How to Get The Distant Horizons Mod on Minecraft 1.20.1

Have you seen all the YouTube videos of Minecrafters flying around with incredible views for seemingly endless distances thinking, now this is what Minecraft should be like? Well, that can be you. In this post I'm going to show you how to quickly and easily install Distant Horizons yourself allowing to see distances you've never seen before in Minecraft!

Check out the video, or read on for a step-by-step guide on how to set up and run Distant Horizons on 1.20.1.

What You Need to Know

Before we jump into the installation process, let's hit a few points about the Distant Horizons Mod

Compatibility: Distant Horizons version 2.1.2 (the latest) is currently available on Minecraft Forge versions 1.16.5, 1.17.1, 1.18.2, 1.19.2, 1.19.4, 1.20.1, 1.20.2, and 1.20.4. It's available on Minecraft Fabric version 1.20.6 only.

Update: With 2.1.2, you can now run Distant Horizons on Minecraft 1.21 on Neoforge or Fabric!

I'm going to give instructions for 1.20.1 since that's the most commonly used Forge version of Minecraft currently. The process is identical for any version. You just need to be careful that you load the correct corresponding version of Forge or Fabric.

For this tutorial, however, you don't need to have your own version of Minecraft updated, or even installed, because we're going to use the Prism Mod Launcher. You can use a different mod launcher if you want, like Curseforge. I recommend Prism. It's easy and supports all OS's.

Step-by-Step Installation Guide

Step 1: Install Minecraft Forge/Fabric

At this point, most tutorials would tell you to install Forge or Fabric onto your Minecraft Launcher. That's crazy talk. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Use the Prism mod launcher. Or use Curseforge or something else. But for the love of Pete, please use a launcher and don't mod your Minecraft Launcher directly.

If you don't have it already, download and install the Prism Mod Launcher. You can download Prism here.

It's a standard app install, so installing is very easy. But if you need instructions, I've written a step-by-step guide to the Prism mod launcher.

Step 2: Create a Forge 1.20.1 InsTance In Prism

At this point, I assume you've got Prism running and you are logged in with your Minecraft account. Click the Add Instance button at the top left

On the New instance window, Give it a name at the top (if you want), Click custom, Version 1.20.1, Mod Loader: Forge. Click on the Recommended Forge version (mine is 47.3.0), and then click OK.

Now back at the main window you'll have an Instance. Mine is named Distant Horizons. Right click on it and click Edit...

In the edit window click Mods, Download mods and a window will open. You can download from either Modrinth or Curseforge. I left it on Modrinth. Start typing Distant Horizons in the search box until Distant Horizons appears. Click it, then click Select Mod for Download, and then Review and Confirm.

As a bonus here, you can also install Shaders. To do that, in the same way search for "Oculus" and select it for download. Note: If you're using Fabric, you'll need to install Iris and Sodium instead, and possibly the Fabric API mod if that isn't installed automatically.

Hit Review and confirm and you'll see at least Distant Horizons there. If you added Oculus, you'll also have Embeddium automatically because it's a dependency. Click OK.

If you want a Shader Pack, click Shader Packs and install your favorite Shader Pack the same way you added the mods. I recommend BSL Shaders and either of the Complementary Shaders. Or all three so you can try them out.

After you confirm, you may end up here like me without the shader packs showing. But it does say 2 installed, so it's fine. There must be a bug in Prism right now. If it says more than zero installed, trust it. :)

Launch Minecraft

Guys, that's it. From anywhere you see a Launch button, you can click it. Or double click on Distant Horizons.

Where's the Minecraft Launcher? You don't need it. You're welcome.

Minecraft will launch. Open the Options... Video Settings, and you'll see the Distant Horizons button. That's too configure it. You can leave that alone for now.

Let's configure shaders after we start the game so we can see the difference with and without.

Make a new single player world (I recommend Creative so you can fly around. trust me.) and jump in. I'll see you in there...

At first it's not going to look great. That's because Distant Horizons needs to load up all the chunks. Hear your computer fans kick in? It's working hard!

Give it a while. Like maybe 15 minutes or more depending on how fast your computer is. Watch it work, or go grab a sandwich.

What's it doing? It's loading up what are called LOD files, or Level of Detail files, which are low-res versions of the generated chunks. But it's not actually generating your world. That's some voodoo magic right there. It uses these LOD files to show you 128 chunks away by default.

After a while, the world will fill in and you'll be able to see truly to the horizon. Without it, I'd be like. man, what a crappy spawn. I'm in the middle of a badlands. Which way do I go? Well now, I can see there's a shipwreck and a jungle way over there.

OK, let's turn on Shaders (if you installed them). Open up Options... Video Settings... Shader Packs... The shader packs you installed should be already here. Just select one and click done.

Amazing.

As a reminder, here's what it would have looked like without Distant Horizons.

Tips for Optimal Performance

Adjust Settings: The Distant Horizons Mod can be heavy on performance. Adjust your video settings in Minecraft to balance visual quality and smooth gameplay. If your computer is working too hard, you can adjust its render distance, quality preset, and CPU load settings. Play with them while keeping an eye on your FPS until you get smooth game play.

You can turn on Generation only when you're AFK if that's interfering too much.

You can reduce the Minecraft render distance as well without impacting Distant Horizons!

Update Graphics Drivers: Ensure your graphics drivers are up-to-date to handle the increased load.

Monitor FPS: Keep an eye on your FPS and tweak settings as necessary.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues during installation or while playing, here are a few common fixes:

• Rendering goes away. Sometimes the rendering may disappear. I've seen this when changing dimensions. If this ever happens, you may need to restart your game.
• Crashes on Startup: Ensure all mods and Minecraft versions match the ones required (1.20.1).
• Lag Issues: Reduce render distance or other video settings.
• Mod Conflicts: Check for compatibility issues with other installed mods.

Adding Distant Horizons to Modpacks

If you're playing a modpack with a supported version of Minecraft, you can add Distant Horizons right on top of it. Depending on the Minecraft Mod Launcher you're using, you can generally add more mods to it. Just add Distant Horizons and Oculus on Forge or Iris on Fabric and you're good to go!

I have recently written a post and video specifically about how to add Distant Horizons to any mod pack. Check it out!

I don't think I'll ever play Minecraft without Distant Horizons and Shaders. It's how Minecraft should be!