CRT help
What every switch and every dial of the tube does. The panel stays open beside this, and nothing here is needed to use it: each row already carries its own line.
glass family
the shape of the tube: the bezel, the face, the bend and what runs in at the edges
Everything that is a property of the glass rather than of the beam behind it. The mask is the bezel the picture sits in, the convex face and the bow are the curve of the front, and the vignette, the edge bleed and the fray are what that curve does to light near the frame. Switch the family off to see the beam on its own, flat and full-bleed.
vignette in glass
a dark ellipse over the whole tube, clear inside the start radius
Corner shading over the whole tube: an ellipse with a clear middle and a dark edge. It is the layer that makes a flat page read as a picture with a frame around it. Seven dials, because the shape matters as much as the strength: if it looks like it is doing nothing, the end radius is probably past the frame.
alpha in vignette
how dark the corner shading gets overall
The strength of the whole vignette layer. At zero the layer is off however the shape is set. High values with a small end radius give a pinhole: a dark field with the picture showing through the middle. Tip: set the shape first with the alpha up, then bring the alpha back to taste.
Past 0.8: the corners go to black.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
start in vignette
the picture stays clear inside this radius
Where the darkening begins, as a fraction of the ellipse. Inside it nothing is shaded. Push it down and the shading reaches into the reading column; push it up and only the corners go.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Under 15%: the vignette reaches the middle of the page.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 1.
end in vignette
full darkness is reached at this radius
Where the gradient finishes. If the end sits past the frame the corners never reach full darkness, which is the usual reason a vignette looks like it is doing nothing. An end below the start is allowed and gives a hard edge: a dark field with a clean hole in it.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Past 140%: black is reached past the frame, so no corner is fully dark.
Range 0 to 200%, steps of 1.
size x in vignette
the width of the shading ellipse against the viewport
The horizontal radius. Over 100 the ellipse is wider than the screen, so the sides stay light and the shading lands in the corners. Under 100 it closes in on the middle.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.25 to 200%, steps of 0.25.
size y in vignette
the height of the shading ellipse against the viewport
The vertical radius. With the width, this is the shape of the shadow: a wide low ellipse darkens the top and bottom, a tall narrow one darkens the sides.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.25 to 200%, steps of 0.25.
centre x in vignette
where the shading is centred across the screen
Moves the clear middle sideways. Useful with the hotspot, which has a centre of its own: line the two up and the bright part of the picture sits in the clear part.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
centre y in vignette
where the shading is centred up and down the screen
Moves the clear middle up or down. On a tall page a centre a little above the middle reads as a tube sitting on a desk below eye level.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
mask in glass
the bezel: a rounded box, with everything outside it painted out
The bezel. A rounded box with everything outside it painted out, so the picture can be made smaller than the window and given a corner. The convex face shares its corner, so the two cannot drift apart. In the cropped screen mode this box is the screen, and the reading grid narrows to sit inside it, so taking the width down takes the page with it rather than inking over the outer inches of it.
radius ratio in mask
corner rounding as a share of the box short side
A rounding that scales with the box, added to the pixel radius below. At the top of the range the box is a stadium, and a square box becomes a circle. Tip: use the ratio for a corner that should look right at any window size and the pixel radius for one that should not move.
Range 0 to 50%, steps of 0.5.
radius px in mask
corner rounding in pixels, added to the ratio above
The absolute half of the corner. The convex face rounds itself off the same total, so the tube face and the bezel share one corner. Rounding cannot pass half the box, so on a full-screen mask the corner stops growing partway up the range and the rest of it is the engine holding still.
Past 64px: the corner is eating the chrome.
Range 0 to 2000px, steps of 1.
width in mask
the width of the picture box against the viewport
The bezel as a fraction of the window width. Everything outside the box is painted out, so this is how the page is cropped down to a screen inside the screen. Very small values leave a few pixels of picture in a dark field, which is intended.
Range 0.25 to 100%, steps of 0.25.
height in mask
the height of the picture box against the viewport
The bezel as a fraction of the window height. With the width, this sets the shape of the screen: bring the width in for a square picture on a wide monitor.
Range 0.25 to 100%, steps of 0.25.
centre x in mask
where the picture box sits across the screen
Moves the whole bezel sideways, taking the corner and the feather with it.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
centre y in mask
where the picture box sits up and down the screen
Moves the whole bezel up or down.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
feather in mask
softness on the inside of the bezel edge
Blurs the bezel edge inward. Inward only, which is the property rather than a choice: the outward half of a feather cannot be drawn this way. It reads wherever the edge is on screen, so with the box at the full window and no corner there is nothing to see.
Range 0 to 400px, steps of 1.
colour in mask
what colour the area outside the box is painted
The first three are the page ground, the deeper ground and black. Ground reads as a matte around the picture, black reads as a room with the light off, and the palette behind them paints the surround in a backlight colour instead. Like the feather it only shows once the box is smaller than the window or the corner is rounded.
leak alpha in mask
light escaping past the bezel, outside the mask box only
Light getting past the frame, painted outward from the edge of the box in the hotspot colour. It is what stops a heavy bezel reading as a printed border. At zero the glow is off and its reach does nothing. Tip: it has nothing to paint on until the box is smaller than the window.
Past 0.5: the surround is brighter than the picture.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
leak reach in mask
how far the escaping light spreads past the edge of the box
The spread of the glow outside the box. Narrow reads as a lit seam, wide reads as a lamp behind the whole set. A glow of no width has nothing to draw, so at zero the leak is off however high its alpha is.
Does nothing while leak alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 300px, steps of 1.
convex face in glass
the tube face: a wide inset shadow that darkens the sides and the corners
The curve of the front of the tube, drawn as shading that comes in from the frame. It sits over the vignette and the edge bleed, so it is the loudest layer near the frame.
falloff in convex face
how far in from the frame the face darkens
The width of the shading that reads as the curve of the glass. Narrow keeps it at the frame; wide brings it under the text, which is where a tube face starts to read as a dark page instead.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Past 320px: the falloff reaches under the text.
Range 0 to 2000px, steps of 5.
alpha in convex face
how dark the curve of the face gets
The strength of the face shading. It sits over the vignette and over both edge bleeds, so near the frame this is the layer you are looking at and the ones under it stop reading. Tip: if the edge bleed has gone missing, take this down.
Past 0.9: the sides of the page go dark.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
width in convex face
how far the darkening reaches in from the left and right edges
The depth of the face shading at the sides on its own. Until you move it, it follows the falloff dial above, which is how a phone keeps its own shallower face. Move it and this axis is pinned: the falloff no longer reaches it.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Past 320px: the falloff reaches under the text.
Range 0 to 2000px, steps of 1.
height in convex face
how far the darkening reaches in from the top and bottom edges
The depth of the face shading at the top and bottom on its own. A wide width with a shallow height reads as a tube wider than it is tall, which is what most of them were.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Past 320px: the falloff reaches under the text.
Range 0 to 2000px, steps of 1.
edge bleed in glass
colour running in from the frame: green up the sides, red across the top and bottom
Colour running in from the frame, green up the sides and red across the top and bottom. It can breathe in and out on a slow cycle.
green alpha in edge bleed
colour running in from the left and right edges
A green wash at the sides, the cool half of the edge colour. Low values are a whisper and are meant to be; high values read as damage to the tube.
Past 0.5: the sides read as damage.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
red alpha in edge bleed
colour running in from the top and bottom edges
A red wash at the top and bottom. It sits under the convex face, which will crush it if that layer is dark, so bring the face alpha down if this goes missing.
Past 0.5: the frame reads as damage.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
reach in edge bleed
how far in from the frame the edge colour reaches
The depth of both washes. Far enough in and the two sides meet in the middle, which is a colour cast over the whole picture rather than an edge.
Does nothing while green alpha and red alpha are 0.
Past 55%: the bleed has met itself in the middle.
Range 0 to 200%, steps of 1.
drift in edge bleed
how long one breath of the edge colour takes
Breathes both washes in and out, this many seconds each way, zero for still. Like the other period dials it changes nothing in a still picture. It is a composited animation, so it is cheap, and it stops under a reduced motion preference and on a hidden tab.
Does nothing while green alpha and red alpha are 0.
Range 0 to 120s, steps of 0.5.
side colour in edge bleed
which palette colour runs in at the left and right edges
The colour of the wash at the sides, which is green as built. This and the edge colour below are the second pair a backlight can be mixed from: the hotspot for the middle of the picture and these two for the frame. Every pick offers the same palette: the six Pip-Boy backlights and the site's own colours, so two layers can be set to different ones and the tube mixes them. `as built` is the colour this layer has always been, and it is not a palette entry: leave it there and the layer paints what the stylesheet authors. Tip: the text and the chrome keep the page theme whatever these say, so a full recolour of the site is a theme rather than a set of picks.
Does nothing while green alpha is 0.
edge colour in edge bleed
which palette colour runs in at the top and bottom edges
The colour of the wash at the top and bottom, which is the oxide red as built. Like the second hotspot this takes the darker of the two triplets, so one name across the two washes gives the pair a backlight actually has. Every pick offers the same palette: the six Pip-Boy backlights and the site's own colours, so two layers can be set to different ones and the tube mixes them. `as built` is the colour this layer has always been, and it is not a palette entry: leave it there and the layer paints what the stylesheet authors. Tip: the text and the chrome keep the page theme whatever these say, so a full recolour of the site is a theme rather than a set of picks.
Does nothing while red alpha is 0.
glass bow in glass
the barrel of the glass, on the overlays only: nothing that carries text bows
The barrel of the glass, on the overlays only: the lines, the shading and the hotspots bend, and nothing that carries text does. The middle holds still and the frame moves most.
bow in glass bow
how much the overlays bend, as a barrel
Bends the lines, the shading, the hotspots and the grille outward from the middle, and nothing that carries text. The middle does not move at all and the frame moves most, which is what a tube face does to a flat picture. Tip: the span layers read the bend off a map and fine lines get mottled at high values, so use the canvas veil if you want it cranked.
Past 1: past 1 the bend is more than three scanline pitches, which is a fishbowl sitting on a flat page rather than a tube face. Brand overview 6.4 licenses the tube face at 1; past it is yours.
Range 0 to 3, steps of 0.01.
edge fray in glass
four blurred strips at the frame, reading the page behind them
Four blurred strips at the frame, reading the page behind them, which is what the edge of a curved screen does to what is near it. It is the one layer that reads the page behind it on every scroll frame, so it is the first switch to try when a machine drags.
blur in edge fray
how soft the four strips at the frame are
A blur that reads the page behind it, in four strips at the edges. It is the one layer that costs real paint on every scroll frame, however narrow the strip. Measured 2026-09-12 on an Intel Iris Xe: no change to the scroll frame at 5.5px over 4%.
Past 0px: a backdrop blur reads what is behind it, so any value here makes the scrolling page a texture the compositor rebuilds every frame, however narrow the strip. It is the one layer that costs real paint; switch the module off first on a machine that drags.
Range 0 to 64px, steps of 0.1.
reach in edge fray
how wide each of the four frame strips is
The width of the strips. A blur only moves a pixel where there is contrast inside its radius, so at a narrow reach the strips sit over the page margins and the blur reads weakly. A strip of no width has nothing to blur, so at zero the module is off however high the blur is.
Does nothing while blur is 0.
Past 20%: the blur has reached the reading column.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
specular in glass
a soft bright ellipse near the top of the screen, the room reflected in the glass
The glint of a room light on the front of the glass, which is what sells a curved face as glass rather than as a printed frame. One soft ellipse, sized and placed, sitting over the edge bleed and under the vignette. It is drawn inside the screen box, so in cropped mode it lands on the picture rather than on the surround.
alpha in specular
how bright the glint is. At 0 the layer is out of the tree
The strength of the glint. Kept low it reads as glass; run up it reads as a lamp pointed at the screen, which is a real thing a tube does and a hard thing to read a page through. At zero the layer is out of the tree and its shape dials do nothing.
Past 0.35: the glint is brighter than the type under it.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
x in specular
where the glint sits across the screen
Moves the glint sideways within the screen box. Off to one side is the usual placing: a window or a lamp is rarely square on to the set.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.25.
y in specular
where the glint sits down the screen. Near the top is where a room light lands
Moves the glint up or down. Near the top is where a ceiling light lands on a set standing on a desk, which is why the default is up there.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.25.
size x in specular
how wide the glint is, as a share of the screen box
The horizontal radius, as a share of the screen box rather than of the window, so a cropped screen gets a glint in proportion to the picture. Wide and short is a strip light; round is a bulb.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 200%, steps of 0.25.
size y in specular
how tall the glint is, as a share of the screen box
The vertical radius. With the width this is the shape of whatever is being reflected.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 200%, steps of 0.25.
softness in specular
how far out the glint fades. Under 100 it hardens into an edge
Where the fade finishes, as a share of the radius. At 100 the glint is gone by the edge of its own ellipse. Under 100 it reaches full transparency early, so there is a visible rim, which reads as a hard reflection in a flat sheet of glass rather than a soft one in a curved face.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 1 to 200%, steps of 1.
colour in specular
which palette colour the glint is painted in
The colour of the glint, which is bone as built because a room light is white and the glass does not tint what it reflects. A palette entry here is the backlight showing in its own reflection instead. Every pick offers the same palette: the six Pip-Boy backlights and the site's own colours, so two layers can be set to different ones and the tube mixes them. `as built` is the colour this layer has always been, and it is not a palette entry: leave it there and the layer paints what the stylesheet authors. Tip: the text and the chrome keep the page theme whatever these say, so a full recolour of the site is a theme rather than a set of picks.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
screen in glass
which box the tube is drawn inside: the whole window, the mask box, or a square
The box every beam and glass layer is drawn inside. Before this existed each layer was sized against the window, so the edge bleed ran in from the window edge and not from the picture, and layers painted under the bezel where nobody could see them. Cropped is the desk default and takes the mask box, which is what makes the tube a screen inside the screen. The reading grid follows it, so nothing is inked over. A phone is left on the whole window: a 390px viewport cropped to a bezel is a letterbox of a reading column.
mode in screen
the box every layer is drawn inside: the window, the mask box, or a square
Whole window is the tube drawn to the frame, which is what it always was. Cropped takes the mask box, so the picture is a screen inside the window and the reading grid narrows to sit inside it. Square is 1:1 on the short side, centred, which is the shape of a television rather than of a monitor. Tip: cropped and square both move the page, so set the mask width first and the rest follows it.
lighting family
the beam: where the picture is brightest, and how steady it is
The lamp inside the tube. The hotspots are where the beam lands hardest, the drifting band is the roll of an unlocked picture and the flicker is the supply. These are the layers that read as brightness, so if the page looks washed out this is the family to take down first.
hotspot in lighting
where the beam is brightest: one amber ellipse in the accent colour
The bright patch where the beam lands hardest, in the warm accent colour. With the vignette this is most of what reads as a tube: a bright middle and a dark edge.
alpha in hotspot
how bright the centre of the beam is
The strength of the main hotspot. At zero the layer is off and its position and size do nothing. High values wash the middle of the page out, which is a tube with the brightness run up.
Past 0.3: the centre washes out.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.005.
centre x in hotspot
where the beam is brightest, across the screen
Moves the bright patch sideways. Off-centre reads as a tube seen from the side.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
centre y in hotspot
where the beam is brightest, up and down the screen
Moves the bright patch up or down. A little above the middle is the usual look, because the eye reads that as a lamp behind the top of the screen.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
size in hotspot
the spread of the bright patch
The uniform spread of the warm hotspot, with the two per-axis scales below over the top of it. Small is a spotlight, large is an overall lift with no visible edge. It sized the red hotspot too until 2026-09-10; that one has its own size now, so this dial is the amber patch alone.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.02 to 8, steps of 0.02.
size x in hotspot
stretches the hotspot sideways on top of the uniform size
A horizontal scale over the uniform size, so the ellipse can be a band across the screen without the uniform dial having to be a compromise. At 1 it does nothing and the uniform size is the whole shape.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.02 to 8, steps of 0.01.
size y in hotspot
stretches the hotspot up and down on top of the uniform size
A vertical scale over the uniform size. Small here and large in x is a bright line across the middle, which is a tube with the vertical collapsed.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.02 to 8, steps of 0.01.
colour in hotspot
which palette colour the bright patch is painted in
The colour of the main hotspot, which is the layer most of the tube's cast comes from: set this and the tube reads as that backlight. Every pick offers the same palette: the six Pip-Boy backlights and the site's own colours, so two layers can be set to different ones and the tube mixes them. `as built` is the colour this layer has always been, and it is not a palette entry: leave it there and the layer paints what the stylesheet authors. Tip: the text and the chrome keep the page theme whatever these say, so a full recolour of the site is a theme rather than a set of picks.
red hotspot in lighting
where a tired tube runs warm: a second ellipse, lower and in the oxide red
A second bright patch in the oxide red, lower down. What a tube does as it runs warm. It shares its size with the main hotspot, because they are one beam.
alpha in red hotspot
how strong the second, warmer hotspot is
A second bright patch in the oxide red, which is what a tired tube does as it runs warm. At zero the layer is off. Kept low it reads as heat rather than as a colour cast.
Past 0.3: the red swamps the amber.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.005.
centre x in red hotspot
where the red patch sits across the screen
Moves the red patch sideways, independently of the main hotspot.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
centre y in red hotspot
where the red patch sits up and down the screen
Moves the red patch up or down. Below the main hotspot is the usual placing: the heat collects under the beam.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 100%, steps of 0.5.
size in red hotspot
the red hotspot's own uniform size, which used to be the amber one's
The spread of the red patch. It shared the amber hotspot's size dial until 2026-09-10, which is why it could not be sized on its own: the two are one beam in a real tube, but the heat does not collect in the same shape as the light.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.02 to 8, steps of 0.01.
size x in red hotspot
stretches the red hotspot sideways on top of its uniform size
A horizontal scale over the red patch's own uniform size. A wide flat red low in the picture is what a tube run hot all afternoon does.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.02 to 8, steps of 0.01.
size y in red hotspot
stretches the red hotspot up and down on top of its uniform size
A vertical scale over the red patch's own uniform size.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.02 to 8, steps of 0.01.
colour in red hotspot
which palette colour the second patch is painted in
The colour of the second hotspot. It takes the darker of the two colours a palette entry carries rather than the main one, because that is the outer half of what a real backlight glow is. So the same name on both hotspots gives you that glow, bright in the middle and darker below it, and two different names still carry two backlights at once, which is what mixing them comes to. Every pick offers the same palette: the six Pip-Boy backlights and the site's own colours, so two layers can be set to different ones and the tube mixes them. `as built` is the colour this layer has always been, and it is not a palette entry: leave it there and the layer paints what the stylesheet authors. Tip: the text and the chrome keep the page theme whatever these say, so a full recolour of the site is a theme rather than a set of picks.
flicker in lighting
the whole picture dipping to black on a four-step staircase
The whole picture dipping on a short staircase, which is a supply that is not quite steady. It is motion and it honours a reduced motion preference on its own.
amplitude in flicker
how far the picture dips as it flickers
The depth of the dip. This is motion, so it stops on its own where the visitor has asked for reduced motion and on a tab nobody is looking at. Small is a supply that is not quite steady; large is a fault.
Past 0.2: heavy motion, and it stays behind the motion preference.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
period in flicker
how long one flicker cycle takes
The rate the dip is stepped at. A period changes nothing in a still picture, only how fast it happens. Short periods read as a strobe, which is worth being careful with.
Does nothing while amplitude is 0.
Under 1s: fast enough to read as a strobe.
Range 0.02 to 30s, steps of 0.02.
drifting band in lighting
a soft horizontal band walking down the screen on a transform
A soft horizontal band walking down the screen, which is what an unlocked picture does. It is a transform, so it is almost free.
alpha in drifting band
how visible the band walking down the screen is
The strength of a soft horizontal band, which is what an unlocked picture does. Just visible is the setting: much more and it is a sweep across the reading column.
Past 0.3: a visible sweep across the reading column.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.005.
period in drifting band
how long the band takes to cross the screen
The rate. Like the other period dials it changes nothing in a still picture, only how long one pass takes. It is a transform, so it costs almost nothing.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.1 to 300s, steps of 0.1.
glitch in lighting
short timed faults in the beam and the type: a jolt, a pop, a roll, a blink
Short typed faults on a timer. It paints nothing of its own: each sub-effect pushes one of the tube's existing dials for a few frames and puts it back, so a glitch looks like the tube failing rather than like something drawn over it. Four kinds, each with its own switch and its own strength, so you can have a picture that rolls and never tears. It stops under a reduced motion preference and it is paused while the tab is hidden. Tip: the interval is the whole mood. Around 45 seconds is a set with a fault in it, 14 is the shipped tube, anything under about 5 is a set on fire.
interval in glitch
seconds between faults. At 0 the timer never runs
How long the tube holds steady between faults, in seconds. At zero the timer is not armed at all and the module costs nothing. The wait is the interval give or take the jitter below, so events do not land on a beat.
Under 3s: under 3 seconds the fault is the steady state.
Range 0 to 600s, steps of 0.5.
duration in glitch
how long one fault lasts, in milliseconds
The length of one event. A real tube's fault is over before you have finished seeing it, so short is right: 80 to 200ms reads as a fault and anything past half a second reads as a setting.
Does nothing while interval is 0.
Past 600ms: past 600ms the fault reads as the tube's new settings.
Range 10 to 4000ms, steps of 10.
jitter in glitch
how much the wait between faults varies, as a share of the interval
Spreads the wait either side of the interval, as a fraction of it. At zero the faults land on a metronome, which reads as a mechanism. At 1 the wait is anywhere from nothing to twice the interval.
Does nothing while interval is 0.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
tear jolt in glitch
a fault throws the colour tear wide for its duration
The misconvergence jumps: the tear offset is multiplied by the strength below for the length of the event and put back. It is the fault that reads on the type rather than on the screen, so it is the one to keep if you keep one.
Does nothing while interval is 0.
tear strength in glitch
how far the tear is thrown, as a multiple of its own offset
The multiplier on the tear offset during a fault. At 1 the jolt does nothing, because the tear is already there. The offset it multiplies is the tear module's, so a page with the tear dialled off has no jolt to give.
Does nothing while interval and tear jolt are 0.
Range 0 to 40, steps of 0.1.
brightness pop in glitch
a fault pushes the flicker amplitude for its duration
The supply sags and recovers: the flicker amplitude is multiplied for the length of the event. It reads as the whole picture dipping and coming back, which is the commonest thing a tired tube does.
Does nothing while interval is 0.
pop strength in glitch
how hard the brightness pops, as a multiple of the flicker amplitude
The multiplier on the flicker amplitude during a fault. The flicker module has to be on and above zero for this to have anything to push.
Does nothing while interval and brightness pop are 0.
Range 0 to 40, steps of 0.1.
roll in glitch
a fault slides the beam layers up the screen and back
The picture loses vertical lock and slips: the beam layers are moved up the screen and put back. It is a transform on layers that carry no text, so it is done on the compositor and costs nothing per frame, and the type does not move with it because a rolling picture is the beam failing and not the page.
Does nothing while interval is 0.
roll distance in glitch
how far the beam slides during a fault, in pixels
The distance the beam layers travel. A few pixels reads as a twitch, a hundred reads as the picture coming off the top of the screen.
Does nothing while interval and roll are 0.
Range 0 to 2000px, steps of 1.
phosphor blink in glitch
a fault flashes the phosphor grille up for its duration
The shadow mask shows: the phosphor triad's alpha is multiplied for the length of the event, so the stripes the picture is laid on flash into view. The phosphor module has to be on for this to have anything to flash.
Does nothing while interval is 0.
blink strength in glitch
how hard the grille flashes, as a multiple of its own alpha
The multiplier on the phosphor alpha during a fault. A multiple of zero is zero, so with the triad off or at zero alpha this reads as nothing.
Does nothing while interval and phosphor blink are 0.
Range 0 to 40, steps of 0.1.
texture family
the grain of the picture: lines, stripes, glow and softness
What the picture is made of. Scanlines and the phosphor triad are the structure of the screen itself, the bloom is the glow phosphor gives off around a lit glyph, and the blur is the focus. Take the family off for a clean modern panel with the tube shape still around it.
scanlines in texture
one black line at the foot of every pitch, across the whole viewport
One dark line at the foot of every pitch, across the picture. The structure of the screen itself. Pitch and width together decide whether it reads as grain or as blinds.
alpha in scanlines
how dark each scan line is
The strength of the line layer. At zero the lines are off whatever the pitch. High values start eating the type, because a line is a fixed number of pixels and a small glyph is only a few.
Past 0.45: the lines start eating the text.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
pitch in scanlines
the gap from one line to the next
How far apart the lines are. Small pitches read as a fine grain and large ones as venetian blinds. Tip: a pitch of one pixel fills in solid, so keep it above the line width below.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Under 2px: at one pixel the lines fill in solid.
Range 1 to 200px, steps of 1.
width in scanlines
how wide each line is drawn
The width of one line. At or past the pitch the field is solid at the dialled alpha, which is a dark overlay rather than a set of lines.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Past 2px: wider than the gap, so the picture is mostly line.
Range 0 to 200px, steps of 1.
invert in scanlines
draws lit lines instead of dark ones, in the scanline colour
Off, the line is the dark gap the beam misses, which is what the tube has always drawn. On, the line is the lit trace the beam draws and the gap is the dark, so the picture reads as a monitor with the lines showing rather than a screen seen through blinds. The colour pick below is what a lit line is painted in; a dark line is black either way.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
lit colour in scanlines
which palette colour a lit scanline is drawn in
The colour of a lit line, so it only reads with invert on. `as built` follows the hotspot colour, which keeps the lines and the beam the same backlight without a second pick. Every pick offers the same palette: the six Pip-Boy backlights and the site's own colours, so two layers can be set to different ones and the tube mixes them. `as built` is the colour this layer has always been, and it is not a palette entry: leave it there and the layer paints what the stylesheet authors. Tip: the text and the chrome keep the page theme whatever these say, so a full recolour of the site is a theme rather than a set of picks.
Does nothing while alpha and invert are 0.
bloom in texture
phosphor glow in two rings behind every glyph, in the glyph's own colour
The glow phosphor gives off around a lit glyph, in two rings, each in the colour of its own glyph colour. It is drawn once per glyph rather than as a screen layer, so wide rings are the expensive setting on a long page.
inner ring in bloom
the radius of the tight glow around each glyph
The close ring of phosphor glow, at its own strength below. Wide rings are expensive: the glow is drawn once per glyph, so a page of body copy pays for every pixel of radius. Past a certain width the engine stops drawing the ring at all and it collapses rather than widening.
Does nothing while inner alpha is 0.
Past 80px: past about 80px the engine stops drawing a shadow this wide and the ring collapses rather than widening, and every glyph on the page is paying for the attempt.
Range 0 to 120px, steps of 1.
inner alpha in bloom
how strong the tight glow is
The strength of the close ring. A ring at no radius hides behind its own glyph, so this needs the radius above to show. High values fill in the counters of the letters.
Does nothing while inner ring is 0.
Past 0.6: the glow starts filling the counters of the letters.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
outer ring in bloom
the radius of the wide halo around each glyph
The far ring, at its own strength below. Zero radius is the ring off. The same cliff applies as to the inner ring: past a certain width the engine gives up on it.
Does nothing while outer alpha is 0.
Past 80px: past about 80px the engine stops drawing a shadow this wide, so the ring collapses rather than widening. It is a cliff in the engine, not a stop here.
Range 0 to 120px, steps of 1.
outer alpha in bloom
how strong the wide halo is
The strength of the far ring. It also needs a radius above zero to show. This is the dial that makes a page look like it is glowing rather than lit.
Does nothing while outer ring is 0.
Past 0.6: the halo starts closing the gaps between words.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
text blur in texture
a real blur on the three page bands, and the only dial that touches the glyph
Focus. A real blur on the three page bands, and the only part of the tube that touches the glyph itself. The chrome stays sharp on purpose: the panel, the terminal and the tube overlays are what you set this from, so they are not in the blur and the page can be run out of focus without losing the dial that did it.
blur in text blur
focus on the page text itself
A real blur on the three page bands, and the only dial that touches the glyph. It reaches far enough to make the page unreadable, which is the point of having it: a tube out of focus is out of focus. The chrome is deliberately not in it, so the panel and the terminal stay sharp and you can always dial your way back. It is also the only dial that puts a render surface under the reading column, so it costs paint on every scroll frame.
Past 0.35px: past 0.35 the cells smear and the face stops being a bitmap. The shipped default is a tenth of a pixel, which is the brand rule (6.4); the rest of the range is yours.
Range 0 to 8px, steps of 0.01.
phosphor triad in texture
the shadow mask: hard vertical stripes of red, green and blue
The shadow mask: hard vertical stripes of red, green and blue, which is what the picture is actually laid down on. Give the stripes a few pixels each or they average out to grey.
alpha in phosphor triad
how strong the red, green and blue stripe grille is
The strength of the shadow mask: the three coloured stripes a real tube lays the picture down on. At zero it is off. It is a grille over the type, so it reads best with the stripes wide enough to see.
Past 0.25: the triad reads as a grille over the type.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.005.
pitch in phosphor triad
the width of one stripe of the grille
One stripe, so the triad repeats every three of these. Narrow stripes average out to grey at screen resolution; give them a few pixels each and the colour comes back.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0.5 to 200px, steps of 0.5.
triad set in phosphor triad
which three colours the stripes of the grille are
The grille has three stripes, so this picks a set rather than one colour. `as built` is the site's oxide, green and blue. `rgb` is the red, green and blue of a colour tube's shadow mask. A palette name gives a monochrome mask instead: the backlight's main colour, its darker one, and the main again, which is what a single-phosphor tube lays the picture down on. Tip: give the stripes a few pixels each or any set of them averages out to grey.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
text family
what the tube does to the type itself
The layers that touch the glyphs rather than the screen. The colour tear is misconvergence, the three colour guns landing a fraction apart. Switch the family off for type as the font drew it, with the rest of the tube still running.
colour tear in text
misconvergence: two offset copies of every glyph, one warm and one cool
Misconvergence: the three colour guns landing a fraction apart, drawn as two coloured copies of every glyph. It is a shadow on the type rather than a screen layer, so it costs the same on a long story as on the cover.
offset x in colour tear
how far the colour ghosts sit sideways
The horizontal offset of the two coloured copies of each glyph. This is the dial that makes the tear read at all: with no offset the ghosts hide behind the glyph whatever their strength.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Past 3: the ghosts read as a second copy of the page.
Range 0 to 64, steps of 0.1.
offset y in colour tear
how far the colour ghosts sit up and down
The vertical offset. A little reads as a tube that is not quite locked; more reads as a rolling picture.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Past 2: vertical ghosts read as a rolling picture.
Range 0 to 64, steps of 0.1.
alpha in colour tear
how strong the colour ghosts are
The strength of both ghosts. The offset is what makes a ghost read, not this: the fringe sits over the page ground, so its contrast there is much the same whatever colour the type is.
Does nothing while offset x and offset y are 0.
Past 0.85: the ghosts compete with the glyph.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
hue in colour tear
which pair of colours the ghosts are
Rotates the pair around the wheel: red and cyan at one end, green and magenta in the middle, blue and yellow at the other. All three are real misconvergence, and which one you pick is which gun is out.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Range 0 to 1, steps of 0.01.
follows glyph size in colour tear
the offset scales with the type size, or stays in pixels
On, the offset is a fraction of the glyph, so a large title tears further than body copy and both read the same. Off, it is the same number of pixels everywhere, so the tear is loud on small type and quiet on large. Tip: the difference is smallest on a page that is all one size.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
on white text in colour tear
extra ghost strength on plain white text
Multiplies the strength on white type only, which is the type the fringe shows least on. Coloured and gold text keeps the dialled strength. The product is capped, so past a point this has nowhere left to go.
Does nothing while alpha is 0.
Past 2.5: the product is capped at 1, so past 1 divided by the tear alpha this dial has nowhere left to go.
Range 0 to 8, steps of 0.1.