Graphic shaders : 2xSai and others planned?
#1
Hello all,

I was wondering if some shaders were planned in order to have the games look better.

The one I have in mind is he 2xSai but there are many others that look good.

It would mostly benefit 2D games like Odin Sphere, and also enhance textures of 3D games.

Epsxe uses it, most 16 bit emulators feature it also.

Some additionnal links here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_art_s...algorithms

http://bob.allegronetwork.com/projects.html

http://scale2x.sourceforge.net/index.html

http://scale2x.sourceforge.net/snapshot1.html


http://www.barryharris.me.uk/

And just look at this screen : so many filters! Yeeeeeee.

http://www.barryharris.me.uk/files/barry/softfx.png
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#2
Most PCs can't play the emu without filters putting extra strain on the CPU and GPU Wink

That said, the latest GSDx has a new scaler filter (2x 3x and 4x) that look absolutely gorgeous and fix many graphic glitches as well as improve the general look of games. Unfortunately you have to compile it yourself as there is no publically compiled version available. That said, it's pretty resource intensive with most graphics card able to do 2x but 3x and 4x cause pretty decent slowdowns.
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#3
Anyone ever tried AA and scaling? Happen to have some screenshots?
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#4
Actually, we tried. 2xSAI and hq3x both look like crap on most PS2 games. Like as in really ugly crap. And it gets even uglier on games that do interlacing (which, unfortunately, many 2D-ish games that might have actually benefited from it happen to use interlacing).

On the bright side, Scale3x results were "ok" ... but was still crap compared to internal res upscaling. So the project never got finished, because there wasn't any point in finishing it.

Edit: these filters basically "rely" on three things that are true for PSX games but not true for PS2 games:

* Low res textures and low poly counts in 3D scenes.
* Limited use of lighting and texture effects in 2D scenes.
* Little or no anti-aliasing effects (either type).
Jake Stine (Air) - Programmer - PCSX2 Dev Team
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#5
Here are a couple of images to show how awesome the new scaler filter.

The first one is using GSDx 1398 with 1536x1344 (internal res of .hack//GU times 3)

The second one is the same thing, using GSDx 2085. Haven't taken the time to compile a new one lately, but it has the same horrible ghosting that all versions since 14xx something.

The third picture is GSDx 2085 BUT with the 3x scaler filter on. Notice it doesn't have the ghosting, but how much clearer the textures are. Specifically, look at Gaspard's chest/stomach tatoo and how clear the text is.


I couldn't get Anti-alaising to work with the scaler filter, but imo it's completely not necessary.

I haven't really tested the 4x filter, but I expect it even better... sadly, my 3850 chugs like a mofo on 4x and I can barely get 3x working on most games. Still, even 2x looks better than manually setting an internal res that's twice normal res.

(edit) Forgot to say, this filter isn't the best for 2d games obviously but it makes a huge difference in 3d ones.


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#6
Well thx a lot for the replies, this forum is in fact very active!

To make it short, this is my concern : I'm about to start playing Odin Sphere with Pcsx2 for many reasons (nicer screen, crisp graphics, better colors) but I don't have a clue if for such a 2D game something is possible to enhance the graphics.

Apparently 2xSai won't be possible and would mess up the graphics. Even if the res has been set to higher?

How can I enhance the 2D graphics with current (0.9.6) version of Pcsx2?

I would like to test GSDx new scale filter on Odin Sphere and post the pics, if anyody can send me the compiled version.

Too bad there isn't any screens of what looked Pcsx2 with the filters... Smile It would have been fun to see it ourselves!

(I have a Quad Q6600, 2Gb Ram, nvidia 8800GTX, 24" screen)
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#7
While Odin Sphere looks 2D in fact it's not. It's 3d rendered, so simply by changing the internal resolution with GSdx will make the game look way better than it normally would on the ps2 Wink
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#8
The fact is, almost all PS2 games are upscale-able. Even "real" 2D games like La Pucelle Tactics have high res textures internally (nearly 2x the display resolution of the PS2) that are scaled to fit the PS2 resolution. So when you change GSdx native res to something higher, it ends up looking much better than it would with a native res filter.
Jake Stine (Air) - Programmer - PCSX2 Dev Team
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#9
Humm I'm a little confused.

This is what I have put to get a little better graphics :

Resolution : 1920x1200
Renderer : Direct3D10 (Hardware)
Interlacing : none
Aspect Ratio : 4:3
D3D internal res : 1920 / 1200
Native : N
Texture filtering : Y
Xait vsync : Y
Edge anti-aliasing (AA1, sw-mode only) : Y
Enable output merger blur effect : Y

For some reason it still doesen't look right even if the graphics are a little burred and feel better, I explain :

The game is somehow stretched and I'm not sure initially the game is supposed to be so. (using F6 I tried the 3 modes, I suppose the 4:3 is the good one though)
I have two lines on the main screen, only a pixel high for both. It's not that terrible but it doesen't look perfect. Maybe it's emulation problem.
I get some slowdowns during the demo. I suppose the resolution is too heavy even for a good computer.

I run the game in 60Hz, and apparently the original resolution is 512x448 in that mode.
What shall I do?

Sorry guys but I'm feeling stupid in front of the parameters today... Sob.

I think only the weapon is in "3d" like in muramasa (Wii, same developper) because the higher the resolution is, the better the blue diamon of the girl's weapon looks neat and crisp. It was also the same in Princess Crown on saturn emulation, only the weapons seemed to benefit a higher resolution.
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#10
(11-16-2009, 03:53 AM)Koji Wrote: I couldn't get Anti-alaising to work with the scaler filter, but imo it's completely not necessary.

Working here, but it can be really slow depending on how high the scaling multiplier is.

3x Scaling and 4x AA make my 4870 cry.

I wonder if that's gonna change with time.
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