Tyrian in HD
Original pixels, sharp pixel art or AI-enlarged HD art, with or without a CRT filter: what each mode does and how they compare.
On this page
Three ways to draw the same game
Tyrian runs at 320×200 pixels, a resolution made for 1995 monitors. On a modern screen, OpenTyrian2000 Enhanced Edition lets you choose how that picture is drawn. The choice is in Setup → Graphics → Sprites (Original, Remastered (HD (AI) art) and Upscaled (xBRZ) (sharp pixel art)), in the display options (F10, where they are called Original, HD (AI) and Sharp pixel art), or with F3 outside a level, and it is saved between sessions.
None of these modes changes the game itself: enemies, shots and hit boxes are the same in every mode. Only the drawing changes.
Original
The 1995 pixels, enlarged by whole-number steps. Nothing is added or smoothed.
Sharp pixel art
xBRZ edge smoothing rounds the staircase edges while keeping the pixel-art look. It is computed as the picture is drawn: no extra files, no dedicated graphics card.
HD (AI)
Every image enlarged four times in advance by an AI model trained on pixel art, in the upscaled folder of the full package or of the HD pack.
Side by side
| Mode | How it is made | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Original | The game's own images, scaled up | The authentic 1995 look, often with a CRT filter |
| Sharp pixel art | Edge smoothing, computed live | A cleaner look that stays faithful to every pixel |
| HD (AI) | Pre-made images, four times larger | Large screens and a smooth, painted look |
What Tyrian's HD (AI) art covers
- Scenery: the background of each level is enlarged as one whole picture, so no tile grid shows, and see-through scenery such as ice blends as in the original.
- Ships, enemies, pickups and data cubes.
- The interface: the status bar for one and two players, the menus, the title screen, the shop, portraits, weapon icons and gauges are drawn in high definition too. Text and digits stay crisp pixel art, and nothing moves on screen. The mouse pointer is drawn in HD too.
- Explosions, smoke, debris and shots are enlarged as sharp pixel art, which keeps the original flames.
The HD images are made by a machine, not repainted by an artist, so this is not an official remaster. If you prefer the hand-made originals, Original and Sharp pixel art are one key away.
CRT filters
Five CRT filters (plus Off) in Setup → Graphics → CRT Mode, also cycled with F2 outside a level. They work on top of any of the three looks above.
| Filter | What you see |
|---|---|
| Off | The clean picture. |
| Scanlines | Light dark lines between pixel rows, nothing else. |
| CRT Plus | Stronger scanlines, a curved screen and darker corners. |
| CRT Premium | CRT Plus with a glow around bright pixels and slight colour fringing. |
| Aperture Grille | Fine red, green and blue stripes like a professional video monitor, with a soft glow and a flat screen. |
| Soft CRT | A heavy glow and faint scanlines, without curvature. |
The same menu has a Scaler (None, 2x, Scale2x, hq2x, 3x, Scale3x, hq3x, 4x, hq4x) for classic pixel-art scaling, and Scaling Mode to fit the picture to your screen. Optional effects sit next to them: Visual Effects (Off gives the pure 1995 look) and three explosion styles, Classic, Retro+ and Modern. Full details are on the wiki's Options and display page.
Tyrian HD download size and the HD pack
The HD (AI) images make up most of the download, so v1.0-rc1 comes in two sizes. The full package (704.0 MB on Windows, 683.4 MB on Linux, 727.3 MB on Mac), the one offered by default, includes them. The lite package (197.3 MB on Windows, 185.6 MB on Linux; none for Mac) is the whole game without the upscaled folder: Original and Sharp pixel art work, the HD (AI) mode is simply not offered.
To add the HD (AI) art to a lite package later, download the HD pack (506.5 MB, the same for Windows and Linux) and extract it into the game folder, so that upscaled sits next to the executable. Use the pack of the same version as the game. The steps are on the download page.
Playing on Windows? See Play Tyrian on Windows 10 and 11. On a handheld, the Steam Deck page covers the display settings that suit its 1280×800 screen.
Questions, bugs, ideas?
Tell us what you think of the Enhanced Edition: we read every message.
Write to us