QDAA - Fast and Simple Anti-Aliasing System

What is Anti-Aliasing and How It Works

The QDAA mod implements image smoothing technology through the supersampling method (SSAA). Unlike popular methods like FXAA, TAA, or MSAA, which are approximate solutions, supersampling provides the most accurate and high-quality anti-aliasing, although it requires more computational resources.

The principle of operation is simple: the game is rendered at a higher resolution and then scaled down to the original screen size. For example, if you're playing in a 1280×720 pixel window, QDAA will render the scene at 2560×1440 resolution and then reduce it to 1280×720 before displaying it on the screen.

Advantages of the Approach

The main advantage of QDAA is that it smooths not only polygon edges but also textures, which is especially important for Minecraft with its pixel graphics. Moreover, QDAA even works with GUIs, improving the readability of rotated text and smoothing the edges of 3D item models.

The mod uses Minecraft functionality intended for macOS Retina displays, ensuring high compatibility. The final rendering stage is also optimized, where the usual quad render is replaced with a more efficient blit method.

Mod Versions

Version 2.0

This is a cross-platform redesign of QDAA based on the old "Simple" version, working on Minecraft 1.21.1 and newer. Historically, the mod existed in two variants: "Simple" and "Configurable".

Simple Version

Basic implementation with only anti-aliasing functionality. Supported only for versions 1.18 and above, as it only worked partially in earlier versions. After Mojang refactored the framebuffer code, the old version stopped working, so version 2.0 was created.

Configurable Version

More full-featured version with settings and the ability to enable/disable during gameplay. Useful for modpacks where it can be disabled by default. Due to dependency on interfaces, it's strongly tied to specific game versions and unlikely to be updated.