Minecraft:Graphics settings

Template:For Template:Wip Graphics is one of the game's many visual settings, which allows for the game's rendering of an assortment of features to be adjusted to match computer specifications.

There are currently threeTemplate:Only/fourTemplate:Only different options for graphics to be set to, in order of computing expense: Fast, Fancy and Fabulous!Template:Only, or Simple, Fancy, Ray Traced, and Vibrant VisualsTemplate:Only, each bringing their own dedicated visual improvements.

Differences between settings

Summary

Java Edition

Setting	Leaves	Translucency
Fast	Template:Tc	Template:Tc
Fancy	Template:Tc	Template:Tc
Fabulous!	Template:Tc	Template:Tc

• Fast
  Fast
• Fancy
  Fancy
• Fabulous!
  Fabulous!

Bedrock Edition

Template:IN, there are 4 graphics modes: Simple, Fancy, Vibrant Visuals, and Ray Traced. Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals and Minecraft:ray tracing have additional minimum requirements, and ray tracing requires a compatible Minecraft:resource pack. In general, the Simple and Fancy graphics modes are equivalent to Java Edition's Fabulous! graphics and do not make compromises, while still providing a better performance. Most graphical features, such as transparent Minecraft:leaves, are controlled by their own settings. There are a few differences between Simple and Fancy graphics modes, but Vibrant Visuals and ray tracing enable advanced rendering techniques with far more graphical features.

The graphics mode cannot be switched in-game by default and requires the "In-Game Graphics Mode Switching" option to be enabled. This is not available on lower-end devices, because especially switching from/to/between Vibrant Visuals and ray tracing requires high performance and memory.

Detailed analysis

Java Edition

Leaves

File:Graphic.gif

The difference between fast graphics leaves and fancy graphics leaves.

When graphics are set to Fast, leaves are rendered as completely opaque blocks when placed in the world. (In item form, they still appear transparent.) This is likely meant to improve framerates by treating leaves more like full, solid cubes, and allowing their faces to be culled by each other, resulting in the game having to render fewer faces in forested areas; this, however, does not happen.<ref>Template:Bug</ref>

Leaves do not use a separate texture file for their appearance in Fast graphics - rather, all transparent regions in the texture are set to fully opaque, and appear black.Template:Info needed

Leaves are the only block subject to this - other transparent cubes, such as Minecraft:monster spawners are still rendered transparent, likely due to their comparative rarity.

Translucency

When graphics are set to Fast or Fancy, the game makes compromises on the rendering of many translucent elements of the game.

A notable example of this involves viewing the world through translucent blocks such as Minecraft:stained glass, Minecraft:tinted glass, and Minecraft:ice. When this is done, the game does not attempt to render Minecraft:particles, Minecraft:rain, Minecraft:snow, or Minecraft:clouds behind the block.

There are also many, much more subtle cases which can be seen. Minecraft:Experience orbs have many associated cases - for example, they can block the rendering of their own shadows, as well as of other entities, including entity-rendered blocks such as Minecraft:chests, as well as non-entity-rendered translucent blocks such as stained glass, and other things like the outlines of targeted blocks.

The effects seem to be time-specific, and often differ depending on the age of the entities in question - different effects can be seen for experience orbs that existed in the world before the entity behind them than experience orbs that came into existence afterward.

More obscure cases can be sighted as well, such as with the dying animation of the Minecraft:ender dragon, the Minecraft:world border, and Minecraft:structure block annotations. Untested cases involve F3+G chunk borders and Minecraft:shulker bullets. Blocks such as tripwire, slime blocks, and honey blocks may cause even more strange effects.

Bedrock Edition

Template:Expand section The following table lists the main differences between graphics modes. Unknown differences or graphical features controlled by their own settings are not included.

	Simple	Fancy	Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals	Ray Traced
Availability	All	All	Platforms: Template:OS Template:OS Template:OS Template:OS Template:OS Template:OS Template:OS Template:OS Additional minimum requirements for Template:OS Template:OS Template:OS Template:OS Not in Minecraft:splitscreen Not with incompatible Minecraft:resource packs and on certain Minecraft:servers	Template:OS with compatible graphics cards Requires compatible Minecraft:resource pack
Performance cost	Very low	Low	Medium	High
Rendering	5-96 chunksTemplate:Note Chunks fade in Smooth rendering in facing direction	5-96 chunksTemplate:Note Chunks fade in Smooth rendering in facing direction	0-128 chunksTemplate:Note Chunks appear instantly Instant rendering directly around crosshair	0-128 chunksTemplate:Note Chunks appear instantly Instant rendering directly around crosshair Limited loading memory
Static Minecraft:lighting	Yes	Yes	Yes Colored with Render Dragon Features for Creators experiment	No
Minecraft:Smooth lighting	Yes	Yes	Yes	No; ambient occlusion with directional lighting
Directional lighting	No	No	Minecraft:Sun, Minecraft:moon, Minecraft:End flash Point light blocks with Render Dragon Features for Creators	Minecraft:Sun, Minecraft:moon Limited point light blocks Emissive textures
Texture sets	RGBA	RGBA	RGBA; MERS; Normal/Heightmap (unused) Vanilla MERS textures for each block, entity, particle and item Pixelated reflections from emissive light on metallic surfaces, subsurface scattering for directional lighting on certain blocks, smooth reflections from directional lighting on smooth surfaces.	RGBA; MER (unused); Normal/Heightmap (unused) All objects are reflective by default, with high-quality reflections of all rendered objects.
Light coloration/strength	Ambient lighting varies with Minecraft:daylight cycle or Minecraft:dimensions	Ambient lighting varies with daylight cycle or dimensions	Ambient lighting varies with daylight cycle or dimensions Directional lighting varies with daylight cycle or Minecraft:biome Sky lighting Emissive desaturation	Ambient lighting varies with daylight cycle or dimensions Directional lighting varies with daylight cycle
Atmospherics	Varying Minecraft:sky color per Overworld Minecraft:biome and set daylight cycle colors Beautiful Skies toggle	Varying sky color per Overworld biome and set daylight cycle colors Beautiful Skies toggle	Different colors for horizon and zenith with blending Unique colors for certain biomes and dimensions Varying colors depending on daylight cycle	Hard-coded colors for each part of the sky Varying colors depending on daylight cycle
Minecraft:Fog	Default fog types; different water fog colors	Default fog types; different water fog colors	Default fog types; different water fog colors Configurable Minecraft:volumetric fog; varying colors and densities per biome Light shafts; varying strengths per biome	Default fog types Minecraft:Volumetric fog Light shafts
Shadows	No	Static round shadows below Minecraft:entities	Pixelated shadows from all objects created by directional lighting	Soft shadows from all objects created by directional lighting
Minecraft:Water effects	Biome-colored surface texture Slightly transparent	Biome-colored surface texture Slightly transparent	Fully transparent Light scattering in deeper water bodies Screen-space reflections Pixelated reflections Cubemap reflections	Semi-transparent Distortion effects Fully reflective from underwater; slightly reflective from above Smooth light reflections
Water caustics	No	No	Pixelated	Soft
Minecraft:Clouds	Opaque Colored with daylight cycle Limited to render distance Are not faded by Minecraft:fog	Varying transparencies Colored with daylight cycle Limited to render distance	Volumetric lighting model Colored with atmospheric and lighting settings, dynamic scattering Custom cloud distance up to 128 chunks	Semi-transperent; directional light sources are visible but dimmed Have refraction Colored with atmosphere colors and dynamic scattering Limited to render distance
Translucency	Correct translucency through all transparent objects	Correct translucency through all transparent objects	Correct translucency through all transparent objects Directional lighting, shadows, and light shafts visible through transparent objects	Correct translucency through all transparent objects Directional lighting, shadows, and light shafts visible through transparent objects Advanced refraction
Post processing effects	No	No	Light bloom Configurable upscaling Biome-configured color grading Tone mapping	Light bloom Toggleable upscaling on Nvidia graphics cards
Minecraft:Screen effects	No Minecraft:vignette	All	All	All
Settings	Brightness	Brightness	Gamma calibration Reflections Shadows Volumetric fog Point lighting Point light shadows Bloom Graphics presets	Brightness
Customization in Minecraft:resource packs	Sky colors, water colors, fog settings	Sky colors, water colors, fog settings	Atmospherics Color grading/tone mapping Cubemaps Lighting Shadows Texture sets for blocks, entities, particles, items Fog settings with volumetric fog/light shafts Water Editable in Minecraft:Bedrock Editor	Texture sets for blocks Fog settings with volumetric fog

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