Integer Scale on Switch NeoGeo Pocket Titles

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Linkr2
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Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:37 am

Integer Scale on Switch NeoGeo Pocket Titles

Post by Linkr2 »

Hi!

First of all, thanks for bringing this awesome NeoGeo Pocket Color games to the Nintendo Switch, loving all this releases!

I know there are several DISPLAY options on this series of titles, but I’m missing a very simple but important one, the ability to set the Zoom to an Integer Scale equivalent, so the pixel scaling performs a x4 or even x6 of the original resolution, leading into a uniform scaling with no uneven pixels or shimmering when scrolling.

Integer scaling (IS) is a nearest-neighbor upscaling technique that simply scales up the existing pixels by an integer (i.e., whole number) multiplier. ... Therefore, integer scaling is particularly useful for pixel art games that rely on sharp, blocky images to deliver their distinctive look.

At this moment the zoom can be adjusted by the right analog, which leads to an almost imposible way to set an uniform integer scale for the games...

This simple feature would make the games feel more solid visually!

Also, I love the grid visual filter, thanks for including that!
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CodeMystics
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Re: Integer Scale on Switch NeoGeo Pocket Titles

Post by CodeMystics »

Hi,

Integer scaling can be a somewhat controversial thing depending on the game. The notion that the games had crisp, sharp-edged pixels is not historically true. Certainly, with CRTs (though not the case here), the analogue outputs tended to be blurred and less distinct than people have grown accustomed to seeing on modern, crisp, hi-res digital monitors. To an extent the same is true of 90s-era LCDs. Beyond that, there can be a practical issue when the pixel aspect ratio may not match (i.e. the pixels may not have been square on the original hardware) which means it's not possible to get integral scaling vertically and horizontally at the same time without distorting the picture. For these various reasons integer scaling can often be less authentic.
Linkr2
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Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:37 am

Re: Integer Scale on Switch NeoGeo Pocket Titles

Post by Linkr2 »

Thanks for the reply!

Well it’s NeoGeo Pocket we are talking here, the resolution is 160x152, I am the owner of several of this original machines (having them since the early 2000s) and the screens are still one of the the clearest and sharper LCD screens you can find in a product of that era. With really defined blocky pixels. It's that sharp you can even count them (looking at it right now haha).

I understand what you say, and that can be a mess for TV standards of that era with analog non square pixels and resolutions combined with aspect ratios, but this is not the case for the NeoGeo Pocket (because of its own nature and being a portable device). You have a clear tag line on the top of the screen saying: "Pixel Format 160x152 / Pixel Pitch 0.3 0.3 mm".

You can scale the resolution of 160x152 x4 to 640x608, so you have every pixel represented by a 4x4 cluster, which will translate in even scaling with no shimmering artifacts when scrolling.

Here I recorded a comparison on the Item Select screen of Gals Fighters, Uneven scale on the top, Integer scale on the bottom. You can see the shimmering effect on the scrolling Gals Fighters logos of the background as the logos scroll by on the Uneven Scaling example.

This is due to different scaling sizes of the original pixels in the same image: for example, some pixels are 1×1, while others are 2×2, 2×1, and 1×2. As a result of such distortion, same pixels of virtual objects moving on the screen, are constantly changing in size. This results in so called pixel shimmering, or jitter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svnGZN-R74g

As I said, at this moment, the zoom can only be adjusted by the right analog, which leads to an almost imposible way to set a uniform integer scale in this releases to avoid the shimmering effect.

And if no Integer Scale is possible, at least a Nearest Neighbour Interpolation would be really nice to avoid pixel shimmering, like the one Nintendo uses for their Nintendo Switch Online SNES and NES releases, which eliminates shimmering even when using uneven non-square aspect ratios, thanks!
Last edited by Linkr2 on Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:48 am, edited 6 times in total.
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CodeMystics
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Re: Integer Scale on Switch NeoGeo Pocket Titles

Post by CodeMystics »

Linkr2 wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:10 am And if no Integer Scale is possible, at least a Nearest Neighbour Interpolation would be really nice to avoid pixel shimmering, like the one Nintendo uses for their Nintendo Switch Online SNES and NES releases, which eliminates shimmering even when using uneven non-square aspect ratios, thanks!
Nearest neighbour scaling is actually used in the game, but you'll be happy to know we have added integer scaling in the new update. If you hold "A" while using the right stick to zoom, it will stop at each integer step. (Release and press the stick again to go beyond the stop to the next one.)
Linkr2
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Re: Integer Scale on Switch NeoGeo Pocket Titles

Post by Linkr2 »

CodeMystics wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:51 am Nearest neighbour scaling is actually used in the game, but you'll be happy to know we have added integer scaling in the new update. If you hold "A" while using the right stick to zoom, it will stop at each integer step. (Release and press the stick again to go beyond the stop to the next one.)
Thank you very much guys!! Loving the feature, no more pixel shimmering, looking great!

Really appreciate it, I will make sure this feature is well known as I already saw this complaint in several forums and social media, thanks again for taking the time.

You rock! Hoping we will get more Neo Geo Pocket releases : )
Last edited by Linkr2 on Sun May 30, 2021 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
rushiosan
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Re: Integer Scale on Switch NeoGeo Pocket Titles

Post by rushiosan »

Hey! Sorry for bringing up such an old thread, but I feel like it's a better option than opening a new one just for a simple request:

Could you please add the integer scaling option to older Neo Geo Pocket Color titles on Switch? It appears "The Last Blade" standalone release was never patched with that feature. Pretty sure everything from Vol.2 onwards has it, and I can confirm both SNK vs Capcom titles are scaling just fine.

Thank you very much!
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