UtilityRenderDistanceExpansion

A LeviLamina mod for Minecraft Bedrock that lets players see and shoot actors, see block entities and keep terrain detail farther than vanilla, and makes distant movement smooth. It has a server build (dedicated server) and a client build (also covers single-player and LAN hosting).

• Game: Bedrock 1.26.60 (client 1.26.60.05, BDS 1.26.60.2), Windows x64.
• Requires LeviLamina >=26.60.2 <26.61.0.
• License: LGPL-3.0.

What it does

It does not change fog, fancy leaves, view distance, tick distance, chunk loading or shadows. Actors only move inside the server's simulation range (tick-distance).

Install

Use lip with tooth.json, or copy the folder by hand.

Run the server build on the server and the client build on every player who wants the client features. For single-player or LAN hosting you only need the client build: its in-process server uses the same settings as the client.

Each build creates its own config file in the mod's config/ folder on first start: server.json or client.json.

Commands

Server: /urde (needs operator / GameDirectors permission). Client: /urdec (local to your game, no permission needed).

/urde status
/urde reload
/urde set <setting: setting> [value: int]
/urde set <setting: setting> vanilla

/urdec status
/urdec reload
/urdec set <setting: setting> [value: float]
/urdec set <setting: setting> vanilla
/urdec set entity_shape <circle|square>

set takes effect on the next tick and is saved to the config file. vanilla restores the native behaviour for that setting. reload re-reads the config file; if the file is invalid the old settings stay. Changes are limited to one per second. The in-game grey syntax hint does not list reload, but Tab completes it and it works.

Settings

Both sides also read two lists from their config file (edit the file, then reload):

• full_rate_types: entity type ids that always use the fastest update rate. Default ["minecraft:player"] (only used when the key is missing).
• full_rate_tags: actors with one of these /tag names always use the fastest update rate. Default [].

Example server.json:

{"actor_interest_chunks":32,"update_interval":4,"full_rate_types":["minecraft:player","minecraft:villager"],"full_rate_tags":["fullrate"]}

Example client.json:

{"entity_range":512,"block_entity_range":512,"terrain_detail":512,"entity_shape":"circle","replication_margin":16,"update_interval":1,"full_rate_types":["minecraft:player"],"full_rate_tags":[]}

How the ranges work together

Actors need two things: the server must send them (actor_interest_chunks), and the client must draw them (entity_range). The result is the smaller of the two. When you play on a dedicated server, set entity_range a little below the server's range so actors near the edge do not freeze before they disappear. When you host a world yourself, the client derives the server range from entity_range + replication_margin automatically, and never uses less than vanilla.

Block entities (block_entity_range) and terrain detail (terrain_detail) are client-only; the server does not need to do anything, but the chunks must be loaded (server view-distance).

Smooth distant movement. Vanilla sends far-away actors about every 7 ticks and tells the client to glide over that time. update_interval makes the server send sooner (never later), and the packet tells the client the real time since the previous update, so the motion stays smooth. Lower values mean smoother and more accurate positions but more network traffic. Estimate for distant moving actors: about +70% packets at 4, about 6x at 1, compared with vanilla. Values at or above the native interval (about 7) change nothing. Players use the fastest rate if minecraft:player is in full_rate_types.

Known limits

• Terrain detail is a single experimental threshold for vegetation, leaves and glass. It does not guarantee glass transparency under Vibrant Visuals or ray tracing, and it does not change fancy leaves.
• Shadows (Vibrant Visuals) are not extended.
• Actors beyond the server's tick-distance stand still.
• A remote server's movement and range settings cannot be changed from the client; use the server build there.
• The movement lever has been tested with animals. Other players on this path have not been tested yet.
• Longer ranges mean more actors to process and send. Network and CPU costs were estimated, not measured.

Build

xmake f -a x64 -m release -p windows --target_type=server -y
xmake build
xmake f -a x64 -m release -p windows --target_type=client -y
xmake build

Output goes to bin/server/UtilityRenderDistanceExpansion/ and bin/client/UtilityRenderDistanceExpansion/. xmake build urde-checks followed by xmake run urde-checks runs the game-independent checks.

Developer notes (hook signatures, reverse-engineering evidence, live acceptance notes) are in docs/.

License

Licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 (LGPL-3.0). The LGPL supplements the GNU General Public License v3.0.