TBH, I really wish someone would write a decent CRT filter for art software. I still see a lot of pixel artists not fully understanding how stuff looked back in the day and thinking sprites with stray pixels have errors when, in fact, they were essential for the presentation of things like lighting.
Look, CRTs are hard to come by and I'm the only weirdo I know with multiple working units at the ready. #RetroTVFX is an excellent tool for Unity, but we need more like it elsewhere.
Retro Graphics
Retro graphics are something I've adamantly defended since long before it was cool, and indeed essentially ever since LCD replaced CRT. First, it was "but what we have now is BETTER." Then, it became a matter of a flood of thinly-masked laziness that no one seemed to care about. Later, it became a matter of people having simply forgotten how everything looked. F
https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/retro-graphics/
@devurandom Possible in Unity as long as #RetroTVFX exists or can be extended to standard C#. Best I've seen.
Otherwise DOSBox has a pretty good filter for the rgb2x setting, but it darkens things quite a bit and best applies to a computer monitor rather than a TV. No idea what the license is for that piece, but it's still nice.
We have yet to perfectly recapture the warm glow of a real CRT, but it makes me happy people are actually starting to *get* it and make good strides.
Final Fantasy Remasters Reignite Controversies Over Pixel Art - VICE
https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/qj83yp/final-fantasy-remasters-reignite-controversies-over-pixel-art
This has some excellent examples of CRT output and the difference it makes in pixel art. #RetroTVFX remains the most faithful solution I've seen.
CRT is not just blurring; it's blending and other complex interactions.
Since I haven't talked #GameDev in a bit, I'm going to reiterate that if you're doing retro, take the time to understand what retro actually looked like. #DOSBox has the rgb2x and rgb3x options, which go a long way toward showing how it used to look, though it's not perfect and can't replicate the glow of a CRT.
#RetroTVFX is an excellent Unity option that more or less emulates what a CRT does and is *incredibly* authentic. Highly recommend. Actually made me cry because the maker *gets it*.
@dosnostalgic Much appreciated. I had someone ask about it because of #RetroTVFX for Unity and whether it would give the effect. That was years ago, but it just kinda came to mind when I saw it.
Maybe someone will hit the tag and figure something out. You never know. :)
I guess here's a list of my #GameDev tools:
Art - #PaintDotNet
MIDI - #AnvilStudio
WAV - #Pxtone
Audio - #Audacity
Programming - #Unity and #IKVM, #Eclipse, #VisualStudio (tools), #NotepadPlusPlus
Low-poly 3D environments - #Crocotile3D
Scriptwriting - #Trelby
CRT shaders - #RetroTVFX
NES sound - various, as it's always evolving, but #NTRQ, #FamiTracker, and #FCEUltra
GB sound - #LittleSoundDJ and #BGB
All of this is free software.
CRT testing - real CRT hardware via PS3 gallery or PC
Browsing through the code has done a LOT to calm me down. It somehow seems to be missing some pieces, but I don't know how important they are.
It's entirely possible I have an outdated version, too. I may need to re-download it. But so far I've found some great stuff! CRT hum audio files, sun reflection, and even a PS1 shader! #RetroTVFX really does have a ton going for it!
Sorry for all the politics lately. I'm going to kick off a #Unity test project to try to get #RetroTVFX working for myself. I'm happy with what I've seen from others, but haven't gotten my own two hands dirty with it yet and want to change that.
Nothing fancy to start, just something to display an image for now. I'll integrate my other tools later. TBH C# is one of my top 2 languages, but Unity is new to me. I expect to learn a lot with this. Especially how much I have to learn. XD
bluestarultor
Blue Star Creations updates