Request: Disable motion blur?

[ReyVGM]

I don't know if 'motion blur' is the correct term, though. The effect I'm talking about looks as if one frame bleeds into the next, making two distinct frames appear at the same time, which makes things look blurry or doubled. I assume this was done to make animations look smoother.

The reason I'm asking is because I like taking screenshots from various parts of games, and I'm using a Software renderer (D3D11) to get screens that visually look as close as possible to the original hardware, but this motion blur makes it impossible to take a clean screenshot unless everything (characters, camera) are standing still completely still.

Anyway, I've seen some emulators from other 3D systems that have options to disable that and I was wondering if this option is something that could be added (or maybe the emulator might have a similar option that I'm missing?)

Here's an example:
1st image, standing still.
2nd image, moving.

[ssakash]

Does this proclaimed "motion blur" also exist when playing through the original console?

[ReyVGM]

Yep. A lot of PS2 games used it, I guess to mask low framerates.

Out of 15 games tested, Contra Shattered Soldier didn't have it. So I'm assuming it's something added by devs, and not something the emulator does as an enhancement.

Of course, you don't really noticed that blur when the game is in motion. It's only noticeable when you pause.

I tried an old plugin (GSdx10) and that motion effect is gone. I would use it, but it has graphical glitches and runs extremely slow. I was wondering if some option to disable the effect can be added to the new plugins too (I'm using GSdx32-AVX).

[FlatOutPS2]

Try using skipdraw(in Config > Video (GS) > Plugin Settings > Configure Hacks). Setting it to 1-3 could remove the motion blur. The screenshot you posted looks like an interlacing side effect to me though.

[ReyVGM]

Thanks, that worked. However, that option doesn't appear with the Software plugin, which I use because some games have filters that the Hardware plugins don't show.

However, since you mentioned the interlaced effect, I pressed F5 a few times (I had it on "Auto), and tested it and the blur effect was removed when in motion (using bob tff). But now I have the side effect of the graphics now move up and down on their own. Bitmap graphics specially look really bad.
Any other ideas?

[MrCK1]

Keep cycling through the Interlacing modes until you find one you like. Bob TFF won't work for all games.

[ReyVGM]

I've tried all modes and they all have that shaking graphics effect, and bitmaps look wrong (obviously). Only having it on "Auto" solves those issues, but it also has that motion blur effect I mentioned before.

[wareya]

So the Bob filter doesn't have the motion blur?

The Bob filter is closest to what the PS2 itself does, but it will flicker (not "shake" as such) unless it's displaying with perfect vsync because it, like the original console, is offsetting the image every other frame to compensate for the interlacing.

I made a request to support external deinterlacers at #1458. If they didn't have to recompile PCSX2 to make minor adjustments, someone could write an deinterlacer that automatically switches between weave and bob for a given screen region depending on whether there's a lot of motion there. There would be some kind of artefacts, but it would significantly reduce the motion blur.

[MrCK1]

It depends on the game. I opened an issue a while ago regarding improvements to deinterlacing. There's a better explanation there on variation between games.

[ReyVGM]

Well, to me, "Auto" is perfect, except it has that "motion blur" effect. If that effect could be removed from "Auto", then that would be aces.

But yeah, it's an interlacing effect that causes that. I noticed that games with the "motion blur" I'm talking about are usually 640x224, while games that don't have that effect present are native 640x448.

[wareya]

You can't really remove the effect, it's just what happens when you sew two interlaced frames together. And you have to sew them together in order to not get the flickering that "bob" causes.

[MrCK1]

Skipdraw is the closest one can get to removing motion blur. This is invalid otherwise