Original Post
Is there any way to achieve custom effects on images without having to use HLSL? (HLSL just seems too far above my level right now)
I'd like to be able to seamlessly blur an image into focus. I understand that this can be achieved (generally speaking) by individually modifying each pixel through the use of kernels.
In XNA, is there a way to access individual pixels in an image? I've searched the internet pretty thoroughly for blur techniques in XNA, but I usually just end up on a page where they're talking about HLSL shaders.
Is there not a way to achieve a blur effect like this by just processing the image directly through XNA? And of course, this question necessitates another one...if you CAN modify pixels individually, is it even realistic to expect to achieve a seamless "blur in" effect like this, or would it be way too costly? From what little I've gathered, HLSL gives you direct access to the power of the GPU so that you can do expensive things like this without compromising performance. Are most image processing techniques too expensive to aim for without going the HLSL route?
If most custom effects require HLSL, I guess I'm just gonna' have to man up and get a book on it. I don't want to program a game in a way that doesn't give me any more freedom than if I were to just download some software like RPGMaker or GameMaker.
Thanks for any guidance.
I'd like to be able to seamlessly blur an image into focus. I understand that this can be achieved (generally speaking) by individually modifying each pixel through the use of kernels.
In XNA, is there a way to access individual pixels in an image? I've searched the internet pretty thoroughly for blur techniques in XNA, but I usually just end up on a page where they're talking about HLSL shaders.
Is there not a way to achieve a blur effect like this by just processing the image directly through XNA? And of course, this question necessitates another one...if you CAN modify pixels individually, is it even realistic to expect to achieve a seamless "blur in" effect like this, or would it be way too costly? From what little I've gathered, HLSL gives you direct access to the power of the GPU so that you can do expensive things like this without compromising performance. Are most image processing techniques too expensive to aim for without going the HLSL route?
If most custom effects require HLSL, I guess I'm just gonna' have to man up and get a book on it. I don't want to program a game in a way that doesn't give me any more freedom than if I were to just download some software like RPGMaker or GameMaker.
Thanks for any guidance.
