Shaders can be used to make Minecraft's environment more realistic. Although it may seem slow on your computer, you can adjust the shaders to suit your computer's specifications to achieve the same experience. No Shaders Versus Shivers Comparison Installation GuideOptiFine How to Get and Install Shaders First, let's look at why shaders are important. These are the two comparisons. The left has no shaders; the right has those we will install in this demo. Installation Guide OptiFine Installation 1. To use shaders, you will need OptiFine. Check the version of Minecraft: Java Edition you are playing on. To figure this out, launch up the Minecraft Launcher and look at the bottom left next to the 'PLAY' button. This demonstration shows the 1.16.3 version. 2. Head over to https://optifine.net/downloads To view more versions, click on 'Show all versions'. We will be using Minecraft Optimize 1.16.3 HD U G4 as our current stable version. Click (Mirror), then Download'. The reason for clicking '(Mirror)' instead of 'Download' is because it skips a URL shortener that is infested with ads that we do not want to click. If an ad is presented, DO NOT click on it. The only buttons that you should click are the ones in the images shown below. Your browser/antivirus may not allow the file download. This message will appear if you are using Google Chrome browser. The reason for this message is because executable .jar files can be used to execute viruses. MINECRAFT SERVERS However in this case, Optifine is perfectly fine to use as it is not harmful so long as you are downloading from the official website, which is the one we are using. To finish the download, click on 'Keep'. 3. Run the 'OptiFine_1.16.3_HD_U_G4.jar' file by double-clicking it. 4. The default folder should be where your Minecraft is located and it finds it automatically so we do not have an extra step. However if it does not find it, click on the '...' and locate it. To continue, click on 'Install'. Congratulations! You've successfully installed Optifine and the installer will automatically close. 5. If your Minecraft Launcher is previously open from Step 1 exit it and launch it again. You will notice an additional option called OptiFine which has replaced this release. If you do not see it, click on the dropdown menu and select the OptiFine version with their logo. 6. Click PLAY> and wait for Minecraft launching. How to Install Shaders 1. The go-to website for legitimate shaders is through CurseForge located here: https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/customization. There are many shaders available. You can experiment with which shaders you like best. For this example we will be using BSL Shaders located here: https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/customization/bsl-shaders 2. Click "Download" and it will download automatically after 5 seconds. 3. Go back to Minecraft as it was loaded in step 6 of the OptiFine Installation section. Click 'Options ...' Click on the 'Video Settings ...'' button. Next, click on "Shaders ...'". We will then click on 'Shaders Folder to be taken to the folder where we will install our shader. 4. We will open the shader folder and drag the shader that we have previously downloaded into it. 5. MINECRAFT SERVERS You will see that our shader is successfully installed. To use it, click on the last step. Congratulations! You've installed your very first shaders. After the shaders are successfully loaded, return to your main screen to load a world and/or join a multiplayer game server.