Minecraft Vibrant Visuals vs shaders: What's the difference?

The latest live event from Mojang introduced the Minecraft Vibrant Visuals, one of the biggest visual updates to the game in recent times. It is set to introduce major features such as directional lighting, volumetric fog, and other ambient features within the existing ecosystem — essentially adding a kind of shader support to the game.

Despite being similar in nature, there are some differences between Vibrant Visuals and shaders. Read on to find out.

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Here's how Minecraft Vibrant Visuals is different from shaders

1) Native support

Minecraft Vibrant Visuals can be implemented in-game without any third-party mods (Image via Mojang Studios)

Minecraft Vibrant Visuals will have native support for features such as directional lighting, volumetric fog, and more — it will not require additional mods or add-ons for deployment. Unlike regular shaders, which require mods like Iris and Optifine, this feature will be integrated into the ecosystem of the game itself.

The native support increases accessibility for players since they will not have to wait for compatible mod support to enjoy shaders and visual improvements — it can be enjoyed in-game with the release of every update.

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2) Variable styles

Minecraft Vibrant Visuals will only improve the existing visual style of the game (Image via Mojang Studios)

Another key difference between Minecraft Vibrant Visuals and third-party shader mods is the ability to implement various types of shaders to transform the vanilla world. While mods like Iris or Optifine allow you to pick and choose shaders, a native implementation might not offer that support.

Vibrant Visuals intends to improve Minecraft's visuals while retaining its vanilla aspect. Rather than modifying the look, the update will enhance the current state of the game's visuals.

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3) Improved optimization

Minecraft Vibrant Visuals will offer improved optimization for universal accessibility (Image via Mojang Studios)

Vibrant Visuals is set to be implemented natively within the ecosystem of Bedrock (Java support will come later), so it will be much more optimized compared to using third-party mods like Iris and Optifine. Some mods take a toll on the game, resulting in choppy visuals, lowered frames, and even significant visual issues stemming from incompatibility.

Vibrant Visuals will make it easy for players to enjoy high-quality visuals without having to go through the ritual of tweaking settings or finding perfect mods. Additionally, the ability to toggle it as an in-game setting makes it even more accessible for Bedrock players across different platforms like PC, PlayStation, and even Nintendo Switch.

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4) Improved compatibility

Vibrant Visuals will be compatible with all supported devices (Image via Mojang Studios)

Since Minecraft Vibrant Visuals is set to be an official feature from Mojang, players can expect default support when used alongside other add-ons or resource packs from the Marketplace. This ensures that no conflict or issues arise from incompatible packs.

Unlike shaders applied using mods that require specific compatibility or requirement of features like PBR, this will allow players to enjoy enhanced visuals without being limited by compatibility issues. Minecraft Vibrant Visuals is set to become one of the biggest visual improvements to the game more than a decade after its launch.

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