One screenshot, three questions.

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Newtype
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One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Newtype »

Hi! I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who worked on the patch and to all the people who are helping on this forum.

System Specs

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2x 2.20GHZ
Memory: 2GB
Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP3
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT 256mb

Emulation

Emulator: ePSXe v1.7.0
GPU Plugin: P.E.Op.S. Windows Soft GPU Version 1.18b
SPU Plugin: P.E.Op.S. DSound Audio SPU Version 1.9

Plugin Configurations

Image

Image

The Screenshot

Image

The Three Questions

1. I noticed that every time text appears on the screen (excluding dialogue subtitles), a weird graphical glitch happens, as show in the screenshot. I don't really know what it's called, but it's annoying. It happens for a fraction of a second, so taking this screenshot required skills beyond belief. It's a messed up vertical line that disturbs the image.

2. Are the dialogue subtitles supposed to be gray like in the screenshot? I saw on YouTube a video of someone who used the patch and his subs were white, not gray.

3. Is everything, including the subtitles, supposed to be very grainy like that?

Thanks for reading.
Last edited by Newtype on Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Snatcher42
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Snatcher42 »

1. I get that too, though did before the patch.
2. Dunno, but that's how they look for me.
3. Well it's a 320x240 game, so never gonna look great. I use 2xSai filtering at 640x480 to make things a little sharper, but it's a matter of taste.
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Artemio »

Try using the recommended emu and settings, that's what we got best results with.

Regarding it not looking nice, it is true video compression was not what is today and that it is a 320x240 game.. BUT it depends on what you use. This is how it looks on my 46" LCD on real hardware though an XRGB-3:

Image
(click for full photo of the screen)
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Frogacuda »

Yeah, certain frames in the movies appear corrupt, and this has nothing to do with the patch (and doesn't seem to be any different with different plugins either). I haven't tried it on real hardware, but it might just be like that.
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Snatcher42 »

Artemio wrote:Try using the recommended emu and settings, that's what we got best results with.
Isn't that what he's using? A newer version, but then I can't find P.E.Op.S. 1.13 (as listed in the readme) anywhere?
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Newtype
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Newtype »

Artemio wrote:Try using the recommended emu and settings, that's what we got best results with.
About those recommended settings, I never did find them. Where were they posted?
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Artemio »

Indeed, though maybe slowbeef made a mistake when he documented that. The file I have is 1.17.. but I must say that I mostly used hardware and PSP only. I only used the emu when I was working on the opening credits.

One thing he can try is not upscaling the game that much and in a number that is not a multiple, he is using 768 and the game is 240p, that is a 3.2 ratio.

The recommended settings are here:

ePSXe settings

(I prefer scanlines myself, as you can see on the pic above.. though those were hardware imposed)
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Newtype
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Newtype »

Alright. Sorry for the late reply, I was doing some exhaustive testing and this is the best I can do. I think it's good. I followed Artemio's advice and adjusted the resolution and I followed Snatcher42's advice for 2xSai filtering, which I do believe helps a little.

New Configuration

Image

Screenshot

Image
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Artemio »

For reference, this is how that same scene looks like on real hardware:

Image
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Newtype »

Here's what it looks like for me. 960x720, no shader effects.

Image
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Snatcher42 »

That looks pretty good, Newtype. I took my shot down because I want to change a few things. But you're running Windows XP, right? My problem is that Vista doesn't filter the image, so 2xSAI looks kinda blocky. To be honest, I know it's not officially supported, but I'm getting best results with Pete's OpenGL2's default filter. It even plays the end credits, albeit in a weird almost Star Wars like scroll, if you set framebuffer upload to full.
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Newtype
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Re: One screenshot, three questions.

Post by Newtype »

Ya, I have XP. Yours looked like mine, except you had scanlines turned on, which darkens the image. I tried scanlines too, but I didn't like it. I didn't see the point. 2xSai does help a little. I noticed the subs were a little less blocky when it's turned on. However, I don't know if it has a big impact on the image quality. For some reason, I find that Act 1 has a better image quality than the Prologue, but maybe it's just me.
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