MaterialMaps
by RXokas
MaterialMaps gives blocks and items on Fabric a normal and height map from their texture, so surfaces catch light as if they were bumpy.
What it does
Block faces in vanilla Minecraft are flat squares, which is why stone bricks and gravel can look like stickers. The mod reads a companion image next to each texture, named h.png for height or n.png for normal, and derives a tangent-space normal map from it while resources reload. Companion maps that pair a normal image with a specular one are picked up as well, and LabPBR normal map data, including ambient occlusion and height stored in the alpha channel, is read and kept.
Sun and moon direction follow the current dimension, so the lighting on these surfaces matches each world. Many HD resource packs already ship extra hidden image textures, and MaterialMaps uses them when they are present. Shader packs normally read those maps on their own, but MaterialMaps lets players see the effect without one. Sodium is required, and the mod is client-side only, so servers run without it. Fabric API is also required, and Mod Menu is optional.
Key features
Block normal maps
Terrain blocks gain surface relief from normal maps while vanilla chunk geometry stays as it is.
Item normal maps
Held, dropped and inventory items receive the same surface treatment as blocks.
Height maps from textures
A height image next to a texture is converted into a normal map during resource reload, with no extra files needed.
LabPBR format support
Normal, ambient occlusion and height data stored in the LabPBR format are read from the texture set.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 2
Optional 1
How it compares
Smaller Maps is client-side only and is released under the MIT License, but it is not open source and covers 1.21.11 – 26.2, so it does not add surface relief to blocks. Show My Maps is open source under the MIT License, is client required with an optional server side, and covers 1.21 – 26.2, which also differs in purpose because it handles map display. lumaLight is client-side only under the MIT License, is not open source, and targets 1.20.1 – 26.3 on Fabric and Forge, so it does not use this mod's normal map pipeline.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MaterialMaps | Fabric | 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-09-19 |
| Smaller Maps | Fabric | 1.21.11 – 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-08-16 |
| Show My Maps | Fabric | 1.21 – 26.2 | Client required, server optional | 2026-08-12 |
| lumaLight | Fabric and Forge | 1.20.1 – 26.3 | Client-side only | 2026-10-05 |
Questions
Does MaterialMaps need Sodium and Fabric API?
Is MaterialMaps needed on the server?
Which Minecraft version does the Fabric file support?
Do shader packs still need to be installed?
In the catalog
MaterialMaps is one of 12,078 Decoration mods on ModsFinder, and one of 6,982 Decoration mods for Fabric. 13,894 mods support Minecraft 26.2.
More from RXokas
Similar mods
What the author says
Make your textures look bumpy instead of flat. No shader pack required. In Minecraft, every block face is a perfectly flat square. Stone, bricks, gravel, the texture looks rough, but the surface itself is smooth, so light hits all of it exactly the same way. That is why blocks can look like stickers.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/materialmaps
- Owner
- RXokas
- Published
- 2026-08-05
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-09-19
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15