Optimize Performance While Keeping Visual Quality

Understanding the Performance Cost

Global illumination calculates light paths in real time, which demands more from your GPU than vanilla lighting. The shader offers several quality tiers to balance visuals with frame rate.

Performance Adjustment Steps

1. Access shader settings from the video options menu

2. Look for quality presets or GI sample count options

3. Lower presets reduce the number of light bounces calculated per frame

4. Disable or reduce shadow distance if frame rate drops significantly

5. Adjust render distance—shorter distances mean fewer blocks to calculate lighting for

6. Test changes in demanding areas: dense forests, large caves, or complex builds

Finding Your Sweet Spot

Start with a lower quality setting and gradually increase until you notice frame drops. Most players find a middle ground where lighting still looks natural without sacrificing playability. Monitor performance in different biomes—some areas are more demanding than others due to terrain complexity and vegetation density.