Complementary Reimagined Shaders

There is a reason why a large number of Minecraft YouTubers and streamers prefer to use the Complementary shader pack when recording their game. The pack simply offers great visuals with little impact on performance. And the best part? Every element of the shader pack can be configured individually. Let us take a look at some amazing features introduced by the Complementary Reimagined shader pack.

Visual Style and Philosophy

Vanilla-Aligned Aesthetics

Vanilla-Aligned Aesthetic

Enhances visuals in the vanilla-way

This is the main difference between Complementary Reimagined and Complementary Unbound. This version of the pack focuses on improving the game visuals while adhering to the vanilla style of the game. This can be noticed in the style of the clouds and the water. Whereas, the Unbound version focuses on realism.

Exceptional Detail

Per-Block Attention

Every block is treated differently

This shader pack treats every single block in a different way. Light interacts with wooden planks in a way which is very different from how it interacts with ice. And the interaction with leaf blocks is very different from both. The level of attention to detail is commendable.

Lighting and Shadows

Photorealistic Lighting

Realistic Lighting

Volumetry in play

The image above showcases the quality of lighting introduced by this shader very well. It should be noted that the pack utilizes volumetric lighting, which makes lighting behavior in a three-dimensional manner. The torches in the villager appear to "glow" and light falls on nearby surfaces in a realistic manner. The pack also includes Colored Lighting, which will be discussed in the Nether section of this article.

Dynamic Shadows

Reactive Shadows

Shadows react to the environment

The shadows introduced by this pack react to changes in the environment in a very realistic manner. Shadows casted by waving grass waves without any delay. Shadows cast by moving entities have realistic shapes and are highly reactive.

Volumetric Effects

Volumetry

Volumetric light and fog

As discussed above, this shader utilizes volumetric lighting. The same can be said for the shader fog too. In the image above, it can be observed how distance affects the amount of fade caused by the fog. This would not be the case if the pack utilized a simple fog overlay.

Custom Color Grading

The shader settings includes various different tone mapping and color grading options that you can use to fine tune the visuals to your liking. The comparison above shows the difference between the default look of the shader versus increased saturation.

Atmospheric Features

Dynamic Sky and Clouds

Vanilla Themed Clouds

An enhanced version of vanilla clouds

As mentioned earlier, this shader focuses on improving the game visuals while staying true to the vanilla feel of the game. The clouds introduced by this pack is a good example for this. These clouds are simple blocky masses very similar to the vanilla clouds. But their edges have been rounded to make them look fluffy, and they react to sunlight.

Northern Lights

Auroras

A visual treat in the night sky

Another unique feature of this pack are the Northern Light (or Auroras). They usually appear in the night sky in snowy biomed. They are a truly unique sight, which makes exploration a lot more enjoyable and the environment a lot more visually aesthetic.

Weather Effects

Weather Effects

Heavy fog during rain and thunder

When the weather becomes rainy, the atmospheric fog density tends to increase. This means, you will not be able to see very far away until the weather clears up. This is another detail that makes the game more immersive.

Water and Materials

Water Overhaul

Water Overhaul

Underwater refraction and caustics

While the water surface stays closer to the vanilla game, the underwater effects have been enhanced. Every single underwater effect, like reflection, refraction, and caustics, can be seen in action. Caustics are the light patterns seen at the bottom of a pool.

Material Support

PBR Features

Supports PBR and SSR textures

Any resource pack that utilizes PBR and SSR textures for realism can be used to their full potential in combination with this shader pack. There are specific settings within the shader settings that will allow you to toggle these features.

The Nether

Nether Smoke

Nether Smoke

Color depends on biome

When it comes to the Nether dimension, a thick and foggy smoke effect can be seen to be in effect. The color of this foggy smoke depends on the biome you are in, as seen in the image above.

Colored Light

Colored Lighting

Light color depends on source

Here, we can observe another feature of this shader pack. As can be seen in the image above, soul fire emits blue colored light, while lava emits an orange light. This goes to show how the color of the light depends on the source emitting it.

This comparison shows the difference between the vanilla look and the shader look. The colors appear to be a lot more vibrant and saturated with this shader pack enabled. Various different light and shadow effects can be seen in play.

The End

End Shader Effect

Purple sky, fog, stars, etc.

The above image pretty much sums up all the shader effects introduces into the End dimension. It can be seen that the sky is a lot more purple, with stars detailing it. A fog effect can also be seen in play. All these effects together makes the End a truly beautiful sight.

In the comparison, it can also be noted that a purple tint is applied on all blocks. It is especially noticeable on the endstone blocks and endstone bricks. They well complement the purple themed visuals of the End.

Euphoria Patches

Euphoria Patches

Elevate you visuals to the next level

Euphoria Patches is an add-on mod made to be used in combination with the Complementary shader pack. Installing this mod provided you access to additional features, which will allow you enable some truly breathtaking shader effects.

Distant Horizons

Distant Horizons Compatible

Shader effects that spans thousands of blocks!

Complementary Reimagined is compatible with Distant Horizons, an LoD mod that allows you to play at extremely high render distances with not much impact on game performance. Use this combo for a game that offer mesmerizing visuals that span thousands of blocks long.

Performance

Complementary Reimagined should perform well on mid-end to high-end systems. But it should be noted that the shaderpack settings include one-click toggleable presets that you can utilize to easily configure the shader settings to your system specifications.

Choose a preset from the available options (Potato, Toaster, Low, Medium, High, Ultra and Extreme), and you are set to go. We tested the shader pack on a mid-end system: AMD Ryzen 5 series processor and AMD Radeon RX6500M GPU. The pack provided around 40-50 FPS on High preset and 30-40 on Ultra. So it can be said without a doubt that this is one of the most well-optimized shader packs available.

The pack is specifically made to be played on Iris and Sodium, but the developer maintains OptiFine compatibility as well.