Graphics settings
More guidesA preset for every kind of machine, and a switch for each heavy thing the world draws.
Evening on the river. The far hills turn gold, every tree throws a long soft shadow, and white foam laces the shore. The Video settings make sure that moment runs smoothly on your machine: an old laptop gets a smooth world, and a strong PC gets everything the game can draw.
Where to find it
Open Settings from the title screen or the pause menu, then the Video tab. Every change shows at once. You never need to restart.
- The top of the tab shows how many frames a second the game draws right now. Watch it as you change things.
- On a controller, move the pointer with the left stick, press the confirm button to change a row, and scroll the list with the right stick.
The presets
A preset sets every switch in one go. Auto is on to begin with: at every start the game looks at your graphics card, its memory, your computer's memory and your screen, and picks one of the four. The menu shows which one, for example "Auto (High)".
| Preset | Made for | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Older laptops and small graphics chips | Shadows to 40 m, land built 96 m round you, lighter grass, simple water, half the wildlife, no glow. The world is drawn at 67% of the screen and sharpened back up. |
| Medium | Handhelds and newer laptops | Shadows to 65 m, land to 128 m, full water with shore foam, all the wildlife, glow. Drawn at 85%. |
| High | Most gaming PCs and newer Macs | The full look: soft shadows to 90 m, soft corner shade, land to 160 m, every plant, full resolution. |
| Ultra | Strong PCs | All of High, plus shadows to 130 m, land to 224 m, the smoothest edges, and frames up to your screen's own rate. |
Change any switch and the preset shows Custom, your own mix. Pick a preset again to go back.
The switches
- Shadows (Off, Low, Medium, High, Ultra). How far the sun's shade reaches: 40 m, 65 m, 90 m or 130 m. Off saves the most, but the world looks flat.
- Soft corner shade. Gentle shade in corners, under leaves and round rocks.
- Draw distance (Near, Medium, Far, Farthest). How far the land round you is built: 96 m, 128 m, 160 m or 224 m. Plants and trees reach further too.
- Plants round you (Light, Medium, Full). Light draws 40% of the far grass tufts, Medium 70%. The grass close round you always stays, and so does everything you can pick up.
- Distant lands. The far hills and coasts on the horizon, past the land that is built.
- Water (Simple, Full). Full shows clear shallows over sand and white foam at every shore. Simple keeps the ripples and drops those two, a good saving on small machines.
- Wildlife and sparkles (Off, Some, Full). Butterflies, fireflies, birds, fish, herons and drifting leaves. Some shows about 50% of them.
- People in the wild. Folk fishing, farming and travelling round the world.
- Glow. A soft glow round bright lights, crystals and the sun.
- Colour finish. The warm, rich colour of the world. Off is plainer and a little faster.
- Smooth edges (Off, FXAA, SMAA, MSAA 4×, MSAA 8×). Smooths jagged edges. FXAA is the lightest; MSAA is the sharpest and the heaviest.
- Render scale (50% to 100%). Draws the world smaller, then scales it up to your screen. It is the biggest saving of all.
- Upscaler (Smooth, Sharp). How a render scale under 100% is scaled up. Sharp uses FSR and keeps edges crisp.
- Frame cap (30, 60, Screen rate, No cap). The most frames a second. A cap keeps a laptop cool and quiet.
- V-Sync. Holds the frames to your screen, so the picture never tears.
Your choices are saved on this computer, next to your other settings.
Start from the preset Auto picked. If the frame count at the top stays under 50, lower Render scale one step first: it helps more than anything else and keeps the look. If you have frames to spare, raise Draw distance to see the far realms from the hills.
Where next
Pick a clear morning, climb the hill above the village and look out over the river. Then try Ultra's Farthest draw distance, if your machine allows it. For the rest of the settings and the controls, see Getting started. To head out and see the realms themselves, read Explore worlds and Getting around, and animal friends.