Shaders and filters
Contents
File formats
- .cg - Cg shader. Spec: Cg shader spec.
- .shader - XML/GLSL shader
- .filter - Works in old bsnes and RetroArch. Not current Higan. Filters from bsnes v82 and below work in RetroArch.
- .cgp - Meta shader. Can stack several .cg files on top of one another.
- .glsl/.glslp - Same as .cg and .cgp, except using GLSL instead of Cg. Intended to replace the .shader spec in RetroArch.
Emulators
List of emulators and what shaders they use.
Name | Shader file types | Notes |
---|---|---|
RetroArch | .cg, | .shader deprecated in current RetroArch. |
Dosbox | .fx | Only on special builds such as SVN Daum |
Higan | ? | . shader Removed in future higan releases, |
MAME | .fx | |
OpenEMU | .cg, | |
Snes9x | .cg, | |
Project64 | .fx | Only with a custom Rice Video plugin |
Types
CRT Shaders
- Main article: CRT Shaders
These replicate aperture grille CRTs, which have sharp images and strong scanlines. If you find that this doesn't look a damn thing like your old TV, it's probably because you owned a shadow-mask style CRT, which has less noticeable scanlines (the easiest way to tell the difference is to feel the curve of the screen; aperture grilles only curve horizontally if at all). Unfortunately, shadow masks require resolutions of upwards of 3000x4000 to emulate accurately, so all we have for the time being are aperture grille shaders.
NTSC Filters
These replicate the cables used to connect the system to the TV. They vary in quality, with the lowest being RF, then composite, then s-video and RGB (scart) being the highest quality. They are created by blargg. They are in .filter format.
GameBoy Shader
This .cgp shader replicates the dot matrix screen of a Game Boy, complete with the ghosting problems to reproduce certain visual effects. Made by Harlequin. Requires RetroArch.
Downloads
.cg shaders
https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders
http://www.emucr.com/2013/04/snes9x-cg-shaders-pack-20130427.html
.filter files
Win32 Win64 Linux32 Linux64 MacOS