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[J-Snake]

Note that the intention here is not to accurately simulate old screens. I am thinking of adding scanlines as a cheap effect to add to the visuals for 2D games which are using high resolution sprites, but which are rather low in detail. I wonder what your stance is on that and whether you use scanlines.

Here is an opinion piece on the general matter by someone (I personally like a more fine grained scanline effect than the one shown in the video):

[Schoq]

linear interpolation usually looks really ugly to me for low resolution games, but combined with scanlines it looks very pleasant. Not sure if it would work the same with low detail high res graphics (an example would be interesting), but I you could make it an option at least.

[J-Snake]

an example would be interesting

I might provide one when I find time for it. But I am not around a powerful computer at the moment to record some good footage (the effect cannot be captured by a screenshot as it is composed by two alternating frames).

For now I can only explain the effect I worked out in case someone is interested: in the first frame every 4th row is omitted, the next frame does the same, but with a phase shift of two rows:

pattern (c = color, b = black, listed horizontally but read vertically from top to bottom):

frame 1:cccbcccbcccbcccbcccbcccb...
frame 2:--cccbcccbcccbcccbcccbcccb...

Now if you draw a vertical line through every "b" you see either in frame 1 or frame 2, then you will see that there will always be exactly one "c" between two consecutive lines in any frame. That means every second row remains persistent but gets alternately "illuminated" from top and from the bottom. This composes a pretty consistent fine-grained interpolation pattern, plus there is only a brightness loss of 25% (since only every 4th row is omitted), as opposed to 50% loss like in some other cheap variants.

[Schoq]

Well, that sounds way more interesting to me than it probably should. Hope you can record something soon!

[-Ross]

I can't stand scanlines, they make my eyes hurt. It's the equivalent to someone waving their hands back and forth in front of your eyes while you play a game—your brain can piece together the in-between bits so you can still see, but why would you ever make it happen on purpose? Watching that video is like listening to someone argue that 0 - 2 = 4. Sure, when you carefully examine an image up close the lines define each pixel more, like putting black outlines around your characters, but A. why would you want each "pixel" separated as if it is a separate object, and B. when you're playing a game you're further away and everything is moving.

[J-Snake]

Yeah, I understand both camps, people who like it and people who don't. And it is good that you explained why you don't like it. I am on the fence myself whether I should make scanlines a default setting when you start the game. I didn't think about scanlines until recently and just wanted to give it a try. However I have worked out several effects over night by now, and some of them are pretty robust in reducing flickering, you would think you are looking at a static calm frame most of the time if you have a 60+ hz screen. So I am getting a little more confident in making one of the better effects a default option. But I will provide the player the option to disable effects and choose between them according to his liking, possibly including one with wandering scanlines as tastes can be different.

In the end it is just a cheap way out to give low detail art the illusion of more detail/depth, which is of course cool if it works. And it can work, from my experience so far. That is why I am so tempted to add scanlines. But I am possibly still a little too optimistic here atm. So all the haters, feel free to post. It is always beneficial to know what someone doesn't like about something.

[J-Snake]

Here are some completely flicker free filters so that concern is off the table and I can take screenshots.
Note, there is potentially no information loss in the filters as they just darken the rows in the image, so the scanlines are not a monochrome line. I certainly prefer it that way.

Which of those 4 pics do you prefer?

no filter:


50% scanlines, 192/255 intensity:


40% scanlines, 192/255 intensity:


50% scanlines, 128/255 intensity:

[J-Snake]

And here is one applied only to the foreground. The background is unaffected. If you want to see some other variations then let me know.

50% scanlines, 192/255 intensity:

[Signal Walker]

Scanlines are good when the art is made to work with scanlines. Old NES games probably look better with them since everything had scanlines back then, but I don't think they would add anything to, for example, Shovel Knight.

[J-Snake]

Which picture out of the 5 would you prefer, if you have to choose?

btw. here is one with vertical scanlines:

50%, intensity 192/255 (vertical)

[Roel]

I love retro gaming and I still have all my old consoles (including an Atari 2600) plugged into a CRT TV and ready to go. But generally speaking, I absolutely detest scanline generators.

I can see why people want them - they want a more authentic retro experience. But ironically, the image produced by the vast majority of scanline generators looks nothing like the genuine article. Scanlines on CRT's had different appearances (if any) depending on the pattern and granularity of the phosphors, the resolution, the signal, and even individual settings per TV set. But they never ever looked like ruler-straight, razor-sharp, pure black lines. Those are just a primitive, exaggerated rendition of an undesirable artifact of less-than-top-quality screens. Deliberately adding them to classic games seems misguided at best. Besides, I don't see anyone building generators to emulate the high frequency buzz emitted by old CRT's.

That said, I'm going to completely contradict myself and say that I like the version with 40% scanlines, 192/255 intensity best. I can see the benefit of the (pseudo) retro look for your game. But unless you're going to adjust the graphics to match the resolution of the scanlines, I'm afraid it's going to look very unconvincing and will do more harm than good.

[Schoq]

I like the 50% 128 or 192/255 horizontal ones.
It does give the illusion of higher detail  (as I find scanlines generally do)and adds some visual interest in general. The legibility of the text suffers though.

[J-Snake]

The font style isn't very readable to begin with. Like some other parts it is a placeholder for now. It also can be bulkier. So there shouldn't be a problem. I think I can safely go for rather subtle (high intensity) 50% scanlines as the default look, as it makes a difference, but doesn't look very intrusive. And then in the options there will be sliders to choose between some line filters and the desired intensity. So no one should be harmed. 

So here is a comparison again between no filter and a bit more subtle filter: 50% scanlines, intensity: 208/255

none:


50% scanlines, intensity: 208/255

[JWK5]

The 50% looks good with the art style. I am not generally a fan of intentional scan lines (in fact, other than the rare case here and there I detest them) but it works here.

[Fun Infused Games]

I do the scanline effect in my games with a pixel shader and then make an option in game to turn them on or off (defaults to off).

It has a nice effect but I can see not always wanting to play with them on.

[redredred]

Scanlines work to get the retro style. I guess so long as it works with the art style.