Wrong render distance on 9 and more chunks settings.

Added screenshots showing issue in 13w38b and example from 1.5.2

Well, 13w38c present too.

Yes, the fog seems to have the correct distance, but distant chunks simply do not load. This bug makes the "16 chunks" remder distance setting practically useless at the moment 😞

Confirmed for 13w39a !

Added to affected versions. =3

I watched JL2579, confirmed 🙂

Confirmed on Minecraft 13w39a with an Nvidia GTX 660.

Confirmed 13w39a on Linux Mint 14, i7 920, 24GB memory (1024 or 2048 for Minecraft), GeForce 9600GT, 1920x1080, OpenJDK 64-bit 23.7-b01. Drive running on is a RAID 0 with dual Intel 320 SSDs on an enterprise grade adaptec RAID card (est 600MB/s random read).

Confirmed for 13w39b !

Confirmed for 13w41a/b !

Since the 13w41b Snapshot, I think that 16 chunks mimics 12 chunks exactly, I have added 4 pictures above.

Also to note: When you go to 1.6.4, change to Far, then go back to snapshot, it changes from whatever you have to 12 chunks.

Still can't see all chunks with 16 chunk settings in 13w42a/b !

Confirmed for 13w43a !

This is getting ridiculous. Up to 1.2.5 "far" distance worked quite well, with the world almost extending into the fog. Ever since, the integrated server in the client has been stuck at 10 chunks (MC-5227). At least a dedicated server with view-distance=15 is very close if not identical to 1.2.5 (identical in my test). Now the snapshots leading up to 1.7 won't ever do more than 8?

Please just fix this once and for all.

Confirmed for 1.7 Pre-Release

I had notice this on my PC too, but thought it was just a driver I needed to update 😛

Confirmed for 1.7.1

Dinnerbone said in a tweet that 16 chunk loading was available to users with 64 bit Java. He said that way back on Oct. 13, 2013. I don't know if that was ever even a valid statement because I sure haven't been able to go past 8 chunks even since that slider was introduced.

Using 64-bit Java doesn't solve the problem, otherwise this wouldn't be a valid bug report.

Yeah, I use 64-bit java, and it doesn't help to see more than 8 chunks.

Seems that we have to play 1.7.2 with reduced max. render distance compared to 1.6.4 😞

Confirmed for Minecraft 1.7.2

Yeah, Dinnerbone seems to think it works fine with 64-bit java. It doesn't. I'm also running it on a computer that can handle Extreme in Optifine, so it has nothing to do with my computer. Also here's that tweet Dinnerbone made: https://twitter.com/Dinnerbone/status/389380325346127872

Uploaded an animated GIF showing that render distances above 8 do not work under 64bit Java. (The GIF shows render distance 12 -> 16 because with fog it's unclear whether there is a difference between 8 and 12 although I'm pretty sure there is none).

MC-5227 is still there in its original form. That is, the integrated server still uses 10 chunks no matter what. The dedicated server can't be configured to use more than 15 chunks (not enough to disappear in "far" or 16-chunk fog). There is no functional communication of the render distance, and the result of the broken attempt is never used anywhere.

MC-31622 (this one) is that the game will never load anything over 8 chunks or so away. Like the other bug, it appears to be primarily a server-side problem, because chunks will only unload after leaving the server's range. You can check this by walking or flying a few hundred blocks and looking behind you. Once the game has finished updating all chunks, those that were already loaded and are within the server's view-distance will still be there. Interestingly, the area that will load before you move is also mildly affected: view-distance=10 is really 7 (15x15=225 chunks); view-distance=15 is really 9 (19x19=361 chunks, or usually a few more like 363 or 366 in my tests).

The client uses a default render distance of 12 chunks instead of 8 if it's 64-bit. That's all the differentiation you'll find.

This issue is affecting my girlfriend and I as well. I play on Windows 7. She plays on OS X.

Yeah happens on my server as well - almost same system as the OP but with a different processor. Needs to be fixed!!

This is happening on 1.7.2 on Linux with 64 bit Java. Before finding this bug I found it was happening with distances of 10 and up. I'm going to try 8 tonight. When it happens I have to constantly hit F3+A to reload the chunks and it is better for a few minutes.

it appears the chunks will stay loaded if you move around but will just not be sent initially.

I have performed some more tests. The client was set to 16 chunks. I used the integrated server, which uses 10 chunks in some sense (view-distance in a dedicated server).

When moving around, 7 chunks ahead of me become visible, whereas 10 chunks behind remain visible (this tracks view-distance beautifully, as I had found out earlier). Spawn chunks have no effect on this. F3+A has no effect; the exact same chunks will show up again.

I also built a minecart track to determine how far out the world is active. This is about 8 chunks ahead, perhaps 8.5 behind (it's deactivated when I cross the middle of a chunk), with the 180-degree turn at the far, northern end of the distant chunk. This means that a small part of the world that you can't see is active, when only 7 chunks are visible. The converse can also happen, if 10 chunks are visible. If I put the far end in the spawn chunks, a much greater range is possible.

What exactly is being loaded and where? Do those 10 chunks that appear on the client even exist on the server, even though that's the server's view-distance?

Definition of number of chunks: when standing in a chunk, how many more chunks are loaded in a particular direction.

P.S. Initially I used redstone instead of minecarts, but that makes the game load chunks on demand. Nice.

.... aaaand 13w47b/c.

Not fixed in 13w47d either... It is really annoying , I can`t see my builds nor can I take a decent screenshot :/

Not fixed in 13w47e apparently. Looks like d and e both contain a number of graphics / rendering bugs, perhaps there is a (however small) chance that they will get this in 1.7.3 as well...

@Dan
Good to see that there are people that notice that bug too, seems that most of the others dont even bother? Since the merge of mp and sp, the render distance was never really "Far" as it was in 1.2.5. Now in 1.7.2 its even more ridiculous... If I find the time i will try to make a comparison from 1.2.5 on "Far" to 1.7.2 on max render distance.

@Dan: The only effect of 64-bit is that the default render distance is 12 chunks instead of 8. Of course that only pushes out the fog so you can clearly see the edges of the (still small) loaded area. Very helpful! Can you feel the sarcasm?

@Tobias Rieper: 1.3's problem was that the server uses its own 'render' distance. The integrated server always used 10 chunks, when I'd say it really should've copied the client's setting! The dedicated server was configurable, so you could at least set view-distance=15 and get the 'far' experience (not perfect, but not worse than it used to be, either). Now in 1.7 even that fails to work, although there's still a minimal effect (chunks that were previously loaded remain visible up to the configured distance).

Wouldn't it be helpful if this were more of a wiki where we can document consensus in one place? Right now you need to read the main description as well as all comments to get a sense of things.

13w48a too, added.

@zombie hunter
@Dan

I agree with everything, but not everyone always played with the max render distance setting so those players obviously wouldn't know that this bug appeared, or even care about it. I want this bug fixed as much as anyone but we have to be honest with ourselves regarding the estimated number of players that are affected.

Guys, there's a lot of off-topic chatter that has been squelched. This is not a forum, please stay on the topic of the bug and provide useful feedback and information.

Also a thousand "fix this now" "this should be fixed" "this is game breaking" (when it's not) and other subsequent whining will also be muted, it does not help the issue at hand.

Same here...
[11:43:38 INFO]: System.getProperty('os.name') == 'Windows 7'
[11:43:38 INFO]: System.getProperty('os.version') == '6.1'
[11:43:38 INFO]: System.getProperty('os.arch') == 'amd64'
[11:43:38 INFO]: System.getProperty('java.version') == '1.7.0_25'
[11:43:38 INFO]: System.getProperty('java.vendor') == 'Oracle Corporation'
[11:43:38 INFO]: System.getProperty('sun.arch.data.model') == '64'

8Gb of RAM
Radeon HD7750

Same problem.

On the positive side, I started a hardcore game with the view distance set to 2. That's kinda fun for a couple of hours. I wouldn't have thought of that if it wasn't for this annoying bug.

http://dinnerbone.com/media/uploads/2013-11/screenshots/27_11-48-31_FQ6C0zcp0V.png

Well, that was fast... Looks good!

Thank you for the fix, I appreciate it. For me it was the most problem in singleplayer. Have a good day)))

Uh... Couldn't we keep this open for the multiplayer fix!? Do we really need to open a new bug report for multiplayer, when the problem itself is the same?

I'm glad this fixes the problem for people in single player, but personally, I play only on a server and from what I understand, the problem is still 100% there.

It has taken long enough to have this problem acknowledged properly... I don't see what is the need to start that all over again... 😞

That's a lot better 🙂
Looking forward to play the next snapshot.

...also known as 1.7.3 Pre-Release 🙂
And yes, in Multiplayer it's still a thing, but as Dinnerbone said, it's a WIP there and he's working on it. Apparently it's not that easy, probably because it requires more download of chunks from a server (what could maybe cause other problems)

Consider the server working as intended for right now. If the client could decide on its view distance then this opens it up to lots of abuse and exploitable stuff ("Hey server, my view distance is one; now it's 16! now it's one. Now it's 16!", server keeps sending chunks because your dist changed - or you could just lower your view dist to keep something unloaded).

We need to separate the concept of view distance into render distance + load distance, and add sane restrictions on view distance. This is all a lot of work and will not be done for 1.7.3.

Thank you for the clarifications.

Was it actually a problem the way it was in 1.6.4? I don't know if it has ever been up to 16 chunks (I know my server was never configured above 12 chunks render distance to avoid having too much lag), but I know for sure that it was more than it is now.

Couldn't the server decide on the max view distance of the client while it is connected to that server? Would that be very hard to fix?

I understand the problem is for servers with PVP or with many players, but on a small friendly server where there's nothing to exploit, it's not a problem, yet we're being penalized anyway. 😞

"You can't be everybody's darling."
(I hope that's right, at least that's what was said to me...)

@Andre - The server currently does decide the max view distance (server.properties view-distance=XX 15max) however it does not restrict the client to the maximum server setting. We understand that people use the servers in different ways and some semblance of balance is always attempted, but some sacrifices have to be made to allow other forms of servers to run properly. As well some servers are not as "beefy" as others, while the client could be allowed to set it's draw distance as DB stated it could be exploited, as well under-powered servers would have a hard time if everyone connected cranked their draw distance up to 16. As much as I would love an unlimited or client-controlled draw distance, it's simply not feasible.

As far as your own server and being penalized, if you increase your draw distance on the server-side, then you are all set. (Just remember increasing draw distance increases server load exponentially per player)

Thank you for your reply.

I don't understand the last part, however. My server has been set to a draw distance of 12 since I started it, but the view distance we actually see in the game is still much shorter than it was in 1.6.4 (as explained in this bug report).

From what I understand, you say that my view distance can be as far as what I set it to in my server's configuration, but that's the whole point of this bug report - it used to before 1.7, but it doesn't anymore.

That should no longer be the case after this fix.

I have to say, it might have never been able to go as far as 16 chunks, I have no clue about that. All I know is that it is now much shorter than it was, even though my server is still set to 12. Maybe it has actually never been able to go above 12, or maybe even 10 chunks, but now it is less than what it was able to show before. Unless I load the chunks first by getting close enough and than backing up away from the chunk - in that case it will stay loaded further.

Oh ok then that's great!! 🙂

Nice that this is now being worked on! I'd have preferred some more urgency but at least it's happening. Thank you, Dinnerbone!

Andre: 15 chunks was actually possible, and seems to be equivalent to 1.2.5 "far".

Talven: Exponential growth with multiple players? It should be roughly players * distance^2 in memory and processing, and player * distance in chunk loading as people move around.

Some notes for Dinnerbone:

• The integrated server should use the client's distance (at least the one hosting the game), no questions asked.

• I got the impression that even when things worked properly, fog extended past the edge very slightly. Would be nice if it were seamless, as long as you move slowly. Although I realize there'll still be artifacts if the sky is occluded in the wrong places. I think it can still be done but it's more involved.

Sorry to butt in but does a server's configuration of 15 chunks view distance allow for the full 16 chunks set in the client, or is it "off by one"?

This bug still occurs in 13w48b. Will it be fixed in the next snapshot?

13w48b was out before fix on Tuesday.

Just to clarify. The fix is not "out" yet. I believe what Dinnerbone was illustrating was that the fix exists (Albeit only on the programmers computers.) And that it will be included in 1.7.3. I assume they may or may not test it in a snapshot first.

I too went to the snapshot hoping to test the fix. Can't wait to finally enjoy the new biomes!

For multiplayer, why not simply have the server always send the distance set in the server.properties, and the client display either that, or whatever they have set in their client settings, whichever is lower. This way, client settings don't affect the server, but can still be lowered to increase performance.
I thought this is how it had always worked... Seems simple enough to implement though, and doesn't require any new settings or anything.

Added a screenshot showing fixed distance in singleplayer, but idk about multiplayer, not tested.

THANK YOU Mojang!!!!!! Looks wonderful!

Looking sexy.

Added picture with 16 chunks are visible with the last one fading into the fog. Good job Mojang!

After joining a server, without moving showing around 8 chunks. After moving shows the 16, still in the fog at the back. So apparently, even though the server is set to give 15 chunks, it only gives 8 out, and requires you to move to them to send them.

EDIT:
Thanks, Talven81, didn't know that would make a difference since the client joined fine. It loads all 16 chunks fine.

@Joshua Please try with the snapshot server.

Please reopen, this is still an issue in 13w49a, even in singleplayer. Can be easily shown in CSP by creating a new superflat world with render distance set to 16, then flying up. Chunks will stop generating while still within the render distance, making the edges clearly visible.

@Fenhl Cannot confirm, appears to be working as intended on all my systems.

I tried Fenhl's steps of creating a superflat world. While I was flying up the chunks did stop generating, but when I let go of the spacebar and 'hovered' the chunks resumed generating.
On my system this bug appears fixed.
Thanks very much Dev's 🙂

For me, the chunks loading does not resume when letting go of the jump key. Also, when staying on the ground for a while and then flying up, the loaded chunks clearly form a square, as opposed to the circular shape of the distance fog.

It's okay for me personally, 16 chunks as supposed to be, there's just another problem, chunks loading incorrect sometimes (Holes), try F3+A, and set your FPS limit as low as possible (My 60). Everything about distance aspect is okay.

This now works as it used to (in 1.6.4) on my server, thank you!