How to install shaders on Minecraft

How to install shaders on Minecraft: You have just started playing Minecraft, Mojang’s popular sandbox video game, but unfortunately the visual rendering of the title does not convince you. You were therefore willing to abandon it, but then you discovered that there are shaders, that is, changes that can make the graphics of the game better. You then ran to search online for all the necessary information to install this visual improvement, ending up on this tutorial of mine. Well, I can assure you that you are in the right place at the right time!

In today’s guide, in fact, I will explain in detail how to install the shaders on Minecraft. In case you were wondering, I’ll take a look at the Java version of Mojang’s title and walk you through the best options for making it more visually appealing. All the tools examined in this tutorial are free and do not touch the internal files of the game, so there is no danger of various problems or malfunctions.

How do you say? Can’t wait to see Minecraft with the shaders installed? Well, then you just have to read and apply the quick instructions below. That said, there is nothing left for me to do, except wish you good reading and have fun!

Index

• Preliminary information
• How to install shaders on Minecraft
• How to install Optifine shaders on Minecraft

Preliminary information

Before going into the details of the procedure on how to install shaders on Minecraft, I think it may interest you to know more about this possibility.

The shaders are nothing more than a “modification” designed to make Mojang’s title more appealing, visually speaking. Put simply, using shaders you can get more “realistic” graphics in Minecraft , leaving behind the “cubes”. Obviously the structure of the game will remain the same, but several elements will be more beautiful to look at. For example, sunlight and water reflections will come closest to that of a next-generation game.

However, shaders are not a feature implemented by developers, but are simply mods made by Minecraft enthusiasts. Put simply, these are files created by the community that can extend the possibilities of the game. You can find concrete examples of mods in my guides on how to get the cape on Minecraft (mod Advanced Capes ) and how to spawn Herobrine (mod Herobrine datapack ). If, on the other hand, you are interested in making a modification yourself, I recommend that you take a look at my tutorial on how to create a mod for Minecraft.

As you may have already guessed, there are therefore different types of shaders. They affect the video card in a different way and it is therefore recommended to have a performing configuration before installing this type of mod. For example, there may be problems with Intel’s integrated GPUs in some cases.

Unfortunately, I cannot be more precise with my indications, as there are no real minimum requirements, being mods created by the community. Despite this, I assure you that usually most mid-range computers are able to handle the shaders.

In case you were wondering, shaders cannot be used in the console versions of Minecraft, for example, those for PlayStation. As for smartphones and tablets, I do not recommend downloading mods for Minecraft Pocket Edition, since you have to go and modify the internal files of the game and this can compromise the whole experience.

In this tutorial, therefore, I will focus on the Java version of Minecraft for Windows and macOS, that is, the one in which the mods are accepted and well regarded by the community.

How to install shaders on Minecraft

After explaining what shaders are and how they work, I would say that you are ready to proceed with their installation. Among the most popular shaders, there are those called SEUS V10 standard, which particularly improve reflections, lights and shadows. To apply them, I will use the mod called GLSL Shaders Mod, available until version 1.12.2 of Minecraft.

If you have a version of Minecraft equal to or lower than 1.12.2, the first thing you need to do is connect to the 9Minecraft site, scroll the page and press the Download from server 1 button located under the version of Minecraft you have installed on your computer. Then press the Download button that appears on the screen, in order to start downloading the file. In case you have one of the various 1.12 versions, you will need to download both the GLSL Shaders Mod and the ASM Mod.

Once you have downloaded the GLSL-Shaders-Mod- [version] .jar and possibly ASM-Mod- [version] .jar files, you must move them to the Minecraft folder dedicated to mods. If you are using a Windows computer, then start Minecraft Launcher and press the PLAY item.

At this point, select the Single Player option and press on the name of the main game you are playing. Then, click on the Edit item at the bottom left and select the item Open the world folder.

Now, click on the .minecraft item at the top and open the folder called mods. Perfect, now you just have to copy/move the previously downloaded .jar files in here and that’s it. You may need to restart Minecraft for the mod installation to take effect.

If you are using a Mac instead, you need to copy/move the mod files to ~ / Library / Application Support / minecraft /. If you do not know how to access this folder, click on the Go item in the top bar and select the word Go to the folder from the menu that opens. At this point, type the path ~ / Library / Application Support / minecraft / in the window displayed on the screen and press the Enter key on your keyboard.

Perfect, now you have successfully installed the mod for the shaders. To verify that everything went right, start Minecraft and select the Mods button from the main menu.

In the next screen you will find the list of installed mods and those related to shaders should also appear. Once a game has started, you should already see the new graphics applied. If not, go to the game’s Settings (by pressing the Esc button on the keyboard) and look for the item Shaders. Here you will find all possible shaderpacks to apply.

If there are no shaderpacks to apply, download the SEUS V10 from this link, click on the item Shaders folder / Open shaderpacks folder and select the zip file you just downloaded.

In some cases, you may need to use the Forge profile, a well-known utility dedicated to Minecraft mods, to install these mods. If you don’t know how to install it, you just have to go to the official Forge website and click on the Installer item. You may also need to press the orange Show all Version button, depending on the version of Minecraft you are playing with.

Once the download is complete, open the forge- [version] – installer.jar file you just downloaded, select the Install Client item and click OK. Great, now the system will automatically install the Forge profile. At this point, you just have to start Minecraft Launcher, press the down arrow icon next to the PLAY button and select the Forge profile to enable it.

How to install Optifine shaders on Minecraft

How do you say? Do you have one of the latest versions of Minecraft and the GLSL Shaders Mod is not compatible? Don’t worry: it has been integrated in the latest versions of the Optifine mod and so you just need to install the latter to have the shaders.

To proceed, then connected to the official website of the Shaders Mod, scroll the page and press the green button Optifine_ [version] .jar, under the entry for the version of Minecraft you have installed on your computer. Then click on the Download button that appears on the screen.

Perfect: now you just have to open the jar file you just downloaded and press the Install button. Then press the OK button and start Minecraft as you usually do. Remember to click on the down arrow icon next to the PLAY button and select the Optifine profile, in order to start the game with the shaders already installed.

At this point, click on Single Player and start a game. Once in the game, press the Esc button on the keyboard and select the Options item from the menu that opens. Then, click first on Graphics and then on Shaders and press on the INTERNAL SHADERS item on the left, in order to click on the Done button. Perfect, you have now successfully installed the shaders in Minecraft.

In case you don’t like the shaders set by default, I suggest you download the SEUS V10 shaderpack from this link, press the Shaders folder button in the Shaders tab of the Settings and copy the zip file you just downloaded in the folder that appears on the screen.

Then select the item SEUS v.10.0 Standard.zip on the left and press the Done button. Great, now the graphics of Minecraft will be significantly improved. If you need more details on mods, I recommend that you check out my guide on how to install mods on Minecraft.

For other versions of the shaderpack that I used in this guide, I invite you to take a look at the official SEUS website instead. From here you just need to first press the DOWNLOAD button located under the version of the shaderpack you want to download and then on the red word DOWNLOAD. You may be prompted to accept the EULA and click the blue DOWNLOAD button.

The file that will be downloaded will have a zip extension and therefore you can use it as I explained earlier. However, I remind you that the updated versions of the shaderpack may compromise the performance of the game, as they add more detailed shadows, lights and elements.