Minecraft:Cloud: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 11:05, 7 June 2026

A cloud.

File:Clouds can have different sizes and shapes..png

Clouds can have different sizes and shapes.

Clouds are graphical effects in the Overworld Minecraft:sky. While serving a solely aesthetic purpose, they can be used to determine directions because they always move westward.

Appearance

File:Fancy vs fast clouds.png

Comparison of Fancy and Fast clouds in Java Edition

File:Cloud comparison BE.png

Comparison of Simple, Fancy, and Vibrant Visuals clouds in Bedrock Edition

The appearance of clouds varies depending on the Minecraft:graphics settings used either on the specific clouds oneTemplate:Only or the general graphics mode:

Fast/Simple: Clouds are opaque instead of transparent. Their color comes from the top of the fancy clouds. Their smallest horizontal dimensions are 8×8 blocks wide. Template:IN, fast clouds are two-dimensional. Simple clouds Template:In are also opaque, but remain 3D (three-dimensional), and are not faded with the render distance in Bedrock Edition.
Fancy: Clouds are translucent, three-dimensional prisms, approximately four blocks tall and 12×12 blocks wide. The transparency can be affected by the Minecraft:daylight cycle.
Fabulous! graphics in Java Edition also affect clouds, being the same as Fancy, but also being visible through transparent blocks and Minecraft:water. In Bedrock Edition, clouds are always visible through transparent blocks and water, even with Simple graphics.
Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals Template:Only adds more layers of lighting to clouds, making them lighter on the edges and darker in the middle. The clouds also create shadows and when a cloud blocks the sunlight, the environment darkens. Because clouds use Template:W, they are always reflected by water regardless of whether they are visible on the screen. Instead of using specific tints, clouds are dynamically tinted and illuminated by ambient and directional lighting, which has unique colors and strengths for certain Minecraft:biomes and they are constantly changing with the daylight cycle.

File:CloudsComparison.png

The same clouds during different time and weather conditions

Template:FakeImage Clouds are tinted light gray during the day, which changes to gray or dark gray depending on the Minecraft:weather and the Minecraft:daylight cycle. Specifically, clouds color Template:Color during Minecraft:rain or Minecraft:snowfall and Template:Color during Minecraft:thunderstorms or when a Minecraft:wither is nearby in Bedrock Edition, blended with regular cloud colors for 95%, and not applied in dry biomes with Vibrant Visuals. During the night, fancy clouds are more transparent. In Bedrock Edition, clouds gradually turn orange during sunset and sunrise at any graphics mode, along with ambient lighting.

In Java Edition, clouds are faded by Minecraft:environmental fog.

The shape, dimensions, and color of clouds can be changed by modifying the clouds.png file located within assets\minecraft\textures\environment within the version's JAR file Template:Only or /textures/environment in the Minecraft:resource pack.Template:Only The file's dimensions can be changed to any size.

Clouds are made from individual square pieces. The game assembles clouds by placing cloud pieces one by one.

Behavior

Clouds always float westward between layer 192 and 196. They are not interactive, and simply float through blocks and entities. Unlike in real life, clouds themselves do not produce rain or snow, meaning rain or snow continues even above the clouds.

The maximum distance in which clouds are rendered depends on the cloud distance setting Template:In (max 128 chunks), while they are always rendered to 20 chunks in Bedrock Edition, and faded with the render distance on Fancy graphics. With Vibrant Visuals, the cloud distance is controlled by a separate "Clouds" slider, which has for different options at a maximum of 128 chunks.Template:Info needed Clouds do not render with a render distance of 3 chunks or lower.

The position of the clouds is the same for every player on a Minecraft:server, due to their movement being dependent on world time.

History

Template:Info needed section

Issues

Template:Issue list

Trivia

File:Creeper face in clouds.png

A creeper face that appears in clouds.

The Template:Cd image includes a Minecraft:creeper face as gaps between clouds.

REDIRECT Template:PG/-

Gallery

Textures

Clouds pattern. A black background was added for visibility.

Clouds pattern. A black background was added for visibility.
The original texture file

The original texture file

Screenshots

Comparison of cloud colors in Bedrock Edition during clear weather

Comparison of cloud colors in Bedrock Edition during clear weather
Rainfall

Rainfall
Thunderstorm

Thunderstorm
Standing just above the cloud layer, looking down at the surface

Standing just above the cloud layer, looking down at the surface
Clouds with Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals

Clouds with Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals
Cloud reflections on water are blurry in contrast to detailed block reflections.

Cloud reflections on water are blurry in contrast to detailed block reflections.
The cloud distance set to Low

The cloud distance set to Low
The cloud distance set to Medium

The cloud distance set to Medium
The cloud distance set to High

The cloud distance set to High
The cloud distance set to Ultra

The cloud distance set to Ultra
Clouds on the surface in mountain peaks

Clouds on the surface in mountain peaks
Some clouds inside dripstone caves that generated extremely high in mountain peaks

Some clouds inside dripstone caves that generated extremely high in mountain peaks

Development images

The unimplemented cloud height slider

The unimplemented cloud height slider

In other media

Clouds artwork

Clouds artwork
Minecraft:Goku over the clouds

Minecraft:Goku over the clouds

References

Template:Reflist

Navigation

Template:Navbox visuals

Minecraft:cs:Mrak Minecraft:de:Wolke Minecraft:es:Nube Minecraft:fr:Nuage Minecraft:it:Nuvola Minecraft:ja:雲 Minecraft:ko:구름 Minecraft:lzh:雲 Minecraft:nl:Wolk Minecraft:pl:Chmury Minecraft:pt:Nuvem Minecraft:ru:Облака Minecraft:uk:Хмара Minecraft:zh:云

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{about||the ''[[Minecraft:Minecraft Education]]'' update named the "Cloud Update"|Minecraft Education 1.21.03|the ''[[Minecraft:Minecraft Education]]'' update named "Chase the Clouds"|Minecraft Education 1.21.91}}
+[[File:Cloud JE4.png|thumb|upright=1|A cloud.]]
 [[File:Clouds can have different sizes and shapes..png|thumb|upright=1.5|300px|Clouds can have different sizes and shapes.]]
 '''Clouds''' are graphical effects in the Overworld [[Minecraft:sky]]. While serving a solely aesthetic purpose, they can be used to determine directions because they always move westward.
 == Appearance ==
-[[File:Fancy vs fast clouds.png|thumb|upright=1.5|300px|Comparison of Fancy clouds (left) and Fast clouds (right).]]The appearance of clouds varies depending on the [[Minecraft:graphics settings]] used either on the specific clouds one{{Only|je|short=1}} or the general graphics mode:
+[[File:Fancy vs fast clouds.png|thumb|upright=1.5|300px|Comparison of Fancy and Fast clouds in ''Java Edition'']]
+[[File:Cloud comparison BE.png|thumb|Comparison of Simple, Fancy, and Vibrant Visuals clouds in ''Bedrock Edition'']]
+The appearance of clouds varies depending on the [[Minecraft:graphics settings]] used either on the specific clouds one{{Only|je|short=1}} or the general graphics mode:
-* '''Fast/Simple:''' Clouds are opaque instead of transparent. They do not change between day and night. Their color comes from the top of the fancy clouds. Their smallest horizontal dimensions are 8×8 blocks wide. {{IN|je}}, fast clouds are two-dimensional. Simple clouds {{in|be}} are also opaque, but remain 3D (three-dimensional), and are not faded with the render distance.
+* '''Fast/Simple:''' Clouds are opaque instead of transparent. Their color comes from the top of the fancy clouds. Their smallest horizontal dimensions are 8×8 blocks wide. {{IN|je}}, fast clouds are two-dimensional. Simple clouds {{in|be}} are also opaque, but remain 3D (three-dimensional), and are not faded with the render distance in ''Bedrock Edition''.
-* '''Fancy:''' Clouds are translucent, three-dimensional prisms, approximately four blocks tall and 12×12 blocks wide. The transparency can be affected by fog and the daylight cycle.
+* '''Fancy:''' Clouds are translucent, three-dimensional prisms, approximately four blocks tall and 12×12 blocks wide. The transparency can be affected by the [[Minecraft:daylight cycle]].
 * ''Fabulous!'' graphics in ''Java Edition'' also affect clouds, being the same as Fancy, but also being visible through transparent blocks and [[Minecraft:water]]. In ''Bedrock Edition'', clouds are always visible through transparent blocks and water, even with Simple graphics.
-*[[Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals]]{{Only|be|short=1}} adds more layers of lighting to clouds, making them lighter on the edges and darker in the middle. The clouds also create shadows and when a cloud blocks the sunlight, the environment darkens. Because clouds use {{w|environment mapping}}, they are always reflected by water regardless of whether they are visible on the screen. In addition to weather and daylight tinting, clouds have unique tints based on the [[Minecraft:biome]]. Global light sources such as the sun also tint clouds with their color depending on how close the clouds are to the light source.
+*[[Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals]]{{Only|be|short=1}} adds more layers of lighting to clouds, making them lighter on the edges and darker in the middle. The clouds also create shadows and when a cloud blocks the sunlight, the environment darkens. Because clouds use {{w|environment mapping}}, they are always reflected by water regardless of whether they are visible on the screen. Instead of using specific tints, clouds are dynamically tinted and illuminated by ambient and directional lighting, which has unique colors and strengths for certain [[Minecraft:biomes]] and they are constantly changing with the daylight cycle.
-[[File:CloudsComparison.png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|300px|The same clouds during different time and weather conditions.]]
+[[File:CloudsComparison.png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|300px|The same clouds during different time and weather conditions]]
+{{FakeImage|{{Animate|Clouds sunrise1.png;Clouds sunrise2.png;Clouds sunrise3.png;Clouds sunrise4.png;Clouds sunrise5.png;Clouds sunrise6.png;Clouds sunrise7.png;Clouds sunrise8.png;Clouds sunrise9.png|300px}}|The different cloud colors during sunrise and sunset in ''Bedrock Edition''}}
+Clouds are tinted light gray during the day, which changes to gray or dark gray depending on the [[Minecraft:weather]] and the [[Minecraft:daylight cycle]]. Specifically, clouds color {{Color|rgb(191, 191, 191)}} during [[Minecraft:rain]] or [[Minecraft:snowfall]] and {{Color|rgb(30, 30, 30)}} during [[Minecraft:thunderstorms]] or when a [[Minecraft:wither]] is nearby in ''Bedrock Edition'', blended with regular cloud colors for 95%, and not applied in dry biomes with Vibrant Visuals. During the night, fancy clouds are more transparent. In ''Bedrock Edition'', clouds gradually turn orange during sunset and sunrise at any graphics mode, along with ambient lighting.
-{{FakeImage|{{Animate|Clouds sunrise1.png;Clouds sunrise2.png;Clouds sunrise3.png;Clouds sunrise4.png;Clouds sunrise5.png;Clouds sunrise6.png;Clouds sunrise7.png;Clouds sunrise8.png;Clouds sunrise9.png|300px}}|The different cloud colors during sunrise and sunset in ''Bedrock Edition''.}}
+In ''Java Edition'', clouds are faded by [[Minecraft:environmental fog]].
-Clouds are tinted light gray during the day, which changes to gray or dark gray depending on the [[Minecraft:weather]] and the [[Minecraft:daylight cycle]]. During the night, fancy clouds are more transparent. Rainfall and thunderstorms darken clouds even in dry biomes, but snowfall does not have any additional effects. {{IN|be}}, clouds gradually turn orange during sunset and sunrise at any graphics mode. Clouds color {{Color|rgb(191, 191, 191)}} during [[Minecraft:rain]] and {{Color|rgb(30, 30, 30)}} during [[Minecraft:thunderstorms]] or when a [[Minecraft:wither]] is nearby in ''Bedrock Edition'', blended with regular cloud colors for 95%, and not applied in dry biomes with Vibrant Visuals.
-The shape, dimensions, and color of clouds can be changed by modifying the <code>clouds.png</code> file located within <code>assets\minecraft\textures\environment</code> within the version's [[Minecraft:Minecraft.jar|JAR file]]. The file's dimensions can be changed to any size.
+The shape, dimensions, and color of clouds can be changed by modifying the <code>clouds.png</code> file located within <code>assets\minecraft\textures\environment</code> within the version's [[Minecraft:Minecraft.jar|JAR file]]{{Only|je|short=1}} or <code>/textures/environment</code> in the [[Minecraft:resource pack]].{{Only|be|short=1}} The file's dimensions can be changed to any size.
 Clouds are made from individual square pieces. The game assembles clouds by placing cloud pieces one by one.
@@ Line 83: / Line 87: @@
 |{{HistoryLine||1.17.40|dev=beta 1.17.40.20|Now clouds float between layers 192 and 196.}}
 |{{HistoryLine||1.18.0|dev=?<!-- probably beta 1.18.0.22, but I have no way of confirming this -->|Clouds once again float between layers 128 and 132 in [[Minecraft:old]] worlds.}}
-|{{HistoryLine||1.21.80|exp=Vibrant Visuals|dev=Preview 1.21.80.25|Added a unique pattern of clouds for when [[Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals]] is turned on.}}
+|{{HistoryLine||1.21.80|exp=Vibrant Visuals|dev=Preview 1.21.80.25|Added a unique pattern of clouds for when [[Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals]] is turned on.|Added a unique lighting model for clouds with Vibrant Visuals, affected by directional lighting.|Clouds with Vibrant Visuals are rendered up to 128 chunks away regardless of render distance, controlled by a dedicated cloud distance setting.}}
 |{{HistoryLine||1.21.90|dev=Preview 1.21.90.26|The pattern of clouds has been changed.
 |Removed the pattern of clouds unique to Vibrant Visuals.}}
@@ Line 96: / Line 100: @@
 }}
 <gallery>
-Fluffy Clouds.jpg|Textured infdev clouds.
+Fluffy Clouds.jpg|Textured infdev clouds
-Pocket Edition Clouds.png|Early ''[[Minecraft:Pocket Edition]]'' clouds.
+Pocket Edition Clouds.png|Early ''[[Minecraft:Pocket Edition]]'' clouds
-Environment01.png|The cloud pattern prior to [[Minecraft:Java Edition 25w21a]] and [[Minecraft:Bedrock Edition Preview 1.21.90.26]].
+Environment01.png|The cloud pattern prior to [[Minecraft:Java Edition 25w21a]] and [[Minecraft:Bedrock Edition Preview 1.21.90.26]]
-Cloud pattern VV.png|The cloud pattern from [[Minecraft:Bedrock Edition Preview 1.21.80.25]] to Bedrock Edition Preview 1.21.90.26 with [[Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals]] turned on.
+Cloud pattern VV.png|The cloud pattern from [[Minecraft:Bedrock Edition Preview 1.21.80.25]] to Bedrock Edition Preview 1.21.90.26 with [[Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals]] turned on
 </gallery>
@@ Line 106: / Line 110: @@
 == Trivia ==
-[[File:Creeper face in clouds.png|thumb|A creeper face that appears in clouds]]
+[[File:Creeper face in clouds.png|thumb|A creeper face that appears in clouds.]]
 * The {{cd|cloud.png}} image includes a [[Minecraft:creeper]] face as gaps between clouds.
@@ Line 149: / Line 153: @@
 == Navigation ==
-{{Navbox dimension effects}}
+{{Navbox visuals}}
-{{Navbox environment}}
 [[Minecraft:cs:Mrak]]