PSX Visuals - GD4 Port

This plugin for Godot 4 provides a comprehensive suite of shaders and tools to recreate the iconic aesthetic of the PlayStation 1 (PSX). It includes vertex snapping, affine texture mapping, distance-based fog, and post-processing dithering.

How the Plugin Works

The plugin achieves its look through several key components:

• Shader Global Parameters: The plugin uses Godot's Global Shader Uniforms to manage settings like vertex snap distance, fog, and affine strength across all materials simultaneously.
• Custom Shaders: A set of specialized shaders (psx_opaque, psx_transparent, etc.) handle the heavy lifting of vertex jittering and texture warping.
• Autoloads:
  • PsxVisualsGd4AutoLoad: Automatically adds a CanvasLayer with a post-processing ColorRect to apply dithering to the entire screen.
  • PsxVisualsGd4AutoApply: An optional utility that automatically swaps StandardMaterial3D on meshes for the PSX-compatible shaders.

Installation & Setup

1. Copy the addons/psx_visuals_gd4 folder into your project's addons directory.
2. Go to Project Settings > Plugins and enable PSX Visuals - GD4 Port.
3. Upon activation, the plugin will automatically create the necessary Shader Globals in your Project Settings.
4. Go to Project Settings > Autoload and enable PsxVisualsGd4AutoLoad

How to Use

The "Easy Way" (Auto-Apply)

If you want to quickly convert an existing project, ensure both Autoloads are enabled:

1. Go to Project Settings > Autoload.
2. Ensure PsxVisualsGd4AutoApply is active.
3. This script will automatically detect GeometryInstance3D nodes as they enter the scene tree and replace their StandardMaterial3D with the PSX default material, while attempting to preserve your original Albedo and Emission textures.

The Manual Way

Apply the provided materials or create new ones using the PSX shaders:

1. Select a MeshInstance3D.
2. Create a new ShaderMaterial and apply it either as the surface material on the mesh or as a material override on the MeshInstance3D (do not use material overlay for this).
3. Assign one of the shaders from addons/psx_visuals_gd4/shaders/:
   • psx_opaque.gdshader: For standard solid objects.
   • psx_transparent.gdshader: For objects with transparency.
   • psx_opaque_double.gdshader / psx_transparent_double.gdshader: For double-sided meshes (disables backface culling).
4. (Optional) Add an extra material pass using your original material so it renders after the PSX shader, allowing you to combine the PSX effects with your existing look.

Disabling Auto-Apply on Specific Nodes

If you are using the "Easy Way" but want certain objects to keep their original materials, use Metadata:

• To disable a single node: Add a Metadata entry named psx_disable (Boolean) and set it to true.
• To disable a whole branch: Add a Metadata entry named psx_disable_children (Boolean) to a parent node and set it to true. This prevents the shader from being applied to any of its descendants.

Shader Settings Description

You can find these settings under Project Settings > Shader Globals.

• psx_snap_distance: Controls the "vertex jitter." A value of 0.025 is standard; lower values result in smoother movement, while higher values increase the "shaking" effect.
• psx_affine_strength: Controls texture warping. 1.0 provides full PSX-style warping, while 0.0 is modern perspective-correct mapping.
• psx_bit_depth: Determines the color depth for the dither effect. Lower values (e.g., 4 or 5) result in more aggressive banding/dithering.
• psx_fog_color: The color of the distance fog. The Alpha channel determines the fog's intensity.
• psx_fog_near / psx_fog_far: The start and end distances for the fog gradient.

License

The original forked repository does not provide an explicit license. However, all changes, porting work for Godot 4, and new code provided in this version are licensed under the MIT License.