Minecraft:Starfield

Template:No navbox Starfield is a unique graphical effect used for rendering certain features related to Minecraft:the End.

Use cases

Starfield effects are used for the following:

• End portal
• End gateway
• Minecraft:Endermen holding End portals or End gateways
• Minecraft:Minecarts with custom-displayed End portal or End gateway blocks
• Lit Minecraft:TNT entities set to display as End portals or End gateways
• Loading screen when entering or leaving the End
• Minecraft:End Poem background screen
• Minecraft:Credit sequence background screen
• Items using the "end_cube" special model type in a resource pack

Minecraft:Falling block entities of the End portal and End gateway do not render the starfield effect, and it seems highly unlikely (although unproven) that Minecraft:moving piston blocks would either.<ref>Template:Bug</ref>

How it is rendered

Java Edition

The rendering of the starfield effect has changed several times throughout the game's history; the following is present as of Minecraft:Java Edition 21w10a.

Two different texture files are utilised in generating the starfield effect:

"End Portal" texture	"End Sky" texture
Template:Pximg	Template:Pximg

The "End sky" texture, which is indeed the same texture used for the actual Minecraft:End sky, is used as the "background" texture: it is drawn at the very back, stretched to fit the whole screen, and flipped vertically.Template:Info needed The "End portal" texture is drawn multiple timesTemplate:Info needed on top of this background,Template:Info needed multiplied by a set of different colours.Template:Info needed These planes slowly move over time.Template:Info needed

There are two distinct starfield effects: one associated with the End portal, and another associated with the End gateway. While similar, the End gateway renders additional planes of the subsequent "End portal" texture, which are noticeably bluer than the ones from the "normal" End portal version of the starfield.Template:Info needed The difference can be seen when these blocks are next to each other: most of the starfield matches up, but the bluer pixels will disappear once they cross into the End portal's domain from the End gateway.

The starfield effect is completely constant regardless of view: while moving and rotating the camera will change the position of the object using the starfield effect itself on screen, the starfield itself will remain fixed in place. In effect, anything using the starfield effect effectively creates what can be seen as a "hole" in the world, behind which the starfield rests. The shape of the starfield also changes with the window size, although this is presumably not intentional.<ref>Template:Bug</ref>

History