Graphics settings

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A 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 Graphics 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 Graphics tab. Every change shows at once. You never need to restart.

Turn on Show frame rate to see how many frames a second the game draws, in a small number in the top right corner while you play. The Frame cap row also shows the rate as you look at it. Watch it as you change things.
On a controller, move between rows with the d-pad, change a value with left and right, and press the confirm button to step it on. The list scrolls by itself.

The presets

A preset sets every switch in one go. Auto is on to begin with, and it fits the game to your computer in two steps:

It looks at the machine. At every start the game reads your graphics card, its memory, your computer's memory, its processor and your screen, and picks one of the five presets.
It checks that pick once, while you play. In your first minute in a world the game watches how smoothly it really runs. Too slow, and it steps down a preset until the game is smooth. Lots of room, and it tries one step up and keeps it only if it holds. A small note tells you if it changed anything. The result is remembered for your graphics card, so the check never runs again on the same machine.

The menu shows what Auto chose, for example "Auto (High)". A preset you pick yourself is never changed. Auto only looks after players who leave it on Auto.

Preset	Made for	What you get
Very Low	Old laptops and office PCs with no graphics card of their own	The lightest world that is still the same game: no shadows, no far hills, no wildlife, simple water, and fewer, nearer small plants (60% of Low's). Drawn at 50% of the screen.
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

Window mode (Windowed, Borderless, Full screen). Windowed sits on your desktop. Borderless fills the screen without a border and swaps windows quickly. Full screen fills the whole display.
Resolution. The sizes your screen offers, such as 1920 × 1080. A lower size runs faster; a higher one is sharper. It keeps your window mode.
Show frame rate. Off to begin with. A small, faint number in the top right corner while you play.
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.
Adaptive resolution. On in Very Low, Low and Medium. When frames run slower than your frame cap for a few seconds, the game lowers the render scale by itself, one small step at a time, and brings it back when there is room. It never goes under 50% and never above the render scale you chose. A busy town or a storm stays smooth, and a quiet beach gets its sharpness back.
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.

The world's light

Sunlit ground keeps warm colour while shade stays tinted. Soft shade under objects helps them sit on the ground. Distant fog and sun haze give the far hills depth while keeping nearby ground clear. These are part of the world's look, not extra difficulty rules. Use the graphics rows above to find a comfortable balance between detail and smooth movement.

The view from the sky

Climb high on the Starmane Pegasus, the Sky Rower or a cliff with your Leaf Glider, and the haze thins as you rise. The far islands come out of the mist, turning soft blue toward a horizon where the sea meets the sky. Tall temples and lookout towers stand out on the islands round you, so you can pick your next landing from the air. Puffy clouds drift between 150 m and 220 m, and you can fly right through them. On the ground the world looks just as it always did.

How far you see from high up follows your preset: 4,000 m on Very Low, 6,000 m on Low, 8,000 m on Medium and 12,000 m on High and Ultra. Clouds: none on Very Low, 8 on Low, 16 on Medium, 32 on High and 48 on Ultra, where the sea also glitters in the sun.

Find your spot in one minute

Start from the preset Auto picked. If the frame count at the top stays under 50, turn on Adaptive resolution, or lower Render scale one step yourself: it helps more than anything else and keeps the look. Still slow? Step the preset down; Very Low runs on almost anything. 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.