>>2711 @tripplejaz does Sonic CD stuff, making his own full 2d fan game that imitates the Toei/Maeda Sonic style from the opening

>>2712 Nice, I always liked that CD/OVA look, the fan game looks pretty cool too.

>>2092 Yo anon, how did you go about making that detailed height field?

https://github.com/JargeZ/ntscqt This is interesting, unlike most "VHS filters" this project seems to be much more interested in accuracy (check out the effects it can simulate at the bottom). Some of the demos look overcooked but you can probably dial in some pretty good results with a bit of effort.

While these works may fall in line with parody rather than replication, Neil Cicierega does an excellent job of doing the /retro/ style: https://invidious.fdn.fr/watch?v=L_cei19G3L4 This video in particular uses modern filming technology, but the sound design and script definitely seems to be aping /retro/ media: https://invidious.fdn.fr/watch?v=wjS3hxPiEts

>>2715 >how did you go about making that detailed height field? Using POV-Ray, naturally. ;-) Short version: generate a pattern in a separate scene, then render it once in grayscale to create the height field and once more in color to create the texture. Long version: You can easily create a height field from a noise texture, and POV-Ray can natively generate one for you. In a new scene, add a flat plane and apply a noisy texture to it. Adjust the camera and default ambient/diffuse values so the render looks like an image of regular 2D noise. #include "colors.inc" camera { location <0, 0, 6> right <4/3, 0, 0> look_at <0, 0, 0> } #default { finish { diffuse 0 ambient 1 } } plane { z, 0 pigment { bozo turbulence .5 color_map { [0 color White] [1 color Black] } } } This will be your height map; brighter areas will be elevated and darker areas will be closer to the ground. It doesn't have colors though... Thankfully the same noise texture can be reused to give the height field some color, all you have to do is replace the grayscale color map with one containing rock colors. plane { z, 0 pigment { bozo turbulence .5 omega .7 color_map { [0.0 color LightWood] [0.2/2 color Gold] [0.8/2 color Copper] [1.0/2 color IndianRed] } } } Notice the newly added "omega", one of the many modifiers for controlling the shape of the noise. This will make the colored texture look rougher to simulate a rocky surface. Consult the manual for the full list of texture modifiers and experiment with them to reach the texture that suits your purpose. Now the two noisy images can be combined, in a new scene, to create a nice terrain. Adding a wrinkly normal texture makes the terrain's surface even more believable. #include "colors.inc" camera { location <0, 2, -10> right <4/3, 0, 0> look_at <0, 2, -1> } light_source { <0, 2, -10> color White } #default { finish { diffuse .7 ambient .3 } } height_field { tga "height_map.tga" texture { pigment { image_map {tga "rocky.tga" once interpolate 2 map_type 0} rotate x*90 } normal {wrinkles .7 scale .02} } translate <-.5, -.5, -.5> scale <24, 6, 24> translate z*5 }

>>2728 >Using POV-Ray, naturally. ;-) Aha, very clever. Thanks anon.

>>2723 I've been on the lookout for an authentic VHS effect, so far only ntscQT and Blender VHS[1] come close. The former looks too exaggerated even with all the settings toned down, while the latter is way too subtle... I think a more accurate effect can be achieved if the input is somehow converted to a raw VHS signal and then "captured" by any of the available VHS digitization programs, rather than simply processed as a digital image with digital filters. [1] https://youtu.be/n-zZMiMCTYo

>>2731 If you really want that authentic look, you can record it to your own VHS tapes (all you have to do is get composite output into your VCR), run it through a few times (VHS tapes degrade on average about 2% each time you watch them) then get a composite to USB cable and run it back into your PC.

>>2731 Shame that ntscQT is exaggerated, I wonder if you can separate out certain effects and only use some of them as its own render pass and then finish processing in Blender? >if the input is somehow converted to a raw VHS signal According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS: >NTSC VHS is roughly equivalent to 333×480 pixels luma and 40×480 chroma resolutions As an analog format it's not quite so simple of course. Maybe a 2-step process with step 1 taking a 333x480 source (with 40x480 chroma sub-sampling) and applying the actual 'VHS filtering', then in step 2 converting that to a 240p composite-like image? >>2732 That is the best option but it would be nice to have a solution that doesn't rely on discontinued media and playback devices, for preservation purposes more than anything. Now that I think about it the Raspberry Pi has composite output, so that's one problem solved at least.

>>2733 recently came across a project that simulates CRT TVs with FFMPEG, don't know if it'd be of any use to you. https://github.com/makeworld-the-better-one/FFmpeg-CRT-transform

Something for the festive season, happy holidays anons, I hope you have a good one! Source: https://files.catbox.moe/x6nkbu.zip

>>2737 More POV-Ray goodness! Great render anon, this warms my heart. Will you make a neocities or similar to showcase your work?

>>2740 >Great render anon, this warms my heart. Rendering it will warm your computer too ;^) Thanks anon, glad I could bring the festivities. >Will you make a neocities or similar to showcase your work? That's a good idea, something to work on in the new year for sure.

>>2737 Saved.

Speaking of >>2731 and treating images as signals, I accidentally created a VHS "effect" by manipulating images as audio in Audacity. The process for it is very simple, it just takes some time since everything is done manually. The gist of it is basically converting an RGB image to LCh color space (1 black & white component + 2 color components), exporting each component as a raw data file, then importing each raw file into Audacity and resampling it into a lower sample rate (frequency). That's it. The resulting audio signal is then converted back to raw data, then back to an RGB image. The "effect" is enhanced by pre-processing the image, for example by converting to YUV420p color space and adding noise. The result is not perfect, but looks pretty darn good and is tuneable to a great degree. Shortcomings: - This "effect" only goes in one direction; horizontally. There are no vertical artifacts even though there should be. - The "ringing" artifacts around sharp edges propagate for too long. - While some color bleeding occurs, it's different from how color bleeding looks on VHS, and sometimes produces unwanted artifacts (see the orange/purple flowers). - Since the black & white and color components are completely separate, there's zero interference between them (i.e. no "dot crawl" effect). - ??? I'm not knowledgable in DSP at all, I was just messing around in Audacity. Maybe in the future I'll study the subject and be able to effectively address the shortcomings of this "effect"... Or maybe another anon can use this post as a starting point for a better approach. ;^)

>>2777 (lucky get) That's pretty great anon, nice find! >This "effect" only goes in one direction; horizontally. There are no vertical artifacts even though there should be. The easiest solution would be to rotate the image and do it again. >Since the black & white and color components are completely separate, there's zero interference between them (i.e. no "dot crawl" effect). You could probably process the image in raw RGB, anything that's been downsampled can be upsampled again (with various algorithms to choose from). >I'm not knowledgable in DSP at all, I was just messing around in Audacity. Well it's all just bytes in the end. There's all sorts of existing audio effects in various forms, the process could even be automated in a script with say imagemagick + sox for instance.

Shortly after posting I found a fix for the incorrect colors; using YCbCr color space! YCbCr is probably the closest to how VHS represents colors, the results are pretty much perfect without any unwanted artifacts. >>2778 >sox This is great, thank you! Not only is SoX faster to use than Audacity, it also has multiple resamplers (or resampler settings) that are much better suited for my needs. One resampler solves my problem with ringing artifacts by toning them down, and another resampler shifts the image slightly and produces natural looking color bleed. What a gold mine. >>There are no vertical artifacts >rotate the image and do it again. I tried that actually, but the results look bad and not like VHS at all. It must be something else... >You could probably process the image in raw RGB I'd like to avoid that as much as possible. In my current workflow I don't do any operations in RGB space, everything is done in YCbCr including noise addition. That being said, there's a plugin on Github[1] for a program called AviSynth that creates the "dot crawl" effect and nothing else. I might study it / use it in the future to achieve some interference between the signals. >There's all sorts of existing audio effects in various forms Agreed, there's still plenty of room for experimentation. One thing I discovered while playing in Audacity is that running an image through a low pass filter creates a "ghosting" effect, similar to 1910s-1920s video or extremely worn out VHS tapes. It's honestly quite interesting what you can do with images by processing them as audio! [1] https://github.com/rgm89git/dotcrawlplus

>>2779 >I tried that actually, but the results look bad and not like VHS at all. It must be something else... Hmm. By interpreting images as audio you're basically "unrolling" the data, so a 640x480 image becomes 307200x1, you end up losing a dimension which is why the operations are horizontal only. I can't think of an effective way around that, perhaps the horizontal and vertical passes need different parameters/effects? >there's a plugin on Github[1] for a program called AviSynth that creates the "dot crawl" effect and nothing else. Oh shit anon, looks like AviSynth might finally be available on Linux: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/405506-avisynth-now-natively-supported-in-ubuntu-linux https://github.com/AviSynth/AviSynthPlus That opens up so many possibilities, a treasure trove of effects and filters people have written over the years. >running an image through a low pass filter creates a "ghosting" effect That is cool. IIRC this images as audio technique is used a lot by glitch artists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGIwcPA1_34 Nice to see retro raytracing being given some exposure. Maybe we'll see more people giving it a try?

Fine-tuned the VHS effect and took it for a spin making a fake live album cover. While the album doesn't exist, the band and the concert are very much real! ;-) Source photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/driveangry3d/20643487332/in/album-72157655056726414/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/driveangry3d/20653383375/in/album-72157655056726414/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/driveangry3d/20464948400/in/album-72157655056726414/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/driveangry3d/20464764238/in/album-72157655056726414/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/driveangry3d/20030778784/in/album-72157655056726414/

>>2835 Nice! That's a stylish design. If you feel it's ready anon you should do a writeup on the effect, I think people will be very interested in having another option available to them.

>>2836 Thank you! >do a writeup I did write a draft explaining the process, you'll find it at the end of this post, but I don't think it'll be of much use to anyone. The process is still far from automated even with SoX doing the heavy lifting, it's barely usable as it is now for processing single images... A good alternative would be a proof-of-concept program, and as a matter of fact I'm currently writing one! It should be sufficiently automated as well as more accurate, so hopefully suitable for batch processing images or video frames. It's gonna take a while though, as some functions (e.g. color space conversion, noise generation) have to be implemented from scratch. I will post the program ITT when it's ready. Process draft: - Start with an RGB image that's 640 x 480. - Convert it to YCbCr BT.601 color space; for each pixel you'll get a Y value, Cb value, and Cr value. - Add noise to each of the Y/Cb/Cr channels, with a different seed for each channel. The noise should be at 1/2 resolution for the Y channel, and 1/4 resolution for the Cb/Cr channels. - Dump the raw Y/Cb/Cr values into three files; `y.raw` , `cb.raw` , `cr.raw` respectively. - Feed each file into SoX as raw unsigned 8-bit mono audio data, with a sample rate of 16k (any sample rate will do, just choose a large even number). - Resample `y.raw` to 1/2 sample rate (8k), and `cb.raw` and `cr.raw` to 1/4 sample rate (4k). - Resample all three files back up to the original sample rate (16k). - Convert the resampled Y/Cb/Cr values back to RGB. Notes: - The image is resampled row-by-row, so sharp vertical transitions in color will be preserved. You can work around this by slightly blurring the Cb/Cr channels in the vertical direction. - Since the Y/Cb/Cr channels are resampled separately there's zero interference between them i.e. no "rainbow artifacts" like in a real VHS. No workaround so far.

>>2838 >as a matter of fact I'm currently writing one! Sounds great! >some functions (e.g. color space conversion, noise generation) have to be implemented from scratch From a quick search it looks like ImageMagick has some color space facilities (it can definitely add noise plus various other filters) and has bindings in various languages. >channels are resampled separately there's zero interference between them Perhaps you could interweave the bytes, eg. y1,cb1,cr1,y2,cb2,cr2... then do a final resample from 48khz to 16khz and back to 48khz?

mkvhs has been released! https://pastebin.com/zHWvmqye A proof-of-concept program implementing the VHS effect seen in >>2835 and >>2779, now refined and released into the public domain. mkvhs is configurable through a set of options, letting you fine-tune noise, blur, colors...etc by simply editing a few numbers. Vid related showcases multiple configurations. Instructions to get started + FAQ are available at the top of the source file linked above. The program runs in the terminal / command prompt, and seems to run faster than both Blender VHS and ntscQT. Hope you like it anons. >>2840 >ImageMagick has some color space facilities I couldn't figure out how to use them haha :-D It was for the best though, as implementing the color space conversions myself allowed me to replicate the "washed out" colors of VHS, something that was not possible in existing programs (e.g. GIMP). >Perhaps you could interweave the bytes Tried that, no bueno. I'll just leave it be for now.

>>2852 This is looking pretty impressive. It would be nice if it could supplant those godawful "VHS" effects people are always using in YouTube videos.

>>2852 This is very cool, not too slow either, good job! My only initial suggestions are PNG support and a repo someplace to lure potential contributors (eg. Codeberg, Gitlab, Github). >allowed me to replicate the "washed out" colors of VHS Neato, looking at the options it looks quite flexible in general. >Tried that, no bueno Oh well, something will work eventually.

>>2852 Loving it. Here's a test with a oldskool demo thing from /sp/ As for suggestions I second >>2854

>>2852 Damn this is comfy as hell, amazing work anon. Can't believe how realistic it looks. >>2853 You know once this gets a little popular jewtubers will be all over it like flies on shit. >>2854 >My only initial suggestions are PNG support and a repo someplace to lure potential contributors Not OP but I've created my own fork of mkvhs and intend on adding PNG support soon-ish. If you have other suggestions post them ITT. My repo: https://git.creepercreep.fr/gillian885/mkvhs

>>2856 Thanks for adding it, should reduce storage for video frames. >If you have other suggestions post them ITT Arbitrary resolutions would be nice, from a quick 240p test the processing seems to work fine as is.

>>2852 It looks better than the alternatives but it still suffers from the same issue as the other VHS effects: you can clearly tell its fake. But tbf I dont think its possible to replicate the effect accurately without using a VCR. Webms related, Blade Runner 2049 recorded on a VHS

>>2854 >>2855 >>2856 Deeply honored to see mkvhs being used by anons, and with such good results too! Thank you all for the encouragement. I see there's already a fork of the code as well, this is very exciting and also quite a relief haha. Writing mkvhs has been a massive undertaking for me and I wasn't planning on maintaining it long term, so I'm glad that others are hacking the code and bringing mkvhs closer to being a full-fledged program rather than a simple proof-of-concept. >>2857 Recreating the blue marble in POV-Ray I see! Looking forward to the final render. :-) >Arbitrary resolutions mkvhs already supports changing the resolution in the source file so this shouldn't be an issue, however you'll need to also change the other parameters to get consistent results. For example when scaling down to 240p you should reduce the blur strength and resampling ratios, while tuning the noise levels to not overpower the tiny image... Changing the resolution from the default of 640 x 480 should be avoided if possible as that is the standard resolution of most VHS rips, and all other parameters of the program are tuned to work best with it so the output is as authentic as possible. >>2858 >you can clearly tell its fake Sorry to hear. The effect is not perfect by any means but I think the idea behind it is the closest thus far to how a real VHS works; by processing video as a signal rather than a digital stream of pixels... I'm not an expert on signal processing, so my hope is that by releasing mkvhs publicly I could pique the interest of someone who is an expert and encourage development of something better. Pics related compare real VHS footage to mkvhs output. Original digital video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haXvp8M9Cog Real VHS transfer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7g2iNntRgQ

>>2858 >>2859 Looking at the tape version the main differences seem to be: Heavy interlacing artifacts Bloom Noise profile (is VHS noise gamma noise?) General sharpness Analog media can vary wildly of course which is part of the problem (think of tapes with various static or curling artifacts), the ideal solution would be to simulate an actual player/recorder circuit (for example: https://github.com/iaddis/metalnes ) but that's a much more complex undertaking.

I've had some thoughts about where to go with the VHS effect, let me know what you think anons: - We need a baseline reference to recreate, that is a specific content reel (from digital sources) recorded to a specific tape format by a specific tape deck which is then captured with a specific capture card using specific software and settings. VHS captures online can potentially be from endless variations of hardware and software, which means we end up chasing a constantly moving target. With a baseline we can at least implement something that's accurate to a particular setup. - Each execution of the program should be equivalent to a single tape generation, in theory if we get the first pass right then subsequent processing should be accurate also. - Each part of the effect should be totally separate and toggle-able, by implementing artifacts separately we could eventually have a collection of presets for different decks and tapes, covering a broader range of visual styles. I have a deck somewhere but I need to check if it can record, if anyone has the kind of hardware we need (in addition we need something to get the video onto the tape, something with composite out like a Raspberry Pi would probably do) then do say so.

>>2860 >Heavy interlacing artifacts Those are digital actually. AFAIK TVs automatically deinterlace 480i footage, and transfers to digital should deinterlace the video during/after capture, so you're not supposed to see any interlacing on a real VHS. >General sharpness VHS is surprisingly sharp provided the source is of high enough quality, but most people only remember second/third generation VHS and recorded news broadcasts which are blurry to begin with. That should be the goal look of digital VHS effects. >metalnes Holy mother of autism... Let's hope it doesn't come to this. >>2866 >We need a baseline reference to recreate, that is a specific content reel (from digital sources) recorded to a specific tape format Agreed 100%. Having a non-changing reference would facilitate the process considerably, even if the reference isn't perfect... Like the Blade Runner VHS posted in >>2859 >I have a deck somewhere but I need to check if it can record Please do check, and if possible record some reference footage. I recommend vid/pics related. >composite out Now that you mention it, I think composite does half the work. For example in these videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfDqZGjdS98 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q7HpVfS13U a Dreamcast (digital source) is hooked through composite cable to a monitor and recorded for YouTube, and it already looks halfway similar to a VHS, dot crawl and all. Emulating composite video might be a step in the right direction... Food for thought.

So I dug out the deck and it is indeed a VCR, and as luck would have it there was a couple of blank tapes plus a DVC 100 too. Both seem to power on but I need the cables, also need a composite out device (looks like Raspberry's are still price jacked to shit so will research alternatives) but once I have those it's go time. >>2869 >I recommend vid/pics related I'll definitely include them, do you have the original link to the video? On the reel I was thinking of including the following at about a minute each: 1. Test cards 2. Nature video 3. Digipaint anime opening 4. 3D animation 5. 2D sprite game 6. 3D polygonal game Feel free to suggest anything else you think will be useful. >Emulating composite video might be a step in the right direction I'll capture just the composite out as well so we can do that (and differentiate between composite and VHS artifacts).

>>2873 >do you have the original link to the video? Those are actually multiple videos, the webm contains a named chapter for each clip. Just search up the name of the clip you want, they're almost all sourced from Flickr or Wikimedia. >On the reel I was thinking of including the following Solid list, just make sure all sources are 100% digital. >I'll capture just the composite out as well Perfect, thank you!

Even without scripting the clock parameter still has its uses. Source: https://stuff.poxydoxy.com/u/fl2ysx.zip

>>2884 That's a pretty realistic Earth! Good job.

>>2885 Thanks, procedural textures are quite versatile.

I found a really cool website/art project made by what appears to be one guy. https://brawlersworld.com/

>>2888 Strong 2000s vibe, very cool!

>>2888 >file format not allowed by the server IT'S A FUCKING MP4 Anyway, here's a video he uploaded recently, which is the reason I heard about him at all. >>2890 Yeah. I like the super secret deep lore on the character page for the junk robot, and the radial menu on the lefthand side. The page completely breaks if you make the window too narrow, and I can't remember the last time I saw something like that.

>>2891 >GT2 car menu lmao It's like an old GMod machinima, good stuff. >I can't remember the last time I saw something like that Not that uncommon for Neocities unfortunately lol.

does this count? https://twitter.com/nuphory/status/1636845545728753664#m

>>2891 >IT'S A FUCKING MP4 It happens from time to time depending on how the file was encoded. Happens with MP3 to. >>2888 Really nice !

Some french guy made a retro PS1 like survival horror game recently : Projet Blari

>>2901 >direct link to twitter Use Nitter, dude. I don't care for the eurobeat music, but the visuals are pure metalheart, which I do like. >>2903 >le yellow wall backrooms meme I've seen a lot of "retro PS1" games that don't actually nail the aesthetic and instead just bury low-poly art under a load of filters, but this one looks a bit different and better. It looks like it probably controls a lot better than the average PS1 survival horror game, though.

>>2903 All these "low poly ps1 horror" indie trash are the same gen z bait (ffs it even has the liminal spaces shit lmao), it looks soulless as fuck. They completely miss what made those games great.

>>2901 This is more fitting for the Y2K thread: >>2221 The visuals are pretty much on point but I'm more interested in the style of music playing in the background, I missed it so much and they seem to have replicated it perfectly here.