Tessera
- By
Tessera is a focused, performance-first VRAM optimization engine GPU-native using BC7 format
Same textures. Less VRAM. Zero setup.
Tessera is a focused, performance-first VRAM optimization engine for NeoForge 1.21.1. It intercepts Minecraft's texture atlas generation and recompresses eligible atlases on the fly into GPU-native BC7 format — cutting texture VRAM usage by up to 75% with no visible quality loss, and no configuration required.
🧪 Early Development — the compression pipeline, Auto-Budget Engine, and dual-OS native bridge are implemented and stable. Platform coverage and tuning are still evolving, and your feedback shapes what comes next.
✨ Why Tessera?
- ⚡ Genuinely lightweight. A single Mixin interception point (
SpriteLoader) and a self-contained native bridge — no redundant hooks, no unnecessary overhead. The mod does exactly what it needs to and nothing more. - 🧩 Real GPU-native compression, not a resource pack trick. Atlases are recompressed to BC7 — the same block-compressed format your GPU already reads natively — instead of staying as raw, uncompressed RGBA like vanilla Minecraft.
- 🧠 Smart, adaptive budgeting. The Auto-Budget Engine calculates the right VRAM target per atlas automatically, balancing savings against fidelity for each atlas individually — no sliders, no manual tuning.
- 🛡️ A fallback that actually works. If your hardware or OS isn't supported, Tessera quietly steps aside and lets Minecraft run exactly as it would without the mod. It never breaks your game.
- 📦 Plug & play across platforms. Native binaries for both Windows and Linux are bundled directly inside the single mod jar — the correct one loads automatically, with nothing extra to download.
- 📊 See it working. An optional F3 debug overlay reports real-time VRAM savings, so you know exactly what Tessera is doing as you play.
🧱 What's Inside
| Include | Content |
|---|---|
| Compression pipeline | On-the-fly BC7 atlas recompression, texture family detection, atlas caching |
| Auto-Budget Engine | Per-atlas VRAM target calculation, no manual tuning required |
| Native bridge | Rust/C++ SIMD-accelerated encoder, bundled for Windows & Linux (x86_64) |
| Safety | Automatic fallback to vanilla RGBA if the native bridge or hardware isn't supported |
| Debug tools | Real-time F3 overlay showing live VRAM savings |
📊 The Numbers
Measured on Vanilla:
Measured on a heavy modpack (All The Mods 10):
Up to 75% less VRAM used by texture atlases, with no perceptible visual degradation.
📦 Requirements
- Minecraft: 1.21.1
- Loader: NeoForge 21.1.248+
- Side: Client only
- OS/Arch: Windows or Linux, 64-bit (x86_64)
Installation is 100% plug & play — drop the jar in your mods folder and launch. No separate native binary downloads, no manual DLL installs.
🐛 Feedback & Support
Found a bug, or have a benchmark to share? Open an issue on GitHub — early development is exactly the stage where your feedback has the most impact.
Source code is licensed under GNU AGPLv3. Artwork, logos, and branding assets are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — see the License tab for details.
The Tessera Team
