Minecraft is bringing its huge graphical update to Bedrock and Java editions.
It’s been nearly five years since Mojang, the studio behindMinecraft, added RTX support.
Now, though, Mojang has taken things one step further with the newly announced Vibrant Visuals update.
And it’s not just for those with PCs that support ray tracing.
And for those that play Java Edition, Vibrant Visuals is also in the works for that platform.
It’s a change that’s been in the pipeline for years.
Mojang opted to instead take the basic look of Minecraft and upgrade it.
And if you don’t want to play in it, you don’t have to.
So you’re able to still play with the current game textures and shaders, should you choose.
Likewise, if you’d rather keep using your RTX textures pack, you might do just that.
Mojang isn’t removing RTX options or the ability to use your own custom texture packs from the game.
Instead, Vibrant Visuals is simply a new option to choose from.
One of the biggest changes involves the sun.
Now, you might keep the direction of the sun in mind when building new structures.
Another major change is how shadows are cast in Minecraft.
The sun now casts dynamic shadows across everything–including player characters.
It took some time to get to this finished version, though.
First we had, like, soft shadows, and then we had harder shadows."
Those resembled more realistic shadows, rounded and not quite in line with Minecraft’s aesthetic.
“What if we could make it pixelated in some way?”
Perhaps the most exciting change, though, is the water.
It’s never looked better.
Its new textures, along with the sunlight, makes it a feast for the eyes.
It’s shiny, reflective, and makes everything simply look better.
It’s also transformed the underwater experience.
And the way the sunlight filters through it looks wonderful.
Suddenly, going hunting for ocean monuments sounds like a fun idea once again.
Now it looks far more like a game from the current generation.
What’s more, Vibrant Visuals is leaving room for the look of the game to continue evolving.
“We have a modern rendering pipeline now that we can build upon,” Boerstra revealed.
“So that also ties into this start of the journey.”
Added Psenka, “We definitely expect to see a lot of exciting updates in the future.”
When can you play it
At this point, Mojang has not announced an official release date.
You won’t have to wait too long, though.
While a beta for Vibrant Visuals is expected very soon, the Bedrock release isn’t far off.
“The release is coming in months,” Garneji told GameSpot.
“It’s going to be in your hands, like, very, very soon.”
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