Troubleshoot Missing Lighting Effects or Darkness

Verify the Shader is Active

Confirm Basic RTX is selected in Video Settings → Shaders. The shader name should appear highlighted. If it shows "None," the shader isn't loaded.

Check Lighting Conditions

Ray-traced effects are subtle in bright daylight. Underground caves show the most dramatic difference from vanilla lighting.

Reload if Needed

If the world appears too dark or lighting looks broken:

1. Open shader options and reset to defaults

2. Exit to the main menu

3. Re-enter your world

This forces the shader to reinitialize.

GPU Compatibility

If no ray-traced effects appear at all, your graphics card may not support the required features. Check that your GPU drivers are up to date. Basic RTX requires relatively modern hardware; very old integrated graphics may not render the effects properly, though the shader should still function without crashing.