Continuum
About Continuum
Continuum is a shader for people who take Minecraft graphics seriously. Created by the dotModded team, it aims for rendering quality comparable to AAA games. Version 2.1 introduced the Focal Engine, a custom light rendering engine with physically accurate calculations (PBR).
Different materials react to light in different ways: metal shines, wood scatters light softly, glass lets rays through and reflects them. Combined with PBR texture packs (Patrix, Stratum), the effect is close to renders from Blender.
Continuum is known for its cinematic color grading. The default profile gives a warm, film-like look with subtle vignetting and a well-chosen color palette. Continuum screenshots look like frames from a movie, and that is no exaggeration.
The price for this quality is high: Continuum needs a powerful graphics card and runs only on OptiFine (no Iris). On a GTX 1070 you will get just 20-30 FPS. Comfortable play needs an RTX 3060. The basic version is free, but the RT version (with path tracing) requires a subscription.
Visual style
Cinematic and film-like. Warm color grading inspired by Hollywood. Subtle vignetting at the edges. PBR makes materials look realistic. Volumetric clouds are large and dramatic. Water has advanced reflections and transparency. Depth of field (DOF) blurs the background like in a movie. This is a shader for screenshots and renders, not for everyday play.
Hardware requirements
| Parameter | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Graphics card | GTX 1070 / RX 5700 | RTX 3060 / RX 6700 XT |
| VRAM | 6 GB | 8 GB+ |
| RAM | 8 GB | 12 GB |
Continuum is very demanding. Use a render distance of 8 and a Shadow Resolution of 1024. Turn DOF off for playing and on for screenshots.
Installing Continuum
- Install OptiFine (Continuum does not work on Iris).
- Download the free version from continuum.graphics. The RT version requires a subscription.
- Put the .zip file in
.minecraft/shaderpacks/. - Select the shader in Video Settings.
Settings and configuration
- Shadow Resolution: 1024 is the minimum for decent quality. 2048 gives sharper shadows at a cost of about 20% FPS.
- Render Distance: 8 chunks. More means a significant FPS drop.
- PBR: Turn it on. It needs a PBR texture pack for the full effect.
- DOF: Turn it off for playing (it gets in the way). Turn it on for screenshots (a beautiful effect).
Comparison with other shaders
| Feature | Continuum | SEUS PTGI | Kappa Shader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Style | Cinematic AAA | Path tracing | Photographic |
| FPS (RTX 3060) | 20-40 | 15-25 | 40-60 |
| Iris | No | No | Yes |
| PBR | Full (Focal Engine) | Full | Full |
| Price | Free (RT paid) | Patreon | Free (PT paid) |
Screenshots
Download it from continuum.graphics.
Editorial rating
Overall rating: 4.0/5.
Frequently asked questions
Does Continuum work on Iris?
No, Continuum requires OptiFine. It is not compatible with Iris, Sodium or Fabric mods.
Is the free version any good?
Yes, the free version 2.1 gives you full PBR and cinematic color grading. The RT version adds path tracing but is paid.