Like many open-world games, Subnautica can sometimes suffer from limited draw distance, where objects and terrain only appear when you get closer to them. This can disrupt the immersive experience, making it difficult to navigate and enjoy the game’s full visual potential. In this guide, we’ll explore how to increase the draw distance in Subnautica to enhance your gaming experience.
Why Increase Draw Distance?
Increasing the draw distance in Subnautica can significantly improve your overall gameplay experience by allowing you to see more of the environment at once. This can help you:
- Better Navigate the Ocean: With a longer draw distance, you can spot landmarks, resources, and potential threats from farther away, making exploration more efficient and safer.
- Enhance Visual Quality: A higher draw distance means that the game’s stunning visuals can be appreciated in their entirety, as distant objects and landscapes will appear more clearly.
- Improve Immersion: Seeing more of the environment at once without objects popping in as you approach them helps maintain the game’s immersive atmosphere.
How to Increase Draw Distance and Improve Performance in Subnautica??
If you’re looking to enhance your experience in Subnautica by increasing the draw distance and improving performance, there are a few tweaks and mods you can apply to achieve this. We’ll walk you through the steps to install a performance-boosting mod and adjust your game’s configuration files to enhance your gameplay.
Step 1: Install the Performance Booster Mod
Before making any configuration changes, it’s essential to install a mod that helps mitigate the potential framerate drops that could occur due to increased draw distance. Follow these steps to install the Performance Booster mod:
- Download BepInEx from Nexus Mods:
- Go to the Nexus Mods page for Subnautica and locate the BepInEx under the Requirements section.
- Download the BepInEx mod manager.
- Extract BepInEx:
- Extract the contents of the BepInEx archive into your root Subnautica folder. You can find this folder by going to your Steam Library, right-clicking on Subnautica, selecting Manage, and then Browse local files.
- Run and Quit the Game:
- Launch Subnautica and then immediately exit. This step is necessary to create the required folders for the mod to function correctly.
- Install the Performance Booster Mod:
- Download the Performance Booster mod from Nexus Mods.
- Extract the downloaded mod and place its contents into the
.\Subnautica\BepInEx\plugins\folder within your Subnautica directory. Replace any files if prompted.
- Tweak Mod Settings (Optional):
- Once installed, you can access and adjust the mod settings from within the game menu. It’s recommended to set the in-game settings to the High preset to start with and then fine-tune according to your preference.
Step 2: Edit Configuration Files to Increase Draw Distance
Now that the mod is installed, you can proceed to modify the game’s configuration files to adjust the draw distance. Follow these steps:
- Locate the Configuration File:
- Navigate to the
.\Subnautica\Subnautica_Data\StreamingAssets\SNUnmanagedData\folder in your Subnautica directory. - Find the file named
clipmaps-high.json.
- Navigate to the
- Make a Backup:
- Before making any changes, create a backup of the
clipmaps-high.jsonfile. This will allow you to restore the original settings if anything goes wrong.
- Before making any changes, create a backup of the
- Replace File Content:
- Open the
clipmaps-high.jsonfile with a text editor (like Notepad). - Replace the entire content of the file with the following:
- Open the
{
"chunkMeshRes": 16,
"numSlices": 16,
"maxWorkspaces": 16,
"maxMeshQueue": 20,
"maxThreads": 16,
"vertexBucketStride": 300,
"triangleBucketStride": 175,
"levels": [
{
"chunksPerSide": 12,
"chunksVertically": 12,
"colliders": true,
"downsamples": 0,
"maxBlockTypes": 32,
"grass": true,
"entities": true,
"debug": false,
"castShadows": true,
"highPriority": true,
"visual": {
"useLowMesh": false,
"simplify": {
"maxError": 0.01,
"antiSliverWeight": 0.0005
}
},
"grassSettings": {
"reduction": 0,
"maxVerts": 10000,
"maxTris": 10000
}
},
{
"chunksPerSide": 14,
"chunksVertically": 14,
"colliders": false,
"downsamples": 0,
"maxBlockTypes": 8,
"grass": true,
"entities": true,
"debug": false,
"castShadows": true,
"highPriority": false,
"fadeMeshes": false,
"visual": {
"useLowMesh": true,
"simplify": {
"maxError": 0.1,
"antiSliverWeight": 0.0005
}
},
"grassSettings": {
"reduction": 0.5,
"maxVerts": 10000,
"maxTris": 10000
}
},
{
"chunksPerSide": 16,
"chunksVertically": 16,
"colliders": false,
"downsamples": 1,
"maxBlockTypes": 2,
"meshOverlap": 1,
"grass": false,
"entities": true,
"debug": false,
"castShadows": false,
"highPriority": false,
"visual": {
"useLowMesh": true,
"simplify": {
"maxError": 1,
"antiSliverWeight": 0.0005
}
},
"grassSettings": {
"reduction": 0.5,
"maxVerts": 10000,
"maxTris": 10000
}
},
{
"chunksPerSide": 18,
"chunksVertically": 18,
"colliders": false,
"downsamples": 2,
"ignoreMeshes": false,
"meshOverlap": 0,
"maxBlockTypes": 1,
"grass": false,
"entities": true,
"debug": false,
"castShadows": false,
"highPriority": false,
"fadeMeshes": true,
"visual": {
"useLowMesh": true,
"simplify": {
"maxError": 1,
"antiSliverWeight": 0.0005
}
},
"grassSettings": {
"reduction": 0.5,
"maxVerts": 10000,
"maxTris": 10000
}
},
{
"chunksPerSide": 20,
"chunksVertically": 20,
"colliders": false,
"downsamples": 4,
"ignoreMeshes": true,
"maxBlockTypes": 1,
"grass": false,
"entities": false,
"debug": false,
"castShadows": false,
"highPriority": false,
"fadeMeshes": false,
"visual": {
"useLowMesh": true,
"simplify": {
"maxError": 10,
"antiSliverWeight": 0.0005
}
},
"grassSettings": {
"reduction": 0.5,
"maxVerts": 10000,
"maxTris": 10000
}
}
]
}
- Save the File:
- Save the changes and close the text editor.
Final Tips
Now that you’ve made these changes, your game should have an increased draw distance, providing a more immersive experience in the expansive underwater world of Subnautica. If you encounter performance issues, consider adjusting the chunksPerSide and chunksVertically values within each level in the .json file to find a balance between visual quality and performance.
You’re all set! Dive back into the depths and enjoy a clearer, more visually stunning Subnautica experience.
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