Magpie Guide

This guide walks you through setting up and using Magpie, a lightweight window upscaling tool that can dramatically improve the visual quality of older visual novels and games.

Magpie applies advanced scaling algorithms to windowed applications, making low-resolution content look crisp on modern high-resolution displays.

Requirements

• Windows 10 (version 1903 or later) or Windows 11
• DirectX feature level 11
• A visual novel or game

Installation

1. Download the latest release from the Magpie Releases page
2. Extract the downloaded archive to a folder of your choice
3. Run Magpie.exe to start the application

Basic Usage

Hotkeys

Magpie can upscale windows in two different modes:

• Fullscreen - Scales the window to fill your entire screen
  • Default hotkey: Alt + Shift + A
• Windowed - Scales the window while keeping it windowed
  • Default hotkey: Alt + Shift + Q

Quick Start

1. Launch Magpie
2. Launch your visual novel or game
3. Click on the game window to make it active
4. Press Alt + Shift + A for fullscreen scaling, or Alt + Shift + Q for windowed scaling
5. Press the same hotkey again to deactivate scaling

Before scaling:

After scaling:

Scaling Algorithms

Magpie includes many scaling options. Here are the most relevant for visual novels:

Best for VNs:

• CuNNy - The go-to choice for VN artwork. Handles illustrated characters and backgrounds beautifully (recommended)
• Anime4K - Works well on VN sprites. Multiple variants for different needs
• ACNet - Can clean up grainy or compressed CGs while upscaling

If CuNNy is too slow:

• FSR - Much faster but still looks decent. Good fallback for weaker hardware
• Lanczos / Jinc - Classic algorithms that work on anything
• FSRCNNX - Balance between quality and speed

For PC-98 and older VNs:

• CRT shaders (Easymode, Geom, Hyllian, Lottes) - Give that authentic retro look if you're playing classic titles
• xBRZ / MMPX - Smooth out pixel art while preserving the aesthetic
• Pixellate / SharpBilinear - Keep pixels sharp without blurring

Optional post-processing:

• CAS - Quick sharpening pass
• AdaptiveSharpen - Brings out soft details without overdoing it
• SMAA / FXAA - Reduce jagged edges on text and UI elements

Configuration

Recommended Settings for VNs

For visual novels, CuNNy tends to give the best results. It was specifically designed with VN-style artwork in mind.

• CuNNy-NVL - Tuned for the kind of art you see in VNs. Start here
• CuNNy-DS - Includes extra cleanup if your source looks noisy or soft
• CuNNy-fast - Try this if your GPU struggles with the standard version

The variants with larger numbers (8x32, 4x32) look nicer but are more demanding. If you're getting stuttering or low framerates, drop down to a smaller or "fast" variant.

To enable CuNNy:

1. Open Magpie and go to any of your profiles
2. Under the General section, find the Scaling mode setting
3. Change the scaling mode to a CuNNy variant

Profiles

Magpie allows you to create multiple profiles with different settings like scaling mode and capture method. You can switch between profiles depending on what works best for each game.

Graphics Card Selection

If you have multiple graphics cards (e.g., integrated and dedicated GPU), you may need to select the correct one:

1. Open your profile settings
2. Go to the Performance section
3. Select your preferred graphics card

This is important for getting the best performance, especially on laptops with both integrated and dedicated graphics.

Troubleshooting

Tip: For older games, try disabling DPI scaling overrides in the game's compatibility settings before using Magpie.

If a game has built-in resolution options, it may be best to use the game's native settings rather than Magpie's scaling.