Distant Horizons (1.16.5 → 1.21.8) – See the World Beyond Your Render Distance

I didn’t understand how claustrophobic Minecraft’s horizon was until I tried Distant Horizons. Normally, climbing a mountain feels rewarding for only a moment the fog closes in, and anything beyond 32 chunks dissolves into nothing. But the first time I ran Distant Horizons, I stood at the top of a ridge and actually saw a canyon and a jungle temple miles away, all while keeping 120 FPS. It didn’t just expand my view; it changed how I played the game.

What Distant Horizons Does

Distant Horizons is a level-of-detail (LOD) renderer for Minecraft. Instead of cutting off your world at a fixed render distance, it replaces faraway chunks with simplified terrain meshes. This means:

• You can see hundreds of chunks into the distance (512 in extreme cases).
• Performance stays stable, since the game isn’t rendering every distant block in full detail.
• Exploration feels natural you see landmarks in the distance instead of fog walls.

Think of it like Minecraft getting a zoomed-out minimap in 3D. Mountains, valleys, and oceans stretch as far as the eye can see, without your PC melting down.

My Experience

On my desktop (Ryzen 7 + RTX 3060, 32GB RAM), I tested a seed with dramatic cliffs:

• Vanilla 32 chunks: The terrain stopped abruptly. The valley below me faded into a blank skybox.
• Distant Horizons 256 chunks: I saw entire mountain chains and forests stretching to the horizon. FPS hovered around 120–130, barely lower than vanilla.
• Distant Horizons 512 chunks: Performance dipped to 80–90 FPS, but the world felt like a proper open-world game. Flying with Elytra became cinematic.

I also tested on a gaming laptop (i7-9750H, GTX 1660 Ti, 16GB RAM):

• Vanilla: 60–70 FPS at 16 chunks.
• With Distant Horizons at 128 chunks: stable 55–65 FPS.
• The laptop couldn’t handle 512 chunks, but it still delivered a playable, immersive experience.

The key is balance you don’t need maximum distance to benefit. Even 128 chunks transforms gameplay without straining mid-range hardware.

Community Feedback

Players across Reddit, Modrinth, and PC Gamer share the same reaction: awe.

• “What a 512-chunk render distance looks like it’s insane Minecraft doesn’t have this by default.” (Reddit)
• “Finally, an LOD system. Every other open-world game does this, why not Minecraft?” (PC Gamer)
• “Lets you see farther without turning your game into a slideshow.” (YouTube showcase comment)

Of course, there are caveats:

• Some users joke that “your PC will sound like a jet engine” if you max out settings.
• Others report flickering or dithering when mixing with certain shaders.
• Multiplayer requires the mod on both server and client for synchronized distant generation.

But the overall sentiment is clear: Distant Horizons feels like a missing vanilla feature.

Compatibility and Versions

• Supported Minecraft versions: 1.16.5 through 1.21.8 (specific builds are tied to specific versions, e.g., 1.18.1 ≠ 1.18.2).
• Loaders: Works with Fabric, Forge, and NeoForge (merged into single releases).
• Shaders:
  • Iris (1.7+): Supported if the shader pack explicitly integrates Distant Horizons.
  • OptiFine: Partial support, only with certain forward-rendered shaders.
• Multiplayer: Works seamlessly if both server and client run the mod, with Distant Generation Enabled.

The devs are careful about updates. For example, 1.21.6 builds were kept in beta until stability was guaranteed. This “quality first” approach has earned community respect.

How It Compares

Vanilla Minecraft:

• Hard cap at ~32 chunks.
• Beyond that, everything vanishes.
• Exploration feels boxed in.

FarPlaneTwo (older LOD mod):

• Offered extended render distance in 1.12.2 era.
• Lacked modern support and compatibility.
• Distant Horizons is essentially its spiritual successor—better performance, active development, and modern version support.

Other Terrain Mods (like TerraForged or Terralith):

• These focus on what the terrain looks like, not how far you see it.
• Combine them with Distant Horizons, and you get both epic landscapes and the ability to see them miles away.

Technical Notes

• Distant Horizons uses asynchronous rendering: far terrain is processed on a separate thread to avoid frame drops.
• LOD terrain isn’t interactive you can’t break or place blocks at long distances until you move closer.
• Storage overhead is minimal, since it doesn’t pre-generate every chunk just simplifies on demand.

These choices are why it performs well even at render distances that would normally bring Minecraft to its knees.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

• Immersive vistas, hundreds of chunks away.
• Huge FPS savings compared to vanilla render scaling.
• Active updates, wide version and loader support.
• Works in multiplayer if both sides have it.

Weaknesses:

• Shader compatibility is partial.
• Max settings can still overwhelm weaker PCs.
• Occasional visual quirks (dithering, flicker).

Distant Horizons is one of those mods that makes you wonder why Mojang hasn’t integrated it into vanilla. It doesn’t just improve Minecraft’s graphics it redefines exploration. From mountaintop vistas to Elytra flights, it turns every world into an open-world experience that feels limitless yet runs smoothly.

For builders, it means seeing your megabase in context with the landscape. For explorers, it means spotting biomes and structures from miles away. For adventurers, it means immersion without compromise.

If you’ve ever felt Minecraft’s world was too small not in size, but in sight Distant Horizons is the answer.

FAQs

Q1: Does Distant Horizons work with shaders?
Yes, but only some. Iris shaders work if the pack supports Distant Horizons (v2.1+). OptiFine works partially with forward-rendered shaders.

Q2: Can I use it in multiplayer?
Yes. Both client and server must install it, and Distant Generation Enabled must be active for proper syncing.

Q3: Will it generate all terrain at once?
No. It generates simplified LODs dynamically, preventing RAM overload while still showing the distance.

Q4: What versions of Minecraft are supported?
From 1.16.5 to 1.21.8, but each release is specific to its version (1.18.1 build won’t work on 1.18.2).

Q5: Is it safe for mid-range PCs?
Yes. By simplifying terrain meshes, it allows 128–256 chunk render distances on mid-tier laptops without major FPS loss.