How to Open Sodium Dynamic Lights Settings and Enable Dynamic Lighting
Sodium Dynamic Lights is configured entirely through its own settings screen. There is no crafting recipe and no item to place; every option is a toggle, a mode selector, or a quality setting you change in the interface. This guide covers how to reach that screen, how to turn dynamic lighting on, and how to control the first-person self light source.
Opening the Settings Screen
The settings screen is titled SodiumDynamicLights Settings. Open it from the mod's own interface entry point, then work through the options described below. All changes are made directly on this screen.
The Master Toggle
The central switch is Dynamic Light Sources. When this is enabled, light is produced by things a player carries or that exist in the world — a player holding a torch lights up the surrounding area, for example. If this is off, none of the other lighting behaviour applies, so enable it first before adjusting anything else.
Beneath the master toggle, the screen splits lighting into separate categories, each with its own switch.
Entity and Block Entity Lighting
Dynamic Entity Lighting controls whether entities such as mobs and dropped items emit dynamic light. Players are always active regardless of this setting, so you cannot switch player-carried light off here.
Dynamic Block Entity Lighting controls whether block entities produce dynamic light.
A note on the screen warns that turning off entity dynamic lighting is recommended when using Canvas, and that dynamic lighting with Canvas is currently performance heavy. Keep that in mind if you use Canvas alongside this mod.
First-Person Self Light Source
self light source enables first-person dynamic lighting — the light you see coming from what you are holding, rendered from your own point of view. If you use shaders that already provide their own dynamic lighting, it is recommended that you disable this option to avoid doubling up.
Water Sensitivity
Water Sensitivity Check enables a check on water-sensitive light sources. With it active, certain items stop emitting light while they are submerged in water. The related Extinguish When Underwater option sits in the same area of the screen and applies the same idea to the sources it covers.
Creeper and TNT Lighting
Both creepers and TNT have their own lighting controls.
creeper lighting sets the Creeper dynamic lighting mode. You can disable Creeper dynamic lighting entirely, give it a constant luminance, or give it a dynamic luminance.
tnt lighting does the same for TNT: disable TNT dynamic lighting, set a constant luminance, or set a dynamic luminance.
Each of these also has a quality setting that governs how often the light updates. Creeper Lighting Quality configures the update rate for Creeper lighting, and TNT Lighting Quality configures the update rate for TNT lighting. A faster update rate looks smoother; a slower one reduces how often light is recalculated.
Update Rate for Dynamic Light Sources
A separate update-rate control configures how frequently dynamic light sources refresh. The available behaviour includes a mode that lags a bit behind but minimizes light updates, and a smooth dynamic lighting mode. Choose the slower option if you want fewer light updates, or the smooth option if you prefer the lighting to follow its source closely.
Quick Reference
- Dynamic Light Sources — the master switch for all dynamic lighting.
- Dynamic Entity Lighting — mobs and dropped items emit light; players are always active.
- Dynamic Block Entity Lighting — block entities emit light.
- self light source — first-person lighting from what you hold; disable it with shaders that have their own dynamic lighting.
- Water Sensitivity Check and Extinguish When Underwater — stop certain sources lighting up while submerged.
- creeper lighting and tnt lighting — choose disabled, constant luminance, or dynamic luminance for each.
- Creeper Lighting Quality and TNT Lighting Quality — set the update rate for those two sources.
If a control on the screen is bound to a hotkey, set that binding in the controls menu rather than assuming a default.