Nothirium
by Meldexun
Nothirium changes how Minecraft's chunk rendering engine draws the world, replacing parts of it with a modern OpenGL path on Forge 1.12.2.
What it does
Nothirium rewrites the chunk rendering engine so that terrain is drawn with modern OpenGL. The change aims to raise frame rates in worlds with many loaded chunks. It is a client-side only mod, so only the client needs it and a server can run without it. Its required dependencies are MixinBootstrap and RenderLib, and the optional Mixin 0.7-0.8 Compatibility library may be added alongside them.
Files are published for Forge only, for 1.12.2, with 1.12.2-0.4.9-beta from 2026-01-10 as the latest build. The mod is not open source; the code is released under All rights reserved, though public links to the source code and issue tracker exist. Nothirium Littletiles Patch requires Nothirium, so that companion mod depends on this one for its rendering path.
Nothirium also includes a colored light feature for Lux, and it lists a set of incompatibilities with other mods. Some are full and some are partial, and the author notes that Smart Animations graphics settings, the textureFixes option in VanillaFix and the onDemandAnimatedTextures option in the CensoredASM or LoliASM config should be disabled for it to run correctly. Custom block render layers that OptiFine does not handle are listed as working with Nothirium.
Key features
Faster chunk rendering
The chunk rendering engine is replaced with a path built on modern OpenGL, which the author says greatly increases performance.
Colored Lux
A colored light option for the Lux lighting setup is included with the rendering changes.
Custom block render layers
Custom block render layers are handled in a way that OptiFine does not support, so those blocks render correctly alongside Nothirium.
Known conflicts
Full and partial incompatibilities are documented, and some graphics options must be turned off to avoid conflicts.
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
Required by 1 mod
How it compares
Relictium is also a client-side only Forge mod for 1.12.2, but it is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only and is open source. VintageFix is open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 or later, is published for 1.12.2 on Forge, and works on either side, so neither a client nor a server needs it. Neodymium Unofficial is a separate open source option for 1.7.10 under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only, client-side only and not for 1.12.2.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nothirium | Forge | 1.12.2 | Client-side only | 2026-01-10 |
| Relictium | Forge | 1.12.2 | Client-side only | 2025-01-19 |
| VintageFix | Forge | 1.12.2 | Client or server, optional | 2026-10-05 |
| Neodymium Unofficial | Forge | 1.7.10 | Client-side only | 2024-12-31 |
Questions
Does Nothirium need to be installed on the server?
What does Nothirium require?
Which versions does Nothirium support?
In the catalog
Nothirium is one of 3,545 Optimization mods on ModsFinder, and one of 1,441 Optimization mods for Forge. 2,920 mods support Minecraft 1.12.2.
More from Meldexun
Similar mods
What the author says
Nothirium is a client-side only mod that changes Minecraft's chunk rendering engine to use modern OpenGL which greatly increases performance. This mod is similar to Sodium but this is not a port of Sodium. Full Incompatibilities - FarPlane2 - LittleTiles - Albedo - Colored Lux
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/nothirium
- Owner
- Meldexun
- Published
- 2024-08-28
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-01-10
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15