Trail Compass
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Trail Compass
Go deeper. Your compass remembers the way out.
Trail Compass gives the vanilla compass a new survival purpose: record the exact path you travel and follow it back through caves.
Instead of adding a minimap, coordinates, commands, or floating text, the mod displays a depth-tested 3D trail directly inside the world. Cave walls naturally hide sections behind them, preventing the route from behaving like x-ray.
Showcase
How does it work?
- Hold a fresh compass.
- Sneak and use it to begin recording.
- Place the compass anywhere in your inventory and continue exploring.
- Sneak and use it again when you want to return.
- Follow the compass needle, 3D trail, directional chevrons, and next-point marker.
Recording continues while you hold a pickaxe, weapon, food, torches, or any other item.
To erase a route, sneak and use the compass on a water-filled cauldron.
A route that understands caves
Trail Compass records your precise position instead of snapping the route to the center of blocks.
The trail follows:
- Tight corners
- Stairs and slabs
- Jumps and drops
- Changes in elevation
- Winding tunnels
- Separate cave levels
The route uses normal world depth. If part of it is behind a wall, you cannot see it through the terrain.
Visual language
- Amber trail: your route is being recorded.
- Cyan trail: you are following a saved route.
- Directional chevrons: show which way to travel.
- Gold diamond: marks the next route point.
- Compass glint: indicates an active route.
- Sounds: confirm state changes and reached points.
Everything is communicated through the compass and the world. There are no additional HUD elements or status messages.
Features
- Records while the compass remains anywhere in your inventory
- Precise 3D routes with fractional block heights
- Depth-tested rendering without x-ray
- Reusable routes stored inside individual compasses
- Support for long and complex cave systems
- Routes persist through containers, death drops, anvils, logout, and server restarts
- Physical route clearing using a water cauldron
- No new blocks, items, ores, structures, or world generation
- No configuration menus or custom keybinds
- Designed for vanilla-friendly modpacks
- Works in singleplayer and on dedicated servers
The Trail Compass Team
