🌄 Public Beta – Version 1.7.0

It’s that time again! This is one of the biggest leaps yet and kicks off a whole new round of testing for everyone who loves to live on the bleeding edge. As always, your feedback is what keeps things moving forward—so please, try it out, break things, and let me know what you find!

And yes, we just hit 465k downloads. Absolutely wild. Thank you, everyone.

Join the community on Discord – espens-shaderpacks

What’s New in This Beta

Much Better Distant Horizons Support

• Major internal overhaul for how Distant Horizons is handled.
• Lots of fiddly under-the-hood fixes—should be much smoother, more reliable, and just work better.

Held Items Can Now Cast Light

• Torches, glowstone—if you hold it, it lights up the world.
• Makes caving, building, and exploring that much more immersive.

Pixelated Effects – Because Why Not?

• It’s trending, it’s fun, and now it’s here.
• Optional! Flip it on in settings for those classic retro vibes.

Motion Blur

• New for 1.7.0—motion blur is in!
• Looks slick, especially in motion.

Underwater Fog Overhaul

• Way faster and much simpler under the hood.
• Improved clarity and vibe—should look awesome in oceans, rivers, and caves.

Cleaner Water Reflections

• New setting for those who want super clear water reflections.
• Looks great, especially with the new SSR modes.

Major Volumetric Mist Improvements

• Totally reworked—now, bit cheaper bit better.
• Tuned to be much better for gameplay: more visibility, better lighting, and more options coming soon.

Fog Density System Reworked

• The fog density math has been rewritten: simpler, just as good, and much easier to maintain.
• The way fog works has also been tweaked to stay visually solid even at massive distances.
• Should be more consistent and reliable, no matter how big your world is.

Square Highlights – Beta Feature

• For that authentic Minecraft look.
• Still experimental, but available under beta settings.

Volumetric Self-Shadowing

• Adds extra depth and realism to mist and fog.
• Makes everything feel just a bit more dramatic.

Extended Shadows (Fake Shadow Drawing)

• New option for shadow lovers: draw fake shadows even beyond the shadowmap.
• In Distant Horizons, you can now choose between real or fake shadows—trade off sharper close-up shadows for better LoD coverage.

Skybox Support & Better Nametags

• Skybox rendering is now an option!
• Nametag fixes are even more robust (again).

And So Many Fixes…

• Honestly, I can never keep track of all the changes—there’s just a ton of little improvements and code cleanups under the hood, as usual.
• If you find something that works better, it was definitely intentional, for sure.

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Note:
If CurseForge is more your cup of tea, it should be an option soon—just pending approval.!

That’s it for now—enjoy testing, and keep the feedback coming! 1.7.0 is shaping up to be something special, and it’s all thanks to you.

– Espen