This Better Than Wolves CE 3.0.0 addon dynamically adjusts the brightness of the Heads-Up Display (HUD) based on the light conditions around the player. Experience enhanced immersion and reduced eye strain as your interface adapts to your environment—dim in caves, bright in sunlight.
"Darkness which may be felt." – Exodus 10:21
wikiquote
- The HUD responds to the light level at the player's position, becoming darker as you enter into darkness.
- Vanilla blocks and ambient light influence HUD brightness naturally—torches, sunlight, and even moon phases affect how bright your interface appears.
- The effect is limited to the HUD; it does not affect world lighting or gameplay mechanics.
- All effects and calculations occur on the client side.
- No changes to the server, world data, or other players' experiences.
- Perfect for multiplayer servers—install it yourself without affecting anyone else.
- Even in total darkness, a minimum brightness threshold ensures the HUD remains visible and usable.
- Brightness changes are smoothed across frames to reduce abrupt jumps and flickering.
- Brightening happens quickly (when entering light), while darkening is gradual (when entering darkness)—mimicking natural eye adaptation.
- The addon accounts for moon phases, providing slightly more ambient light during a full moon and less during a new moon.
- Day/night cycles naturally affect HUD brightness, with smooth transitions at sunrise and sunset.
- Useful for content creators: brightening dark footage in editing won't blow out the HUD since it's already dimmed in-game.
- Install Better Than Wolves: Community Edition 3.0.0 + Legacy Fabric by following the instructions on the BTW CE wiki.
- Download the latest Adaptive-HUD-Brightness-<version>.jar from the Releases page.
- Place the addon JAR file in your
.minecraft/mods/folder. - Launch Minecraft. The HUD will now adapt its brightness automatically—no configuration needed!
src/main/
├── java/
│ ├── btw/community/abbyread/adaptivehud/
│ │ ├── AdaptiveHudBrightness.java # Main mod entry point
│ │ └── BrightnessHelper.java # Core brightness calculation logic
│ └── net/fabricmc/abbyread/mixin/
│ ├── FontRendererMixin.java # Dims text rendering
│ ├── GuiIngameMixin.java # Applies brightness to main HUD elements
│ ├── GuiScreenAccessor.java # Accessor for GUI state
│ ├── MinecraftAccessor.java # Accessor for Minecraft instance
│ ├── RenderBlocksMixin.java # Adjusts item block rendering
│ └── RenderItemMixin.java # Adjusts item icon rendering
└── resources/
├── assets/abbyread/icon.png # Addon icon
├── fabric.mod.json # Mod metadata
└── mixins.adaptive-hud-brightness.json # Mixin configuration
Requirements:
- Java 17 or higher
- BTW CE 3.0.0 Intermediary Distribution (available in the Pinned section of
#learn-moddingon the BTW CE Discord)
Build Instructions:
# Install BTW Intermediary
# Windows: Drag and drop the BTW Intermediary .zip onto install.bat
# Unix-like: ./install.sh <path-to-BTW-Intermediary.zip>
# Build the addon
./gradlew build
# Compiled output location:
# build/libs/Adaptive-HUD-Brightness-<version>.jar- BTW CE Version: 3.0.0
- Mod Loader: Legacy Fabric (packaged with BTW CE)
- Java: 17 or higher
Tested Compatible With:
- ✅ Dynamic Lights by Hiracho
- ✅ BTW-FreeLook by jeffinitup
Potential Conflicts:
- Addons that modify HUD rendering or GUI elements may conflict visually
- This addon exclusively modifies rendering classes using Mixin injections into
FontRenderer,GuiIngame,RenderBlocks, andRenderItem - Conflicts are unlikely unless another addon also patches these specific rendering methods
The addon calculates HUD brightness based on:
- Block Light: Light from torches, glowstone, lava, and other light-emitting blocks at the player's eye position
- Ambient Light: Sunlight and moonlight, adjusted for time of day and moon phase
- Smooth Interpolation: Brightness transitions are smoothed over time to prevent jarring changes
- Brightness Clamping: A minimum brightness (10%) ensures the HUD never becomes completely invisible
Simple calculation occurs every frame on the client and affects:
- Item bar and hotbar
- Health, hunger, and armor indicators
- Item icons and text
- Crosshair and other HUD overlays
What it does NOT affect:
- World lighting or block brightness
- Menu screens (inventory, crafting, etc.)
Released under the 0BSD (BSD Zero-Clause) license.
You are completely free to use, copy, modify, and share it however you see fit.
Created by Abigail Read
Better Than Wolves: Created by FlowerChild, continued by the BTW Community
Special thanks to:
- The Legacy Fabric team for keeping classic modding alive
- The BTW CE community for documentation and support
- Hiracho for Dynamic Lights Addon
- jeffinitup for the Freelook Addon