ZENITH — Install Guide

INSTALL ZENITH

Pick your launcher below. Every route needs Minecraft 1.20.1, Fabric, and Java 17. Not Java 21, not Java 25 — a mod in this pack will refuse to load on them.

ALREADY INSTALLED? DELETE ONE FILE, DO NOT RE-DOWNLOAD. 1.4 removes Serene Seasons and changes nothing else. It was shifting biome grass and foliage colour every sub-season, and a biome colour change forces Minecraft to rebuild the chunk mesh — which is why chunks appeared to regenerate constantly while flying.

Measured after removing it: median tick 44–66 ms → 1.5 ms, TPS 16–19 → 20.0.

Just delete SereneSeasons-fabric-1.20.1-9.1.0.3.jar from your mods folder. Grab the full 1.4 only if installing fresh.

ALREADY DONE FOR YOU ZENITH is pre-added to your multiplayer list (servers.dat) — just open Multiplayer and it is there. Memory is pre-set via instance.cfg for Prism and MultiMC. Resource packs are pre-enabled in the right order. Gamma Utils is included, so you can raise brightness in Options — useful in Terralith's deep cave biomes.

⚠ JAVA 17. NOT 21. NOT 25. 1.20.1 mods are compiled for Java 17. If Minecraft crashes on startup with UnsupportedClassVersionError, you are on the wrong Java. That single mistake causes most "the pack doesn't work" reports.

MAX OR POTATO?

	MAX	POTATO
Mods	140	123
Render distance	24 chunks + Distant Horizons to 128	10 chunks + Bobby
Shaders	7 included, Complementary on	7 included, off
Resource packs	17 on, 17 spare	5 on
RAM	6144 MB	3072 MB
Fresh Animations, 3D models, particles	yes	no

SAME SERVER, SAME WORLD, SAME WHITELIST Potato is not a lesser game — it drops eye-candy only. It keeps every performance mod and Bobby, and will out-frame Max on the same machine while seeing the identical world. If you are unsure, take Potato first and move up if it runs well.

WHICH FILE DO I NEED?

Your launcher	Download this	Reads .mrpack?
Prism Launcher	`.mrpack`	YES
Modrinth App	`.mrpack`	YES
ATLauncher	`.mrpack`	YES
MultiMC	full `.zip`	NO
CurseForge app	full `.zip`	NO
TLauncher	full `.zip`	NO
SKLauncher	full `.zip`	NO
Official launcher	full `.zip`	NO

⚠ "INVALID INPUT: NO PACK MANIFEST FOUND IN THE MODPACK" If you see this, the file is fine — your launcher is the wrong one. That message comes from launchers that expect CurseForge's manifest.json. A .mrpack contains modrinth.index.json instead. Fix: use Prism or the Modrinth App, or download the full .zip instead of the .mrpack.

THE FILES

Five downloads. Which one you want depends entirely on your launcher.

ZENITH-Max-1.4.mrpack MODRINTH MODPACK · PRISM, MODRINTH APP, ATLAUNCHER · DOWNLOADS MODS ITSELF

33 KB

ZENITH-Potato-1.4.mrpack SAME, POTATO PROFILE

26 KB

zenith-max-1.4.zip EVERYTHING IN ONE FOLDER · MODS + PACKS + SHADERS + CONFIGS · ANY LAUNCHER

468 MB

zenith-potato-1.4.zip SAME, POTATO PROFILE

319 MB

zenith-max-mods-only-1.4.zip MODS FOLDER ONLY · IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR OWN SETTINGS · NO PACKS OR SHADERS

374 MB

zenith-max-extras-1.4.zip PACKS + SHADERS + CONFIG + OPTIONS + SERVER LIST, NO MODS · PAIRS WITH MODS-ONLY

94 MB

zenith-potato-mods-only-1.4.zip POTATO, MODS FOLDER ONLY

300 MB

zenith-potato-extras-1.4.zip POTATO, EVERYTHING EXCEPT MODS

20 MB

YOUR LAUNCHER

EASIEST ROUTE — USE THIS IF YOU CAN Prism reads the .mrpack and downloads every mod itself. Nothing to unzip.

DOWNLOAD THE MRPACK

Grab ZENITH-Max-1.4.mrpack (or Potato). It is only 33 KB — that is the manifest, not the mods.

ADD INSTANCE → IMPORT

In Prism: Add Instance → Import from zip → pick the .mrpack. Prism downloads all 180 files from Modrinth automatically.

SET JAVA 17

Right-click the instance → Edit → Settings → Java. Point it at a Java 17 runtime. Prism can download one for you.

SET MEMORY

Same Settings page → Memory. 6144 MB for Max, 3072 MB for Potato. Do not go higher — it starves your OS.

LAUNCH AND ADD THE SERVER

Multiplayer → Add Server → zenith.parallex.in

DOWNLOAD THE MRPACK

ZENITH-Max-1.4.mrpack or ZENITH-Potato-1.4.mrpack.

DRAG IT INTO THE APP

Modrinth App → drag the file onto the window, or Create profile → Import. It resolves every mod from Modrinth itself.

JAVA 17 + MEMORY

Profile Options → Java. Set Java 17 and 6 GB (Max) or 3 GB (Potato).

JOIN

zenith.parallex.in

MULTIMC CANNOT READ MRPACK Use the full .zip instead. (Prism is a MultiMC fork that can — consider switching.)

CREATE A 1.20.1 FABRIC INSTANCE

Add Instance → Minecraft 1.20.1 → Install Fabric.

OPEN THE INSTANCE FOLDER

Right-click the instance → Folder. You want the .minecraft subfolder.

UNZIP ZENITH INTO IT

Extract zenith-max-1.4.zip so that mods/, resourcepacks/, shaderpacks/, config/ and options.txt land inside .minecraft.

JAVA 17 + 6 GB

Instance Settings → Java. Then join zenith.parallex.in.

⚠ TLAUNCHER WARNING TLauncher is not an official launcher and has a poor reputation for bundled adware and telemetry. SKLauncher or Prism are safer and free. Instructions are here because you asked, not because I recommend it.

SELECT FABRIC 1.20.1

In the version dropdown pick Fabric 1.20.1 and launch once so the files generate.

OPEN THE GAME FOLDER

Windows %appdata%\.minecraft · macOS ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft · Linux ~/.minecraft

EXTRACT THE FULL ZIP INTO .MINECRAFT

Use zenith-max-1.4.zip, not mods-only. It is a plain folder layout, so it works here and brings mods, resource packs, shaders, options.txt and servers.dat together. TLauncher cannot import a modpack format — a zip of folders is not that.

SET JAVA 17 AND RAM

TLauncher settings → Java path → a Java 17 install. RAM 6 GB.

PACKS AND SHADERS ARE ALREADY DONE

They came with the full zip and options.txt already enables them in the right order. Shaders are in shaderpacks/ with one pre-selected.

USE THE FULL ZIP — NOT MODS-ONLY The full .zip is just a folder layout, not a modpack format, so SKLauncher handles it fine. It brings mods + resource packs + shaders + options.txt + servers.dat in one go. Mods-only exists purely for people who want to keep their own settings.

INSTALL FABRIC FOR 1.20.1

Run the official Fabric installer, choose 1.20.1, install. It appears in SKLauncher as fabric-loader-1.20.1.

OPEN .MINECRAFT

Windows %appdata%\.minecraft · macOS ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft · Linux ~/.minecraft

EXTRACT THE FULL ZIP STRAIGHT INTO IT

Open zenith-max-1.4.zip and drop its contents into .minecraft so you end up with:

.minecraft/mods/ resourcepacks/ shaderpacks/ config/ options.txt servers.dat

Resource packs and shaders are handled by this step. They are not separate downloads — they are folders inside the zip that simply have to be in the right place.

ALREADY ENABLED — NOTHING TO TICK

options.txt ships with all 18 core resource packs enabled in the correct load order. Shaders: 7 sit in shaderpacks/ with Complementary Reimagined pre-selected. If you kept your own options.txt, packs will be off — turn them on in Options → Resource Packs, base pack (Faithful) at the bottom.

JAVA 17 AND 6 GB

SKLauncher Settings → Java path → a Java 17 install → RAM 6144 MB (Potato: 3072 MB).

OPEN MULTIPLAYER

ZENITH is already in your server list — servers.dat came with the zip. Nothing to type.

ALREADY TOOK THE MODS-ONLY ZIP? Grab zenith-max-extras-1.4.zip (96 MB). It is the same pack minus the mods — resource packs, shaders, config, options.txt and servers.dat. Extract it into .minecraft on top of what you have.

RUN THE FABRIC INSTALLER

fabricmc.net/use/installer → Minecraft 1.20.1 → tick Create profile.

EXTRACT THE FULL ZIP INTO .MINECRAFT

The official launcher has no modpack import, but it does not need one — zenith-max-1.4.zip is a plain folder layout. Extract it into .minecraft and you get mods, resource packs, shaders and the server list at once.

EDIT THE PROFILE FOR JAVA 17 + RAM

Installations → the Fabric profile → More Options. Set the Java executable to a Java 17 javaw.exe, and JVM arguments to -Xmx6G.

JOIN

zenith.parallex.in

CURSEFORGE CANNOT IMPORT MRPACK The CurseForge app only reads its own format. Use the full .zip route into a manually created Fabric 1.20.1 instance, or switch to Prism.

CREATE A CUSTOM FABRIC 1.20.1 PROFILE

Create Custom Profile → Minecraft 1.20.1 → Modloader Fabric.

OPEN FOLDER, UNZIP THE FULL ZIP IN

Profile menu → Open Folder, then extract zenith-max-1.4.zip there.

JAVA 17 + 6 GB, THEN JOIN

zenith.parallex.in

MEMORY

Pack	Set your launcher to	JVM argument
Max	6144 MB (6 GB)	`-Xmx6144M`
Potato	3072 MB (3 GB)	`-Xmx3072M`

MORE RAM IS NOT MORE FPS Both zips ship an instance.cfg, so Prism and MultiMC set this automatically. Everywhere else, set it by hand. Giving the client 12 GB will not help — it starves your operating system and makes garbage-collection pauses worse. 6 GB is the ceiling that helps.

RENDER DISTANCE, EXPLAINED

This is the part people get wrong. The server sends 8 chunks. You will see far more than 8. Those are different numbers doing different jobs.

SERVER SENDS

8 CHUNKS

MAX RENDERS

24 CHUNKS

MAX + HORIZONS

128 CHUNKS

POTATO RENDERS

10 CHUNKS

Setting	Value	Who pays for it
`view-distance` (server)	8 chunks	The server. This is the only one that costs TPS, so it stays low.
`simulation-distance` (server)	6 chunks	The server. How far mobs, crops and redstone actually tick.
Render distance (Max)	24 chunks	Your GPU. Pre-set in `options.txt`.
Render distance (Potato)	10 chunks	Your GPU.
Bobby (both packs)	up to 32	Your disk. Caches chunks the server already sent and keeps drawing them.
Distant Horizons (Max only)	128 chunks	Your GPU. Simplified LOD terrain past everything above.

DOES DISTANT HORIZONS NEED INDIUM (OR NVIDIUM)? NO — BUT INDIUM IS IN THE PACK ANYWAY. Distant Horizons' entire dependency list is fabricloader, three Fabric API modules, minecraft 1.20/1.20.1 and java ≥17. No Indium, no Nvidium, no Sodium, no Iris. It runs on any GPU.

Indium is shipped for a different reason. It is a Sodium addon that re-implements the Fabric Rendering API. Fabric API normally provides that through Indigo, but Sodium replaces the terrain renderer and bypasses Indigo, so mods that draw custom block geometry need Indium to render correctly. In this pack LambdaBetterGrass needs it — without Indium its better-grass would silently not draw.

AND NVIDIUM? NO. They are unrelated, and DH does not depend on it. Straight from Distant Horizons' own manifest, its entire dependency list is fabricloader, three Fabric API modules, minecraft 1.20/1.20.1 and java ≥17 — no Nvidium, no Sodium, no Iris. Distant Horizons works on any GPU, AMD and Intel included.

They are different layers anyway: Nvidium replaces Sodium's terrain backend for the near view using NVIDIA-only mesh shaders; Distant Horizons draws simplified LOD terrain beyond everything else. Removing Nvidium costs you nothing on the horizon.

SO WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY SEE ON MAX? A 24-chunk ring of real, full-detail world, and LOD terrain out to 128 chunks beyond that — roughly 2,000 blocks of visible landscape. Across 167 biomes and Tectonic terrain, that is the entire point of the pack.

WHY IT FILLS IN AS YOU WALK Bobby can only keep what the server has already sent it, and Distant Horizons only draws terrain it has already seen. On your first session the far distance will be empty. It builds up as you explore, and it is saved — so it is permanent, not per-session.

WHAT TO EXPECT ON YOUR FIRST JOIN

1 · THE FAR DISTANCE STARTS EMPTY The world is pre-generated on the server, but Bobby and Distant Horizons store their data on your PC. On the first session you will see roughly the server's 8 chunks. It extends as you explore, and it is saved — so it is permanent, not per-session.

2 · 167 BIOMES, SO EXPLORE Terralith adds 99 new biomes on top of vanilla's 45, and Tectonic reshapes the terrain under all of them — taller mountains, deeper canyons, wide rivers. Nature's Compass is in the pack: use it to hunt a specific biome instead of wandering. Bring food and torches, and Gamma Utils is there if it is too dark.

3 · GET A BENDING ELEMENT Bending is item-driven, not commands. Find an elemental scroll — Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Lightning, Blood or Metal — and it grants you that element. Then bind nothing: the mod ships Ability 1–4, Cycle Elements and an Upgrade Screen keybind (check Options → Controls → Elementals). The Upgrade Screen is the skill tree you level through in survival.

4 · DRAGONS ARE TAMED IN THE WORLD Saint's Dragons creatures spawn naturally — there is no spawn egg shortcut. Go find one.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Symptom	Cause and fix
`UnsupportedClassVersionError`	Wrong Java. You need 17. This is the single most common failure.
Crash on startup, "incompatible mods"	Fabric Loader too old. You need 0.19.4 or newer — JEI refuses to load otherwise.
Kicked at login / "outdated client"	Your mods do not match. Re-download and replace the whole `mods` folder.
Resource packs are off	You skipped `options.txt`. It ships with the packs enabled in the correct order — order matters, the base pack goes first.
Distance never fills in	Expected. See above — Bobby and Distant Horizons build up as you explore.
Terrible FPS on Max	Use Potato. Or turn shaders off (Video Settings → Shader Packs → off) and drop render distance to 12.
"No pack manifest found"	Your launcher cannot read `.mrpack`. Use Prism / Modrinth App, or grab the full `.zip`. See the table at the top.
Not enough RAM / constant stutter	Max wants 6144 MB, Potato 3072 MB. Prism and MultiMC pick this up from the `instance.cfg` shipped in the zip; other launchers need `-Xmx6144M` set by hand. Do not go higher — it starves your OS.
Where did Nvidium go?	Removed deliberately. It needs Sodium exactly 0.5.7/0.5.8 (we ship 0.5.13); it only works on NVIDIA GTX 16-series or newer and does nothing on AMD or Intel; and its own page warns mesh shaders "may result in minecraft terminating unexpectedly". 42 of its 43 builds are alpha or beta.
"Incompatible mods found"	You have an old copy of the pack. Nvidium (needed Sodium 0.5.7/0.5.8) and Particular (Supplementaries breaks it) were removed on 2026-08-30. Delete your `mods` folder entirely and re-extract — do not merge over the top.
"Not whitelisted"	Ask Sai. The server is whitelist-only.

STILL STUCK? Every mod, version and release-type is listed on the main page. Checksums for every download are at /files/SHA256SUMS.