CRT simulation (2014)
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CRT simulation (2014)
1–10 of 35 posts
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#2Why the motion trails? The Mario example doesn't have them and I can't recall any extreme motion trails from my days of playing console games on CRT TVs.
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#3I love these CRT shaders but have always wondered, has anyone thought about or worked on a physically accurate simulation of a CRT television? Something that takes a framebuffer as input and simulates the electric signals that control the magnets around the tube, how those magnets affect the electron beam, how the beam interacts with the shadowmask, etc. elements in the front of the tube, and finally how each individual phosphor on the screen is illuminated by the beam.
I wouldn't even worry about doing stuff in real time to start with, instead just focus on the most accurate physical simulation possible. Then use the learnings from the simulation to try to create more accurate shaders that any program could use for simulating CRT tubes.
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#4While this is technically awesome, I'd much, MUCH prefer to play without all the visual munging.
Nostalgia aside, CRTs didn't actually look that good originally. They weren't used for their visual effects, they were used because they were cheap and easy. Why would you actively make your content look shittier?
I suspect if you went back, and offered the people developing these games the option to play them on a modern display, without all the distortion and such, they'd much prefer it over the "CRT look".
At least, please, PLEASE let the player turn the effects off.
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#5I love these CRT shaders but have always wondered, has anyone thought about or worked on a physically accurate simulation of a CRT television? Something that takes a framebuffer as input and simulates the electric signals that control the magnets around the tube, how those magnets affect the electron beam, how the beam interacts with the shadowmask, etc. elements in the front of the tube, and finally how each individ…
Yes, they have. There are terminal emulators (Cathode) and a very accurate simulation as part of xscreensaver. See jwz's post about it - http://www.jwz.org/blog/2011/01/cathode-vintage-terminal-emu... - and a mirror of the file where it is implemented - https://github.com/danfuzz/xscreensaver/blob/master/hacks/an...
The comments in that C file show just how much attention to detail was made.
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#6This technique is very important for emulation and simulating the look of early games.
For example, the Genesis/Mega Drive did not support hardware alpha transparency. Many games (including the Sonic series) simulate the effect by alternating vertical lines, and relying on the "visual munging" of CRTs to produce a convincing effect. Here is a video that demonstrates the effect in Shinobi 3: https://youtu.be/YFOkbfpIlaY?t=2m52s
(You can also notice the stippled pattern in the pool of water to the right, used to produce the same effect.)
Another technique is the use of stippling to simulate smooth textures and surfaces. For example, this screenshot of the Super Metroid start screen looks pretty terrible by modern standards: http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/4527/1093273-...
This would have looked much more convincing on a CRT display. Without simulating CRT distortion, you are not getting the same visual experience one would have had when running the game on hardware it was designed for. For modern games looking to simulate this experience, using these techniques along with a CRT shader will be very effective at bringing back the home console experience of the 80s and 90s.
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#7While this is technically awesome, I'd much, MUCH prefer to play without all the visual munging. Nostalgia aside, CRTs didn't actually look that good originally . They weren't used for their visual effects, they were used because they were cheap and easy. Why would you actively make your content look shittier? I suspect if you went back, and offered the people developing these games the option to play them on a moder…
bashtian, I suggest that you disregard fake-name's criticism. Do whatever you think looks best to you, and stick with it.
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#8While this is technically awesome, I'd much, MUCH prefer to play without all the visual munging. Nostalgia aside, CRTs didn't actually look that good originally . They weren't used for their visual effects, they were used because they were cheap and easy. Why would you actively make your content look shittier? I suspect if you went back, and offered the people developing these games the option to play them on a moder…
Except developer totally used the CRTs limitations to their advantages for cool effects (transparency, more colors on screen than allowed, etc...), so having them enabled, while maybe not looking sharp, are how the game is actually supposed to look...
Look at the first post for a concrete example
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#9Why the motion trails? The Mario example doesn't have them and I can't recall any extreme motion trails from my days of playing console games on CRT TVs.
The screenshots are exaggerated; you didn't notice them because they lag by only about a frame. They did in fact exist, because it took time for the phosphors to lose their excitation.
Re: CRT simulation (2014)
#10While this is technically awesome, I'd much, MUCH prefer to play without all the visual munging. Nostalgia aside, CRTs didn't actually look that good originally . They weren't used for their visual effects, they were used because they were cheap and easy. Why would you actively make your content look shittier? I suspect if you went back, and offered the people developing these games the option to play them on a moder…
> Nostalgia aside, CRTs didn't actually look that good originally. They weren't used for their visual effects, they were used because they were cheap and easy. Why would you actively make your content look shittier?
For the same reason Quentin Tarantino is pouring much of his personal fortune into a movie theater that will run films in celluloid only. For the same reason vinyl is making a huge comeback. People think the shitty output is "richer", "warmer", and "more authentic"; and the better output is "cold" and "mechanical".
It's post hoc justification of nostalgia: people want to recreate the experience they had when they first saw a movie/listened to a record/played a game. They want the thrill back, or at least a reminder of it.
I'm guilty of this myself; when I run an xterm it's usually green (#7fff7f) on black or amber (#daa520, X11 color "goldenrod") on black, in a nice pixely font like Glass Tty VT220. Because I'm on a Unix system and want to feel the thrill of Unixing.