PostProcessing/Shaders in general

[RedNin3]

Is anyone here using some of these, and do you have any recommendations I should try? (any emulator/game, 2D/3D)
I was testing some on GT2 to see what they do and how invasive they can be, so I got curious if people actually use them or if it's just a "1% of players" thing.

 

[AtlasM]

I'm using CRT Shaders on 2D pixelated games (like Pokémon on GBA, for example). Mainly for comfort, because that's what looks best for me (for 2D pixelated games)

For 3D games, I usually just go for FXAA, or Upscaler, whichever works better overall for each specific game. Because 3D games need to look really good to be playable (for me).

I hate Bloom.

 

[DunkeyKong]

It depends, if you like playing these games with CRT TV, then do what @AtlasM says. For 3D games, if you like clearer texture or sharper look, there's a few shaders pack that are available for some of those games

 

[beefbowl]

I really like MESEN's NTSC (Bisqwit) filters. Really good look on NES games. I try to put crt filter on everything before ps2, without any upscaling. I like my older games to look mushy, not clean cut polygons or pixels.

 

[Enian]

For pixel games I sometimes use something like hq4x. I think it looks nice on bigger screens.

Older 3d games have really shitty antialiasing. Your GPU might be able to handle that, but you can accomplish the same with Reshade. Some colors palettes were also kinda scuffed, may it be due to 2000ers stylistic choice or hard-/software limits. Shaders are good for that too.

You might also go completely bonkers and make Call of Duty look like an oil painting. Otherwise, I find most Reshade presets overly aggressive and ugly, especially for modern games. Not to mention it's a hassle to filter out UI and stuff that really shouldn't be messed with.

Now, what I really adore is texture upscaling, but you can't accomplish that with post-processing shaders and is easier to do pre-process than in real time.

 

[RedNin3]

Thank you all for the recommendations. I will test some to see if they fit what I am playing at that moment.
Except for the CRT ones, I get it, it's the intended look and all that, but my eyesight doesn't like it lmao. It makes my eyes hurt badly, and even after seeing some videos showing the differences between the different CRT shaders, I still can't see the good of making something look like it's not on an emulator with 4k capabilities. I also don't like those options on modern games (indies mostly), it's a matter of taste I guess.