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Configure Entity and Block Entity Distance Limits in Sodium Extras for Better Farm Performance

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Sodium Extras includes distance-based culling options that hide and stop ticking entities and block entities once they pass a configured range. On a server or single-player world crowded with mob farms, droppers, hoppers, or modded machines, these limits can produce a large performance gain. The settings are grouped in the mod's configuration interface, and each distance limit has its own toggle plus separate horizontal and vertical values.

Entity Distance Limits

Use Max Entity Distance is the master switch for entity culling. When it is enabled, entities are hidden according to the distance limits you set below it. When it is off, the limits have no effect.

Entities Max Distance (Horizontal) controls how far away entities remain visible and active. Anything beyond that number of blocks is hidden and no longer ticks. This is the setting that matters most around modded farms, where large numbers of entities would otherwise keep running their logic.

Entities Max Distance (Vertical) controls how far below you entities continue to exist. Entities underneath that depth are hidden and stop ticking, which helps when you are standing above caves. The vertical value should ideally be lower than the horizontal one.

Block Entity Distance Limits

Use max Block Entity Distance is the master switch for block entity culling. Enable it to hide block entities based on the limits you configure.

Block Entities Max Distance (Horizontal) sets the range beyond which block entities are hidden. This is the key setting for areas packed with modded machines, since it removes the cost of block entities that are too far away to matter.

Block Entities Max Distance (Vertical) sets how far below you block entities are hidden. It improves performance when you are above caves, and as with the entity version, it should ideally be set lower than the horizontal distance. The description notes this is useful if your machines happen to be placed in caves.

How to Operate These Settings

Open the mod's configuration interface and locate the entity and block entity sections. Each section has a toggle at the top and two numeric fields beneath it. Turn on the toggle first, then enter the horizontal and vertical distances you want. Nothing is hidden until the corresponding toggle is active.

If you prefer to bind these actions to keys, assign the corresponding hotkey in the controls menu. No default key is provided for these options.

Practical Notes

  • Keep the vertical limit smaller than the horizontal limit, as both descriptions recommend.
  • Entity culling targets mobs, dropped items, and similar entities; block entity culling targets machines, furnaces, and comparable blocks.
  • The performance benefit is described as huge specifically around modded farms and large numbers of modded machines.
  • If you notice machines or mobs disappearing sooner than expected, raise the relevant distance or disable that section's toggle.

Sodium Extras also provides an FPS display that can show current FPS, and in advanced mode minimum FPS plus a 15-second average, which is useful for judging whether your distance changes helped. You can set the display's corner position and offset, and optionally show memory and GPU usage beside the counter. Use Text Shadow Box adds an F3-style shadow box to the display.

Dynamic lighting has its own performance costs. Use for Block Entities applies dynamic lighting to tile entities such as furnaces and modded machines, and can sharply increase lighting updates even when you are nowhere near them. The entity equivalent does the same for dropped items and mobs. Light Updates Speed controls how frequently dynamic lights refresh; slower values perform better because lighting recalculation is expensive.

Other toggles worth knowing: disabling overworld fog removes that effect only in the Overworld, and disabling text shadows gives a flat look that can raise FPS when a lot of text is on screen. Fast Language Reload makes language updates reload only language rather than all resources.