Comments on: DOSBox Shaders Comparison For Modern DOS Retro Gaming

By: Eric R. Krystof

Eric R. Krystof — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 20:11:32 +0000

In reply to sjogert.

Thanks for the comment, sjogert! Have you tried DOSBOX-X at all yet? I’ve switched over to that and they do have some nice shader support available, and it seems to be freshly maintained. https://dosbox-x.com Granted, it’s all manual, and while dosbox-x comes with shader examples (at least on the Windows build), there doesn’t seem to be a tool, but the dosbox-x UI does allow some selection of opengl shaders to quickly switch between them. Nevertheless, totally agree – Lemmings in particular just begs for a good shader – it looks so much better that way!

By: sjogert

sjogert — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 17:29:59 +0000

I’m on macOS and I’m deep in love with the OpenEmu shader called NTSC VCR, which is perfect for retro NES gaming and such, I am so much more engaged in the gameplay due to this visual effect.
Now I stumbled upon here trying to find something similar for DOS retro gaming. DOSBox CRT looks good to me, minus the actual CRT border indeed. Maybe that’s tweak able. Anyway, Windows only it seems. On Mac there was a DOSBox frontend called Boxer, which is sadly outdated now (32 bit only), but I’m looking for a tool where I can configure the games ones and then have a nice visual representation of my gaming options. That’s for example what I miss about RetroArch. I hate that interface. Personal tastes I’m sure, but I’ll keep looking. I saw the little discussion about Lemmings in the comments, and really want to play Lemmings through a good shader. Lemmings was huge back in the day. Anyway, nice to see this, and just dropping in to say yes, I agree, shaders matter! Retrogaming and emulation is nothing without good shaders. 😉

By: Eric R. Krystof

Eric R. Krystof — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 12:39:21 +0000

In reply to Baui. You're quite welcome, and I'm glad it helped get rid of those Chipmunks! That one definitely took a bit to find a fix for. :)

By: Baui

Baui — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 07:12:07 +0000

Thank you so much for this article. It gave me all information that I needed. Especially the Chipmunk issue would have driven me nuts if I wouldn’t have had your article. THANK YOU!

By: Eric R. Krystof

Eric R. Krystof — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 12:49:49 +0000

In reply to Jubsy. Thanks, Jubsy, and I'm glad you found the build! Good luck finding that six pack! :D

By: Jubsy

Jubsy — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 03:18:39 +0000

In reply to Eric R. Krystof. Your tweaks to lottes are great. Now I just need to find a 6-pack of whatever I was drinking last time I played these games.

By: Jubsy

Jubsy — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 02:39:12 +0000

In reply to Eric R. Krystof. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction! Not sure where I was trying to download from but I couldn't see that compiled build where I was. Appreciate it!

By: Eric R. Krystof

Eric R. Krystof — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 01:22:15 +0000

In reply to Jubsy.

Hi Jubsy,

I didn’t compile DosBox Optionals myself either – check out the github page and the releases tab for downloads you should be able to try out: https://github.com/MartyShepard/DOSBox-Optionals/releases – Download the .zip file instead of the src files (i.e. DOSBox.SVN.r4397.Optionals.Build.on.Dec.25.2020.183550.7z). I’ve not tried the most recent builds but that’s all I did – not to say you won’t have to understand dosbox configuration and such, but no compiling necessary on my end at least. As far as the curvature, I don’t recall easymode having as much curvature as lottes did, but those values are tweaked by editing those files from the Optionals download (under the dosbox/data/shaders directory after you unpack the zip). Hope that helps!

By: Jubsy

Jubsy — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 02:59:17 +0000

This is amazing. Unfortunately for me, I’m not a programmer. Is there a guide anywhere you could point me to get Optionals compiled and running? CRT-easymode is magic and I need it. How drastic is the curvature in the easymode shader?

By: Eric R. Krystof

Eric R. Krystof — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 21:42:14 +0000

In reply to Simone.

Hey Simone,

Glad you enjoyed the article! I’ve not looked into Tyrell’s shaders so I’ve not seen anything in regards to combine both that and DOSBox Optionals. The only thing I could think if you haven’t tried is looking at that VOGONS board and see if there’s anything that might move your search further. If you find anything out, let me know! I imagine it will be one of those ‘feel free to implement’ and compile and build your own things, but who knows.

-Krystof