Simply Improved Terrain

The Simply Improved Terrain mod fundamentally reworks certain terrain generation components in Minecraft, significantly enhancing the visual appeal of the world while preserving the classic vanilla style. The main goal of the project is to unlock the true potential of the standard generation system by eliminating some technical limitations of the game's early versions.

Fabric and Forge Support

This version is designed for Fabric. A separate mod build is available for Forge users.

Important update: The Fabric 1.17 version is out! It currently lacks support for noise caves - their implementation requires careful development similar to the adaptation of surface formulas. However, all other features from version 1.16 have been fully ported.

Technical Improvements

• Elimination of grid patterns: Replacing trilinear interpolation with conditional noise layer evaluation enables full-resolution noise usage, removing problematic high-frequency layers
• Directional diversity: Applying domain rotation to noise instead of standard Perlin noise eliminates the characteristic 45-90 degree bias in the horizontal plane
• Enhanced noise "shelves": The reworked implementation considers local height, domain rotation, and doesn't require interpolation for smoothing
• Universal domain rotation: Implementation of the technology into existing Perlin noise for compatibility with other features
• Symmetric gradients: Replacement of vectors in 2D Simplex noise with a 24-element symmetric set reduces 45-degree artifacts
• End Islands: Metaball method with full resolution and random offset removes grid patterns and improves merging of intersecting islands
• Natural deposits: Sand, gravel, clay, and ice deposits received radius variation and elimination of sharp boundaries
• Smooth biome transitions: Scattered sampling conceals the underlying 4x4 grid, and rivers became wider to avoid constrictions
• Portal ruins: Euclidean falloff instead of the |Δx|+|Δz| formula removes directional bias in netherrack patterns

Planned Updates

• Rework of the Overworld biome map to reduce large-scale directional bias
• Replacement of octahedral block deposits (especially in the Nether) with less biased alternatives
• Full-resolution samplers instead of grid magnifiers for Nether and End biomes
• Improvement of isolated lake and lava pool shapes