geom_view_dist = "2.000000"
    geom_tilt_angle_x = "0.000000"
    geom_tilt_angle_y = "0.000000"
    geom_aspect_ratio_x = "432.000000"
    geom_aspect_ratio_y = "329.000000"
    geom_overscan_x = "1.000000"
    geom_overscan_y = "1.000000"
    border_size = "0.010000"
    border_darkness = "2.000000"
    border_compress = "2.500000"
    interlace_bff = "0.000000"
    interlace_1080i = "0.000000"
    textures = "mask_grille_texture_small;mask_grille_texture_large;mask_slot_texture_small;mask_slot_texture_large;mask_shadow_texture_small;mask_shadow_texture_large"
    mask_grille_texture_small = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/TileableLinearApertureGrille15Wide8And5d5SpacingResizeTo64.png"
    mask_grille_texture_small_linear = "true"
    mask_grille_texture_small_wrap_mode = "repeat"
    mask_grille_texture_small_mipmap = "false"
    mask_grille_texture_large = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/TileableLinearApertureGrille15Wide8And5d5Spacing.png"
    mask_grille_texture_large_linear = "true"
    mask_grille_texture_large_wrap_mode = "repeat"
    mask_grille_texture_large_mipmap = "true"
    mask_slot_texture_small = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/TileableLinearSlotMaskTall15Wide9And4d5Horizontal9d14VerticalSpacingResizeTo64.png"
    mask_slot_texture_small_linear = "true"
    mask_slot_texture_small_wrap_mode = "repeat"
    mask_slot_texture_small_mipmap = "false"
    mask_slot_texture_large = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/TileableLinearSlotMaskTall15Wide9And4d5Horizontal9d14VerticalSpacing.png"
    mask_slot_texture_large_linear = "true"
    mask_slot_texture_large_wrap_mode = "repeat"
    mask_slot_texture_large_mipmap = "true"
    mask_shadow_texture_small = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/TileableLinearShadowMaskEDPResizeTo64.png"
    mask_shadow_texture_small_linear = "true"
    mask_shadow_texture_small_wrap_mode = "repeat"
    mask_shadow_texture_small_mipmap = "false"
    mask_shadow_texture_large = "shaders_glsl/crt/shaders/crt-royale/TileableLinearShadowMaskEDP.png"
    mask_shadow_texture_large_linear = "true"
    mask_shadow_texture_large_wrap_mode = "repeat"
    mask_shadow_texture_large_mipmap = "true"
    
    
    


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    Thanks for sharing Steve. I'm planning on buying an LG CX next year, so I'll look forward to seeing what the above config looks like on that


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭bmorrissey


    Anyone here know is a WiiU is worth investing in for emulation? I heard it can be hacked pretty easilly??


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 50,806 CMod ✭✭✭✭Retr0gamer


    bmorrissey wrote: »
    Anyone here know is a WiiU is worth investing in for emulation? I heard it can be hacked pretty easilly??

    Honestly just better off getting a raspberry pi.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭bmorrissey


    Retr0gamer wrote: »
    Honestly just better off getting a raspberry pi.

    I have a PI already, it would more be so that i could have all emulated systems and something to play wii and wiiu games all on one system. I have other needs for the PI at the moment.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 50,806 CMod ✭✭✭✭Retr0gamer


    Get another pi then :)

    WiiU emulation is just based off the same emulators that were on the Wii and my experience was they were pretty awful. There's loads of really annoying issues with resolution, the Wii supports all old console resolutions but the emulators are pretty lazy ports that only target standard widescreen resolutions. Doesn't sound like an issue but it pretty much ruins most games for me as you get these awful scrolling artifacts whenever the screen starts to scroll vertically. Plenty of compatibility issues as well. MAME is complete garbage on it and the rest of the emulators favour speed over accuracy and are old ports of older high level emulators. I just gave up as it wasn't worth it and the only good emulation on the wii was the SCUMMVM port that can be used with the wiimote.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭bmorrissey


    Retr0gamer wrote: »
    Get another pi then :)

    WiiU emulation is just based off the same emulators that were on the Wii and my experience was they were pretty awful. There's loads of really annoying issues with resolution, the Wii supports all old console resolutions but the emulators are pretty lazy ports that only target standard widescreen resolutions. Doesn't sound like an issue but it pretty much ruins most games for me as you get these awful scrolling artifacts whenever the screen starts to scroll vertically. Plenty of compatibility issues as well. MAME is complete garbage on it and the rest of the emulators favour speed over accuracy and are old ports of older high level emulators. I just gave up as it wasn't worth it and the only good emulation on the wii was the SCUMMVM port that can be used with the wiimote.

    Cool, thanks a million, may just get the second PI if thats the case, much appreciated


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    bmorrissey wrote: »
    I have a PI already, it would more be so that i could have all emulated systems and something to play wii and wiiu games all on one system. I have other needs for the PI at the moment.

    The only solution to having absolutely everything in one box, its a small living room friendly pc that has reasonable specs. If that's not an option, then compromises will have to be made. Retr0 is very correct in what he says below here....the Wii/Wii U emulators are usually based off ancient releases, and will likely not be very accurate at all.

    I'm not really a proponent of Raspberry Pi emulation myself. There's a HUGE difference in playability & visuals between the usual Pi filled with 5k roms...and something with a bit more horspepower. Granted I've not yet tried the Pi 4, seemingly that's able to utilise run ahead. If you can go the small PC route, that's the rolls royce solution when it comes to emulation.
    Retr0gamer wrote: »
    Get another pi then :)

    WiiU emulation is just based off the same emulators that were on the Wii and my experience was they were pretty awful. There's loads of really annoying issues with resolution, the Wii supports all old console resolutions but the emulators are pretty lazy ports that only target standard widescreen resolutions. Doesn't sound like an issue but it pretty much ruins most games for me as you get these awful scrolling artifacts whenever the screen starts to scroll vertically. Plenty of compatibility issues as well. MAME is complete garbage on it and the rest of the emulators favour speed over accuracy and are old ports of older high level emulators. I just gave up as it wasn't worth it and the only good emulation on the wii was the SCUMMVM port that can be used with the wiimote.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭bmorrissey


    Inviere wrote: »
    The only solution to having absolutely everything in one box, its a small living room friendly pc that has reasonable specs. If that's not an option, then compromises will have to be made. Retr0 is very correct in what he says below here....the Wii/Wii U emulators are usually based off ancient releases, and will likely not be very accurate at all.

    Fair enough, balls to the PC option, dont have the space, im only looking for something outside of my PSP to emulate the basics like snes, nes etc. And the addition of the wii/wii U games as a bonus feat.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 50,806 CMod ✭✭✭✭Retr0gamer


    bmorrissey wrote: »
    Fair enough, balls to the PC option, dont have the space, im only looking for something outside of my PSP to emulate the basics like snes, nes etc. And the addition of the wii/wii U games as a bonus feat.

    Have you seen the mini atx cases? My previous PC build was a top of the range mini ATX build that was more powerful than the current gen consoles. You can make a really nice cheap PC in a very tiny and smart little box these days.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭bmorrissey


    Retr0gamer wrote: »
    Have you seen the mini atx cases? My previous PC build was a top of the range mini ATX build that was more powerful than the current gen consoles. You can make a really nice cheap PC in a very tiny and smart little box these days.

    No i havent, but after looking them up im interested now


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    bmorrissey wrote: »
    No i havent, but after looking them up im interested now

    To be more accurate, it's m-itx cases you need to be looking at. You can get some pretty small cases that will pack a LOT of punch inside. I use a Thermaltake Core V1 & you'd swear it was designed with Ikea Kallax in mind....an absolute perfect fit. You can go even smaller than those too, but keep airflow/cooling in mind.

    If all you want are the basics though, I suppose the best 'bang for buck' approach would be a Pi4


  • Registered Users Posts: 30,123 ✭✭✭✭Star Lord


    An Intel NUC could be a good space-saving option too. Won't get the power of a full system, but can do amazing things with a tiny system.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    Star Lord wrote: »
    An Intel NUC could be a good space-saving option too. Won't get the power of a full system, but can do amazing things with a tiny system.

    Absolutely, they'd be head & shoulders above a Pi or equivalent.


  • Registered Users Posts: 30,123 ✭✭✭✭Star Lord


    Unfortunately, they know that, and charge for the privilege. Still, if you want near-desktop levels of performance in as small a space as possible, they're hard to beat.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,973 ✭✭✭Chris_Heilong


    bmorrissey wrote: »
    I have a PI already, it would more be so that i could have all emulated systems and something to play wii and wiiu games all on one system. I have other needs for the PI at the moment.

    Get an Nvidia Shield, I have a wii but I play more wii stuff on my sheild as it is an all in one, Dreamcast emulator is good also.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,215 ✭✭✭KeRbDoG


    Another option/reason for some to buy an XBox Series S :)

    MVG suggests the console with its Dev mode will becoming an emulation beast


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    ^^ He's been raving about the Series S for a while now yeah. I'm still not sold on it. It's SEVERELY limited by the 500GB ssd, so you'd imagine having to upgrade that to 1TB puts you dangerously close to Series X money...which is a far superior console in every respect. Couple that with being tied into the MS ecosystem for purchases...it'll make it an expensive console to buy games for (outside of GamePass Ultimate).

    The Series S makes a LOT of sense on paper...I just think in the real world, the extra price of the Series X will pay for itself over its lifetime, with the larger space, the disc drive for used games, and it's far more futureproof as a console.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,950 ✭✭✭Doge


    Inviere wrote: »
    ^^ He's been raving about the Series S for a while now yeah. I'm still not sold on it. It's SEVERELY limited by the 500GB ssd, so you'd imagine having to upgrade that to 1TB puts you dangerously close to Series X money...which is a far superior console in every respect. Couple that with being tied into the MS ecosystem for purchases...it'll make it an expensive console to buy games for (outside of GamePass Ultimate).

    The Series S makes a LOT of sense on paper...I just think in the real world, the extra price of the Series X will pay for itself over its lifetime, with the larger space, the disc drive for used games, and it's far more futureproof as a console.


    Guess it depends on your outlook.

    Its an attractive option even if you solely wanted to use it as an Emulation box.
    300 quid for something that powerful in that form factor is hard to beat.

    If they're able to harness the power of the GPU and get shaders working well it will probably be more appealing than running a box with a Ryzen APU or Intel equivalent.
    (You're not going to be using dedicated graphics cards in something that would rival its form factor.)

    The only con really is being tied to linux emulators, and retroarch as opposed to running whatever OS and emulators you want on a mini PC.



    Its nice to have a new option though that doesn't need a DIY build on the hardware side.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    True enough, as an emulation only box, it would seem a pretty attractive offering. Like you say, the con being having to use RetroArch as a frontend...but again, it's gonna be a hard challenge to equal the equivalent pc hardware for that price.

    As an actual Xbox though, its initial price is very attractive, but the hamstrung storage space nukes that almost immediately.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,950 ✭✭✭Doge


    Can you load ROMs from an external drive?


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    Doge wrote: »
    Can you load ROMs from an external drive?

    I've no idea. I'd imagine RetroArch is running in some type of sandboxed environment, & therefore not sure how much access it has to things like USB.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,994 ✭✭✭Shapey Fiend


    I've got a Pi2 and wired 360 controller. Lag is horrendous.

    Configuring emulators, particularly RetroArch, makes me wanna cry. Is getting a Pi 4 and a prebuilt image the easiest option? Is there a mini PC or Nvidia Shield equivalent somewhere if I go digging about?


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    I've got a Pi2 and wired 360 controller. Lag is horrendous.

    Configuring emulators, particularly RetroArch, makes me wanna cry. Is getting a Pi 4 and a prebuilt image the easiest option? Is there a mini PC or Nvidia Shield equivalent somewhere if I go digging about?

    What's going wrong for you with RetroArch? It gets a lot of flak for being not very user friendly, but it really isn't difficult at all. Plenty of help here of needed


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 50,806 CMod ✭✭✭✭Retr0gamer


    So I decided to give PPSSPP a go again.

    If you remember the emulator had horrendous sound issues last time I tried it.

    Well There's been 3 updates since I last tried and it seems to have sorted those sound issues out.

    In the mean time I've given up on playing FF Tactics on the emulator as I got it for android and its a great conversion.

    But it does mean I can finally play Tactics Ogre on a system were I'm likely to stick with it and beat.

    The bad news is.... where am I going to get the 200 hours to beat this monster of a game!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭Inviere


    I know it's more hardware emulation/simulation, but interesting times ahead for Mister

    https://twitter.com/sentientsixp/status/1356831344966463490?s=21


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