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OpenGL shaders

A project log for VT100 simulator and 3D printed replica

Simulator for the VT100 hardware. Running inside Gardi's 3D model.

lars-brinkhoffLars Brinkhoff 06/12/2021 at 18:380 Comments

As I mentioned in a previous log, the visual appearance of the simulator took a step back.  But now it's about to take two steps forward.  I'm adding the use of OpenGL shaders to mimic a CRT.  This includes effects such as characters built from smooth scanlines, a soft glow around text, and a subtle curvature as a CRT should have.

Since the shader code runs in the GPU, it's not too heavy on the hosting computer.  It still runs fine on a Raspberry Pi 4, but a Pi 3 may now be too slow.  It could still fall back on the previous renderer though.

A caveat though!  At this point, the shaders will probably wear down your GPU if you try to run in full screen mode.

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