From photorealistic lighting to uncanny motion blur, shaders are capable of bringing your Minecraft experience to life. Every shader has its own unique qualities, whether that’s injecting some serious style or providing a lag-free boost to Minecraft’s base visuals. So, in order to set you on your way to crystal-clear vistas we’ve put together a collection of the top Minecraft shaders out there.

How to install Minecraft shaders

Getting a shader or shader pack up and running on Minecraft is a simple enough process. Before you get started trying to install a shader pack though, you’ll want to download and install Forge and Optifine and GLSL Shaders Mod.

Head to Forge’s download page and select the download for the version of Minecraft you’re running. Once downloaded, locate the file and run it, which should bring a install window up. Check it’s located your Minecraft folders and then click ‘Install client’. To check it’s working, run Minecraft and select Forge as your profile – this should give you a new screen with your mods and programs listed in the bottom left-hand corner.

Optifine will require roughly the same procedure, but after downloading you’ll have to locate the Minecraft folder yourself. To do so hit [Windows key]+ R and type %appdata%\.minecraft into the run prompt. Now just drag and drop OptiFine into your ‘mods’ folder.

Finally, it’s time to grab the GLSL Shaders Mod. Head to their page and download the correct version before once again dragging and dropping it into the ‘mods’ folder. Now you have everything you should need to run shaders. The install process in no different than the rest except you’ll want to place the shader packs into… you guessed it… ‘shaderpacks’ folder.

Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders

The touchstone shader pack for anyone wanting to feel like they’ve entered an entirely different game. Named SEUS for short, this pack is a modification on another much-loved shader pack, and as such it’ll have your Minecraft world looking about as good as you can ever expect it to. Soft natural lighting, rain that adds a glossy sheen to every surface it touches, procedurally generated clouds and much more await you.

Lagless Shaders

Experimenting, tinkering and modding like the mad scientists we are comes with the cost of severely reduce performance – not every budding Minecraft engineer has a computer rig capable of dealing with the demands of high-fidelity visuals. Thankfully, some clever so-and-so made lagless shaders, giving everyone a taste of jaw-dropping visuals with no framerate drops to speak of.

Summer Sunset

Few things compare to the warming glow of a summer sunset. That’s why this Minecraft modder decided to make a shader capable of bestowing all of those feelings of nostalgia and carefree-living upon your Minecraft world. Perfect for getting you through a dark and gloomy January afternoon or convincing yourself you’ve spent time outside on a hot June day.

Naelego’s Cel Shaders

Add some crisp, cartoony visuals to proceedings with this Borderlands-inspired, cel-shaded look. This expertly crafted shader introduces bold colours, crisp outlines and solid shadows in order to emulate the look of a classic comic or cartoon.

itsMagicMelon Shader Pack

Specially made for low-end setups, this humble shader gives lighting, effects and animations a dramatic boost with little to no toll on how well the game will run for you. Staggeringly, the itsMagicMelon Shader Pack still manages to include all the features of its performance-draining counterparts, such as water reflections, natural shadows and hosts of animations.

Acid Shaders

Flawless visuals and breathtaking sunsets are one thing, but if you want to make your Minecraft session a little psychedelic there are few shaders as effective as this aptly named mind-bender. Looking towards the horizon will cause everything in view to twist and distort, folding the world in on itself and falling away in a single motion – it’s stomach-churning stuff. Load up a horror map with this shader turned on and you’re all set for a Minecraftian nightmare.

RudoPlays Shaders

Every shader has its best feature, this one has lots of them. Arresting sunsets, swaying foliage and vibrant colours are just some of the additions that make RudoPlays’ pack so great. This shader rests somewhere between photorealistic and classic Minecraft, making it an ideal bolt-on for anyone looking to add an aesthetic kick to the vanilla game.

Ziipzaap’s Shader Pack

Sure, Ziipzaap’s Shader pack provides a hearty boost to Minecraft’s general lighting, but it’s the quality of the reflections that have been added to water which make this shader stand out. Our recommendation: find a large body of water, sit back and bask in the glory of those pristine reflections until the sun sets and it’s time to return to the safety of your hut.

Hexagon’s Night Owl Shader Pack

Survival mode places a great amount of emphasis on surviving the night, which means attempting to adequately light a pitch-black world while defending yourself.This useful shader lights the night up with a convincing moonlight glow, making slaying mobs and exploring your surroundings considerably easier in early game.

The Wave

The Wave is another hypnotic shader that’ll give VR a run for its money where motion sickness is concerned. Stirring your vision as much as it stirs your stomach, The Wave makes the world around you roll about like… well… waves. It’s off-putting, nauseating, but totally awesome, especially when the sun’s setting.

That’s it – Minecraft shaders aplenty. If you’ve found any more that you think belong in the list then let us know in the comments.

Minecraft shaders: 10 of the best Minecraft graphics mods

It can be easy to get lost in fractals – those never-ending complex patterns that loop over and over again – and it’s even easier to get totally immersed into one with a VR headset on.

Minecraft founder Markus “Notch” Persson released what looks like a hobby project that involves virtual reality, fractals and an Internet browser. It’s very trippy especially in 3D.

Notch, as he’s known online, also had a trippy love-haterelationship with the Oculus Rift, but now seems to have taken a liking to the platform. Initially, the Minecraft creator was an early supporter of Oculus. When Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion, Notch withdrew his support.

Eventually (and apparently even more so now), Notch got over the deal. It’s ironic considering Notch eventually sold out too when hesold Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.

He’s been working on small development projects since the sale. When he’s not tweeting about working “without actually finishing anything,” Notch does find ways to finish stuff, and hisUnmandelboxing is proof of that.

Weighing at a light 3.5 KB, the project takes viewers on a frantic fractal virtual reality journey. It’s best viewed using an Oculus Rift headset on a browser supporting WebVR (available only on experimental builds of Firefox and Chrome), but regular versions of Chrome and other browsers can also display the visuals, albeit in a 2D perspective.

Those with the appropriate gear may or may not get it to work consistently. Notch says it works for him using the Rift DK2 on a Firefox Nightly build. Notch’s followers shouldn’t expect more to come out of this project however, as Notch is notorious for picking up things and dropping them just as quickly.

Ultimately, the main goal of the project was achieved: to produce a program taking advantage of virtual reality that is not only Web-based but also light enough to run on regular browsers. The fractals themselves run from a simple enough set of mathematical rules that also allow Notch’s project to remain incredibly small in size.

‘Minecraft’ Maker Notch Unveils Unmandelboxing, A Ray Marching Fractal Generator You Can View In Virtual Reality

Minecraft Becomes Number 1 Selling Game of All Time on Japanese Wii U eShop

Minecraft Wii U Edition was thought by some to be a too little-too late type of scenario. The game has been released on virtually anything with a screen, so many thought that the impact the game would have on the Wii U would be little to none. It looks like these feelings of doubt have been quieted though, as Minecraft Wii U Edition has become the highest selling Wii U eShop title in Japan to date.

Minecraft Wii U Edition has already sold more than 77,000 copies, which is about half of what the PS4 edition has sold digitally even though it’s only been on the market for a fraction of the time. It looks like Minecraft and the Wii U was a match made in heaven after all.

Minecraft Becomes Number 1 Selling Game of All Time on Japanese Wii U eShop

Minecraft: Wii U Edition’s Second Patch Is Out Now

Microsoft on Thursday reported earnings for the quarter ended December 31. And while Microsoft no longer tells us how many consoles it sold, the company did share some numbers that speak to the health of its gaming business.

Overall, gaming revenue increased $192 million, or 5 percent, compared to the same period last year. This uptick was attributed in part to higher revenue from Xbox Live (up 24 percent) and game sales (up 47 percent), but offset by lower revenue from hardware (more on that later).

Additionally, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live monthly active users grew by 30 percent compared to last year, reaching a record 48 million. Xbox Live’s uptick in revenue was attributed in part to higher volumes of transactions as well as more money per transaction, the company said.

Games sales grew thanks to the launch of Halo 5: Guardians and continued sales of Minecraft, Microsoft said, though it did not share any new numbers on either game.

Overall Xbox hardware revenue dropped by 9 percent, due in part to a lower volume of Xbox 360 consoles sold. Xbox Onerevenue specifically was also down, but only “slightly,” Microsoft said. It shipped more consoles during the period, but overall revenue was offset due to lower prices of the consoles sold compared to last year.

Xbox Game Sales Surge Thanks to Halo 5 and Minecraft, Hardware Revenue Falls

Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of Minecraft, has published an experimental virtual reality project that takes the form of a ray marching fractal renderer that runs in the web browser.

Known begrudgingly to this writer as ‘the guy who didn’t finish 0x10c‘, Notch has had an on and off relationship with Oculus. Having initially pledged $10,000 to Oculus’ 2012 Kickstarter, saying that his company’s games would likely support the Rift, he later had harsh words for Oculus after their $2 billion acquisition by Facebook in 2014.

Eventually he came to terms with the sale,saying he was “officially over it,” though the irony was not lost when he sold Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, to Microsoft for a similar sum one month later.

Now departed from Mojang, Notch continues to experiment with small development projects. One of his latest is Unmandelboxing, a ray marching fractal renderer that runs in the browser with WebVR support (the name being a reference to the Mandelbox fractal). Notch made note of the project on Twitter over the weekend, with the WebVR version popping up just yesterday.

The source code of the non-VR version of Unmandelboxing seems to indicate that one goal of the project was to create something not only web-based but also incredibly small.

The fun part about working with fractals is that the infinite landscapes of chaotic but somehow ordered geometry is all derived from a fairly simple set of mathematical rules, allowing Unmandelboxing to be contained in just 3.5kb.

The WebVR version of Unmandelboxing doesn’t seem to work consistently across browsers as it should, but Notch says that it works for him using the Rift DK2 with Firefox Nightly properly installed and configured for WebVR. “WebVR is very fringe technology still,” he says. We’d recommend he give Mozilla’s A-Frame a try for his next stab at WebVR.

It’s great to see Notch experimenting with WebVR development, but it seems unlikely that much more will come from this particular project, as his self-described tendency to abandon projects is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy as this point.

Minecraft Creator Develops Experimental WebVR Project

Minecraft: Pocket Edition gets a beta update — here’s what new and different

The forthcoming Minecraft: Education Edition, written in C++, looks faster and smoother than the old Java version, but won’t be compatible with all the old mods. If Microsoft mis-handles the transition, a split could damage the Minecraft community that underpins the game’s stunning success….

This summer, Microsoft will release a beta of Minecraft: Education Edition written in C++ rather than Java, which looks like removing the performance problems associated with running the current version of Minecraft. The Education Edition should run well on the types of Windows laptop commonly found in schools, and in homes.

Microsoft announced the Education Edition at the BETT 2016 educational technology exhibition held last week in London. Microsoft also announced that it had purchased MinecraftEDU, an educational version of Minecraft, from Teacher Gaming LLC. (SeeMicrosoft acquires MinecraftEdu from Teacher Gaming.) MinecraftEDU will not be developed any further, but most of its features will be implemented in the Education Edition.

Minecraft: Education Edition also builds on and extends the Windows 10 version of Minecraft. This is based on the Pocket Edition of Minecraft (MCPE), which is written in C++, not in Java. At BETT, a Microsoft programmer told me that the aim for the Education Edition was to support all the features of the Java version. It will also include extra features that will enable teachers to control large multi-player sessions, including new commands such as Build Allow and Build Deny.

In schools and colleges that use Office 365, students will be able to log on to Minecraft using their Office credentials. Alternatively, the Education Edition can easily be set up on a peer-to-peer classroom network, without a server.

At BETT, early versions of the Education Edition were running impressively smoothly with high-resolution graphics settings on the Minecraft stand.

It remains to be seen how much of the Java version can be incorporated in the C++ version, which runs on Windows 10 PCs, tablets, smartphones and games consoles. It should be possible to import worlds, skins, maps and similar mods. However, mods written in Java code will not be compatible.

The Education Edition is both a solution and a problem for both Microsoft and the Minecraft community. It looks like providing the higher performance that Minecraft players have wanted for years. However, removing the ability to create Java-style mods might well diminish the community supporting the game. That would be extremely bad news for Microsoft, and for its $2.5 billion investment in Mojang, Minecraft’s developer.

What follows is speculation….

At the moment, it looks as though there will be two versions of Minecraft – a Standard Edition and an Education Edition – with the latter feeding off the former. At first, these will have somewhat different features and capabilities, and different target audiences.

In the future, however, it seems likely that most Minecraft players will learn the new C++ version first, either in schools or on their own Windows 10 laptops, or via the Pocket edition on smartphones, tablets, and games consoles. The old Java version could therefore see a relative decline: its users may become just a small minority of the expanded market.

Obviously, Mac OS X and Linux have no problems running C++ code, but it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will port the Education Edition to these rival platforms. If it doesn’t, Windows 10 will have an advantage in the education market. If it does, it could be the beginning of the end for the Java version. Why support two code-bases if you only need one?

Microsoft’s new Minecraft Education Edition – written in C++ – will outrun the Java version

Minecraft released its 1.8.8 edition, also known as version TU31 for the Xbox 360 community, on December 18^th. Known as one of the biggest updates Minecraft has ever seen, the new edition is said to bring the console versions closer to the current PC build than they’ve ever been. Adding tons of new items and features as well as a few changes to the core of the game, users are sure to enjoy Minecraft’s entire revamped world.

Over 20 new items have been added to the game including salmon, raw rabbit, Rabbit stew, pufferfish, blue orchid, Tulips, Sunflowers, Lilacs, large Ferns, Rose bushes, and an armor stand.

More than 20 different types of blocks have also been added such as Granite, red sand, coarse dirt, wet sponge, and slime blocks as well as three new enchantments, one new structure, and 10 new biomes to explore.

Changes to the core of the game features new items and treasures that can be caught while fishing, enchanted books that can now receive multiple enchantments all at once, and as if that weren’t already quite the upgrade, Ghasts can now travel through portals in the Nether if the portal is big enough and now most mobs can swim. There are even some new mobs roaming the lands!

A few more added features and changes:

• Villagers now have additional professions, and can now harvest crops and breed. They’ll even turn into witches upon being struck by lightning.
• Any rectangular shape from 4×5 to 23×23 will work as a Nether Portal.
• Pumpkins and Wither Skeleton Skills can be given to spawn Golems and Withers.
• The Anvils have been rebalanced.
• A furnace can be used to create Cracked Stone Bricks and Sponge.
• Empty furnaces will only accept fuel and empty buckets in the fuel slot.
• Item frames emit a Redstone signal, and can rotate in multiple directions.
• Redstone comparators can now detect the rotation of an item in an item frame and output an equivalent power signal.
• Buttons can be placed at the top and bottom of blocks.
• Powered Activator rails dismount entities riding Minecarts.
• Water-filled cauldrons will put out burning entities, taking away one water level each time.
• Sponges have been reintroduced into Survival Mode with a new behavior and texture.
• Sugar Cane color is now affected by the specific biome.
• Melons can be found in patches similar to Pumpkins in the Jungle Biome.
• Extreme Hills Biomes now have snow at higher elevations.
• Ocean Biomes got rid of the sand and dirt, now only featuring gravel on the floor.
• Sheep drop mutton upon death.
• Arrows decelerate more quickly underwater and extinguish if on fire.
• Skeletons flee from wolves.
• Spiders no longer see players through solid blocks.

In addition to these numerous changes, the audio has been updated and an entire new Tutorial World has been created too.

With so many changes and added features, Minecraft has extended the entire world of the game, giving users way more biomes to explore, flowers to check out, and things to do!

Minecraft Xbox 360 Update TU31 – Everything you need to know

Today’s Feat of Minecraft Engineering: A Working Submarine