# Overview
Modern True Darkness is a client-side Fabric mod that makes Minecraft nights and caves truly dark. It is a modern maintained fork of Grondag's original True Darkness mod, supporting Minecraft 1.20.1 through 1.21.11.
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## Features
- **Pitch black nights** — Darkness scales with the moon phase cycle. New moons are the darkest, full moons are the brightest.
- **Dark caves** — Underground areas with no sky light become truly dark. Torches and other block light sources still work normally.
- **Per-dimension toggles** — Enable or disable darkness independently for the Overworld, Nether, and End.
- **Creative mode toggle** — Optionally allow darkness to affect Creative mode players.
- **Modded dimensions** — Darkness is always applied in modded dimensions.
- **Require Mod (Server)** — Server owners can require all connecting players to have the mod installed.
- **Mod Menu integration** — All settings are configurable in-game via Mod Menu.
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## Dependencies
| Dependency | Required |
|---|---|
| [Fabric Loader](https://fabricmc.net/) >= 0.15 | Yes |
| [Fabric API](https://modrinth.com/mod/fabric-api) | Yes |
| [Mod Menu](https://modrinth.com/mod/modmenu) | Optional (for in-game config screen) |
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## Supported Versions
Minecraft 1.20.1, 1.20.2, 1.20.4, 1.20.6, 1.21.1, 1.21.2, 1.21.4, 1.21.5, 1.21.6, 1.21.7, 1.21.8, 1.21.9, 1.21.10, 1.21.11
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## How It Works
The mod intercepts Minecraft's lightmap rendering to apply darkness. On versions 1.20.1–1.21.1, it directly modifies pixel values in the lightmap texture. On versions 1.21.2+, it manipulates shader uniforms (DarknessScale, SkyLightColor, gamma) to achieve the same effect.
Darkness is automatically disabled for players with:
- **Spectator mode** (always exempt)
- **Creative mode** (exempt by default, configurable)
- **Night Vision** effect
- **Conduit Power** effect (while underwater)
- **Lightning flashes**
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## Links
- **Modrinth**: https://modrinth.com/mod/modern-true-darkness
- **CurseForge**: https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/modern-true-darkness
- **Source**: https://github.com/Lodestones/Modern-True-Darkness
- **Issues**: https://github.com/Lodestones/Modern-True-Darkness/issues
- **Discord**: https://discord.gg/Kss5gBgeDA
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## Related Pages
- [[Modern True Darkness/Server Owners/Configuration]] - Full config file breakdown