What is simulation distance in Minecraft: Java Edition 1.18?

Minecraft is a game that has grown in complexity over the years despite keeping its simple premise and gameplay, and much of this complexity is seen behind the scenes in the game’s internal framework.

Among Minecraft’s many options and settings is a parameter called “simulation distance,” which may not be particularly forthcoming when it comes to what the setting actually does. Things such as difficulty, graphics, and FOV are simple enough, but Minecraft settings like simulation distance can get into the nitty gritty that most players won’t have to deal with.

To put things plainly, simulation distance is similar to render distance. Render distance dictates how far from the player the game renders visible chunks and loads them in, but simulation distance dictates as to whether they are “active.”

A further look at simulation distance in Minecraft

Players in Minecraft have their visible chunks loaded in via the render distance setting, but simulation distance decides if these chunks are actively interacting with the environment. Simulation distance dictates which of the loaded chunks have their entities updated or certain blocks ticked. For example, a chunk activated by simulation distance will spawn entities such as mobs, and blocks such as water or lava will be ticked and flow where applicable.

Chunks that are loaded in render distance in Minecraft but not active via simulation distance will essentially appear as landscape only. Things like plant growth, animal maturation, or mob spawning in general will not be actively visible until the chunk in question is close enough to the player’s simulation distance. This is a way for Minecraft to spare players’ memory usage, as chunks outside the standard simulation distance aren’t often viewed and are away from the player.

Players may increase their simulation distance in Minecraft as they please, but should do so with caution. Increasing this particular setting is significantly more taxing than increasing render distance.

This is due to the game actively managing many mobs and other entities on the specified chunks even when players are not near them, and this takes a significant toll on CPU power compared to visual rendering handled by render distance.

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If Minecraft players have the hardware to handle things, turning simulation distance up in settings can make a player’s world feel more alive, but if frames begin dropping or there is significant hanging as a result players should turn the setting back down.

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