What to look for when buying a "Realism" Texture Pack In Minecraft Bedrock?
The big trend at the moment for Minecraft Bedrock and Texture Pack creators and users is "Realism". Whether it be realistic textures, realistic mob models or a "realism" to the world, via atmospheric fog, waving foliage and leaves, variation or other details.
But with so many Texture Pack creators developing and releasing so many "Realism" Texture Packs, how can you be sure you're spending your money/minecoins on something worth while?
Today, I will tell you what "Realism" means to me in Minecraft and what you should look out for or do to ensure you make the right purchase for YOU.
What is "Realism" in Minecraft Bedrock?
This is the big question, because "Realism" can mean many different things, to many different people. And, after all, Minecraft Bedrock is a game centered around blocks and squares, where the circle is an alien.Nature is notoriously NOT square. Flat edges and straight lines do not exist in 99% of the natural world. So making Minecraft feel realistic is no easy task. A lot of the process is actually sat with the Player (you or I), and our ability to "suspend our disbelief".
When we see something that doesn't look right, its natural to dismiss it, because we don't believe it. That "disbelief" then makes us reject what we are seeing and deem it bad quality.
So its no easy task, creating a "Realism" Texture Pack. Between different definitions of "Realism" and the unpredictable nature of each Player.
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"Realism" can be described in Minecraft, with any or all of the following:
"Realism" can be described in Minecraft, with any or all of the following:
- Atmospheric Fog: applying a fog to the world, that sits at or just before render distance. Giving the player an illusion of a horizon and a lack of visibility in the distance.
- Waving Foliage and Leaves: creating an illusion of wind and movement in an otherwise static world
- Variation: adding variance to the world via Blocks or Mobs, to create a feeling of Fullness and variety. Stopping you from being bored by your surroundings
- Ambiance: enhancing or changing the sound of the world to bring more of life into it.
- Realistic Sky: removing the blocky clouds of Minecraft with more realistic art styles, to make the game feel better.
- Photo-Realistic textures: Changing the detail of the game from artistic detail, to real, with stretched, hyper realistic or photographed detail.
- "Shader-Like" - trying to fake the lighting effects that are generated using RTX or Shaders, in a texture pack that is not RTX compatible or an actual Shader.
So how do you make sure you make right the purchase and get value for your money? Well, I have 5 tips for you to do your own research and find the best Realistic Texture Pack for you.
Minecraft Texture Pack creators and professionals in many different areas. They create Texture Packs, they show you what you want to see and they tell you what you want to hear to buy their pack and they do it A LOT.
Some more than others, and this can be a sign of Quality. This is NOT a gospel rule, but if a Texture Pack creator is putting out 5 packs a month, how can we, the consumer, be sure that the quality in all 5 packs is high quality? How can we be sure that textures aren't copy and pasted and reused? How can we be sure that the Creators name is a sign of Quality if they are potentially outsourcing to other people?
Some creators don't create EVERY texture pack, instead they act as a publisher for creators who cant get on the Marketplace. Now, this isn't a 100% sign its a bad pack, but it should advise people to do extra research before purchase.
Also, check out the other Texture Packs created by the creator. Is this their first "Realism" Texture Pack? What are their other packs rated? How many reviews do they have? If they make cartoon texture packs and have 3 stars out of 5, can we trust the "Realism" Pack?
Now, descriptions are written in a way to hide imperfections, over promise and SELL you the pack. Written by experts who sell. But there are always signs, both in the description and on the rest of the page.
What is being promised in the description? If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. A "Shader-Like texture pack, with ultra realistic textures and an immersive world experience to enhance your forever world" is probably not going to be actually possible. Firstly, there's no such thing as "shader-like", its shaders or its a poor, fake imitation. What does "ultra realistic" even mean? What's more realistic than "realistic"?
Then, look at the photos provided. One big red flag for me, is are there custom built structures in the photo? They are selling u on a build style, not the texture quality. Are the pictures blurry? Have u ever seen what your seeing, in MINECRAFT BEDROCK? Bedrock is very limited to most players.
Finally, the rating. The pack has been out 1 hour but has 5 star rating from 8 reviews? That tells me the dev team is probably rating the pack. What about the pack that has been out for 3 months, promises the best experience but has a 4.7 star rating from 3 reviews? Looks fishy to me...
Try to find some history on the pack, it IS POSSIBLE for creators to change a listing after a pack is released. Their Texture Pack got terrible press coverage after release? Well change the name, change the thumbnail, now its a brand new pack and NOT the one everybody was talking about, right?
WRONG! Its the same rubbish or broken pack, but there is no search results for "Realism Shadows" because it used to be called "Realism Shaders" and was not reviewed well.
Trust nothing that is being sold to you.
And lastly, find the Texture Pack users community, whether its MY discord, other discords, the creators discord, Youtube comments, reddit, twitter, where ever. Find Texture Pack users and ask the community.
They will either know the pack or the creator and their reputation.
Daz Man's Top 5 Tips To Choosing A "Realism" Texture Pack In Minecraft Bedrock:
1) Check out the creator
Minecraft Texture Pack creators and professionals in many different areas. They create Texture Packs, they show you what you want to see and they tell you what you want to hear to buy their pack and they do it A LOT.
Some more than others, and this can be a sign of Quality. This is NOT a gospel rule, but if a Texture Pack creator is putting out 5 packs a month, how can we, the consumer, be sure that the quality in all 5 packs is high quality? How can we be sure that textures aren't copy and pasted and reused? How can we be sure that the Creators name is a sign of Quality if they are potentially outsourcing to other people?
Some creators don't create EVERY texture pack, instead they act as a publisher for creators who cant get on the Marketplace. Now, this isn't a 100% sign its a bad pack, but it should advise people to do extra research before purchase.
Also, check out the other Texture Packs created by the creator. Is this their first "Realism" Texture Pack? What are their other packs rated? How many reviews do they have? If they make cartoon texture packs and have 3 stars out of 5, can we trust the "Realism" Pack?
2) Read the product page
Now, descriptions are written in a way to hide imperfections, over promise and SELL you the pack. Written by experts who sell. But there are always signs, both in the description and on the rest of the page.
What is being promised in the description? If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. A "Shader-Like texture pack, with ultra realistic textures and an immersive world experience to enhance your forever world" is probably not going to be actually possible. Firstly, there's no such thing as "shader-like", its shaders or its a poor, fake imitation. What does "ultra realistic" even mean? What's more realistic than "realistic"?
Then, look at the photos provided. One big red flag for me, is are there custom built structures in the photo? They are selling u on a build style, not the texture quality. Are the pictures blurry? Have u ever seen what your seeing, in MINECRAFT BEDROCK? Bedrock is very limited to most players.
Finally, the rating. The pack has been out 1 hour but has 5 star rating from 8 reviews? That tells me the dev team is probably rating the pack. What about the pack that has been out for 3 months, promises the best experience but has a 4.7 star rating from 3 reviews? Looks fishy to me...
3) Look at the history of the pack
Try to find some history on the pack, it IS POSSIBLE for creators to change a listing after a pack is released. Their Texture Pack got terrible press coverage after release? Well change the name, change the thumbnail, now its a brand new pack and NOT the one everybody was talking about, right?
WRONG! Its the same rubbish or broken pack, but there is no search results for "Realism Shadows" because it used to be called "Realism Shaders" and was not reviewed well.
Trust nothing that is being sold to you.
4) Watch video reviews
Of course I was going to say this, I make Minecraft Bedrock Texture Pack reviews. I buy texture packs with my own money and I review key areas of the pack to show as much of the quality and content without ruining every gameplay secret.
Other people do this too!
Check out the videos available, watch them, ignore the reviewer, their/our tastes are different to yours. But watch the video, see the blocks, see the mobs, see the atmosphere. What does it make you feel?
Other people do this too!
Check out the videos available, watch them, ignore the reviewer, their/our tastes are different to yours. But watch the video, see the blocks, see the mobs, see the atmosphere. What does it make you feel?
5) Engage with community
And lastly, find the Texture Pack users community, whether its MY discord, other discords, the creators discord, Youtube comments, reddit, twitter, where ever. Find Texture Pack users and ask the community.
They will either know the pack or the creator and their reputation.
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So there you have it. Now you know what "Realism" can mean in Minecraft Bedrock and how I would do my own research before buying a Minecraft Bedrock Realism Texture Pack.
Happy Mining and Crafting!
Happy Mining and Crafting!
Daz.
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