First off I’d like to mention that this guide was made for the current Minecraft version 1.10.2 and Forge #1432. If you’re using an older version of Minecraft or a different build of forge, some things might not be accurate. Next, I’d like to mention that this guide covers the current shaderpacks available for 1.10, mainly because of the recent updates and changes that have happened recently. I recommend you look into them if you need help choosing the right pack for your needs, however it’s completely up to you which pack you choose.
There are a lot of shaderpacks out there, and new ones seem to appear daily. This can be overwhelming for people who haven’t messed with shaders before and don’t know how to choose the right one. I’ve made this guide to help you decide which pack is best suited for your needs based on some simple questions you’ll need to answer.
How to install shaders with shaderpacks for minecraft
The first thing you should do is figure out what your computer can handle. Most packs are configured in a way that they will look the same on most computers, however this may not be the case for higher-end computers. If you have an older PC or laptop, it may not be able to handle the pack you want, and in this case you’ll need to research if that shaderpack can run on your PC or not. You should know what Video/graphics card you have and how much ram and cpu power it has.
Once you’ve found a shaderpack that can work on your computer, download it. I’d recommend doing that on the Optifine website since it has some good information on how to install shaders with optifine under the ‘get started’ tab. If you’re not using Optifine, just download the shaderpack you want and drop it into your mods folder (wherever that is).
Now select the shaderpack you’ve chosen and select the options that are best suited for your PC. If it is a rather low end PC, then change bAllow30Shaders=false to bAllow30Shaders=true this will allow shaders that can run on computers with no graphics cards or integrated graphics.
How to choose the right shaderpack for your needs
Since shaders can greatly impact your FPS, you might have to use a lower-resolution shaderpack on some options. There are a few things that you should look at while testing the shaderpack. First of all, make sure it runs on your PC without any lag or freezes. IF it doesn’t run well on your computer there is no point in using it. If you have an older PC, try changing the ‘FrameBufferCacheSize’ option to 16 or 32 (it was made for laptops with 1GB of vram which is why its set to 0 by default). You should also play around with other options like ‘AnisotropicFiltering’ and ‘CloudShadow’, they may further decrease or increase your FPS.
How to install shaders with optifine
If you’re using optifine, then first make sure you have it installed on your computer. If not, download and install it following the instructions on their website under the ‘get started’ tab. After that simply select the shaderpack you’ve chosen, click recommended (unless you know that its not), and hit finish. That’s it, you’re done!
Additional resources for more information on the subject
After you’ve chosen your shaderpack and it is installed properly, there are a few additional things you should know about shaders. There are many youtube videos on the subject that explain how they work in detail, etc. I recommend checking them out if you’re interested in more information on this subject. In addition to that, check out the Shader Guide on Minecraft Forums, it includes some helpful information not covered in this guide and is made by a rather knowledgeable member of the community (mc_nichoj).
Finally there’s also a great resource on the Optifine website that helps you get started with shaderpacks and also allows you to get support from other members of the community.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve found my guide on shaderpacks helpful and informative. I’ve made this guide in order to help people who are interested in shaderpacks, but don’t know where to start or what to look for. There’s a lot of information out there about shaders which is why it can be rather intimidating to get started with them and I hope that this will help you on your way.
