Minecraft: Here’s Why Your Screen Is Flickering & How to Fix It

Screen Flickering Minecraft
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Even though it’s not something most of us worry about, screen flickering in Minecraft can quickly become something that annoys and disturbs our enjoyment of the game. To fix the problem, we have to answer one simple question first; why is your screen flickering in Minecraft?

Although there are several reasons why you might experience screen flickering in Minecraft, the most common one is related to your PC’s outdated graphics card drivers. To fix the problem, you have to update them to the newest version.

This simple solution won’t solve everyone’s problem with screen flickering, so I’ll aim to provide more causes of the problem and their solutions in the rest of this article. I’ll also aim to help you identify the type of screen flicker and whether or not you can narrow down what’s causing it through the various types.

Types of screen flickering

When you’re screen flickers, there’s likely only one type of screen flickering affecting your screen, but there are several different types of screen flicker. The type of screen flicker can partially help us identify the cause of the screen flicker, so let’s see what types of screen flickers there are and what their causes are.

A quick note before I list them. Most of these types of flickering have multiple potential causes, so further examination once you determine the type of flicker will be necessary. If anything, it will narrow the potential causes, helping you to get to the root of the problem faster.

Horizontal/vertical screen flicker

As the name suggests, the screen flickering will happen in vertical or horizontal lines. Take a moment to examine your screen flicker when it happens to determine whether or not this one’s the potential suspect.

When your screen flickers horizontally or vertically, the likely causes of the problem include GPU issues or mods, or resource packs that don’t interact well with one another. I’ll list the potential fixes later on.

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Strobing

Most of the potential causes of a strobing effect flicker are potentially caused by your graphics card or outdated graphics card drivers. Another potential cause is that you have two or more shaders or texture packs that don’t interact well with one another.

Brightness changes

Brightness changes are most likely caused by your in-game video settings like dynamic lighting, or perhaps you have a mod or shader meant to change the game’s lighting settings.

Action specific flickering

Action-specific flickering is also most likely caused by the game. It might be an in-game bug that messes with the rendering of specific blocks or particle effects, or perhaps a mod or shader interacts with the game, so your screen will start flickering.

Other potential reasons for screen flickering in Minecraft

Mods

TSomemods cause screen flickering issues by directly modifying the game’s code and adding new code. Because of this, some mods might override each other’s code which will cause the game to start flickering.

To determine whether the mods are causing you problems, I recommend removing all mods first and checking if the problem persists. If it doesn’t, you know one of the mods is causing you problems. Add them back in one by one, waiting to see when the screen flickering occurs again.

Outdated graphics drivers

Having outdated graphics drivers is one of the easiest causes of screen flickering to fix since all you have to do is update your graphics drivers. If you use Nvidia drivers, you can download the Nvidia GeForce Experience app and update the drivers there, for example.

Graphics drivers update for Minecraft

Other software running in the background

If you have things like Discord running in the background or a program is using up a lot of your GPU’s resources, it can also be the potential cause of your screen flickering. To see if this is the cause of your issue, you might want to exit the programs running in the background and see if the screen flickering stopped or not.

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Relieving you of the worry if it’s your PC

Naturally, when our screens start flickering, we might jump to the conclusion that something’s wrong with our PC. If your screen is flickering only when you’re playing Minecraft, of course, it does not exclude the possibility that the problem is your PC, but it’s more likely that the cause of the problem is something so small and meaningless.

The only time you should truly be worried that something’s wrong with your PC is if your screen is constantly flickering, not just when you’re playing Minecraft.

Troubleshooting Bedrock Edition screen flickering

It’s not often that we see the potential causes and fixes to screen flickering in Minecraft for consoles, but here I am, ready to relieve you of your worry if something’s wrong with your console. Although many of the same things might cause screen flickering in Minecraft Bedrock Edition, some causes are specific to console users.

The first might be that your console is overheating. It takes a lot of power to make the console run, and if you’re not ensuring proper ventilation for the console to cool itself, it might overheat, which will cause the screen to flicker. Ensure that your console’s ventilators can do their job properly.

Another potential cause is that the game or your console’s firmware needs to be updated to the latest version. Another potential suspect might be your monitor’s display settings or your HDMI cable is simply not plugged in properly.

Rumor: ‘Minecraft’ Coming to Xbox Series X/S via New Gen Upgrade

Minecraft new gen update
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Exciting rumor has started surfacing this week regarding the possibility that Minecraft will arrive on the newest gaming console, namely Xbox Series X/S, via what appears to be the new generation update. 

Nothing has been confirmed by Microsoft so far, and the only proof we have so far appears to be a screenshot posted to X by Andrew Marmo that shows what appears to be an Xbox Series rating for Minecraft on USK, aka Germany’s video games rating board.

Minecraft is so far available on a plethora of systems, it’s one of the most diverse and accessible games out there, but sadly the game lacks native support on the newest consoles, and considering the game’s age, it’s due time that it sees some upgrades in the technical department. 

Even though this update so far remains unconfirmed, there are plenty of reasons why fans should entertain and be overjoyed by the possibility of a new-gen update. 

Minecraft on Xbox Series X/S could provide much-needed graphics updates. Considering that the console is much more powerful than its predecessors, this opens the possibility of higher resolutions, smoother frame rates, and faster loading times. 

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The Xbox Series X/S features solid-state drives (SSDs) that significantly reduce loading times in games. This means that entering and exiting the game, as well as loading into different areas within the Minecraft world, can be much quicker and more seamless.

But most importantly, the new-gen update will ensure the longevity of the game in the years to come. As more and more players make the move to the newest console, it only makes sense for Minecraft to make the jump as well. The game is, after all, one of the biggest hits in the last few decades. 

There are no news regarding the possible PS5 version of the game.

Whether the rumors will turn out to be true is yet to be seen. Until we wait for any kind of confirmation, we can plunge ourselves into the newest update that was released only a few weeks priors, titled ‘The Trails & Tales.’ 

Villager Changes & Diamond Distribution Buffs Coming to Minecraft Snapshot 23W31A

Villager Changes Diamond Distribution Buffs Coming to Minecraft Snapshot 23W31A
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‘Trails & Tales’ Update for Minecraft was just recently released, and while the fans are enjoying the new items, mechanics, and features, the developers are already cooking up different ways to make gameplay more balanced and enjoyable. 

Minecraft just received a snapshot for version 1.20.2, and several important changes are scheduled to be incorporated into the game. One thing that seemed nonsensical in recent years was the fact that enchantments provided by Librarians seemed mostly random. This meant that a Librarian villager with a novice skill level could provide you with some of the rarest enchantments in the game. This is set to be changed. A new Feature Toggle will allow the players to change the way Librarians generate enchantments instead of relying on pure luck and random chance. The players will get the opportunity to “earn” the targeted enchantments. 

Librarian villager changes

With the villager Feature Toggle Librarians will sell different enchantments depending on their biome. The newly introduced special enchantments that are different across various biomes can only be purchased from a Master Librarian with a Full XP. This means that to collect all valuable enchantments, you will have to visit all biomes and work on your trades. Keep in mind that there are two secret biomes from which enchantments can be gathered that do not generate villages by default. You will have to build them yourself. 

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Not all enchantments are available for purchase from Librarians, no matter their biome. These enchantments have to be acquired through other means. The feature is, of course, optional, and if it sounds like too much grind for you, you can always leave it unactivated. 

Wandering Trader changes 

wandering trader with llama

Some players felt that Minecraft devs didn’t really hit the spot with the Wandering Trader since the villager was useless in the large scheme of things, often having a limited stock of items that were particularly useful to begin with but highly overpriced. With Wandering Trader Feature Toggle, this is set to be remedied. 

Wandering Trader will have a greater selection of goods available in larger amounts under more balanced prices. Perhaps the biggest change is the fact that Wandering Trader will be able to buy things from your instead of only peddling junk. 

Diamond generation changes 

Not the most drastic change in the Snapshot, but you will certainly notice it when you brave mining Deepslate layers of the Overworld. The devs boosted the Diamond generation in the Deepslate layers in order to facilitate and reward the exploration of the deepest parts of the world. How drastic the change is remains to be seen. 

Other changes…

Besides the three big changes, there are a ton of smaller but important changes coming your way. Curing a Zombie Villager grants a significant discount only on the first occasion, with no additional bonus for repeated curing. Barrier blocks can be waterlogged by players in Creative mode, but non-direct interactions like Dispensers can’t fill or empty them with water. Riding vehicles won’t allow players to crouch anymore, and the Chorus Flower no longer supports hanging or standing blocks.

You can read all additional technical changes included in the Snapshot on Minecraft.net

Here’s How to Summon Moving Arrows Aimed at Mobs in Minecraft

Summon moving arrows aimed at mobs Minecraft
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We all know that there are a ton of things you can do with commands in Minecraft, and they require a lot of game and, dare I say, programming knowledge to execute and to be able to work with them. To most, they are rocket science, but to a select few, they are a source of infinite power. You can use them to create fun mini-games, enhance your builds, and more. So, what if you, for example, wanted to summon moving arrows aimed at mobs in Minecraft? How would one do that?

Unfortunately, summoning moving arrows aimed at mobs in Minecraft is either impossible to do or requires a true expert to pull off. The only way I was able to pull it off was to enter this command into a repeating command block /execute as @e[type=zombie] at @s run summon minecraft:arrow ^ ^ ^1.0 {Motion:[0.0,0.0,0.0],Tags:["aimed_arrow"],CustomName:'[{"text":"Targeted Arrow"}]',UUIDLeast:1,UUIDMost:1,PersistenceRequired:1} which shoots the arrow in the general direction of the mob but never aims it at them and damages them.

Since there’s no easy way, or a way at all, to summon moving arrows aimed at mobs, throughout the rest of this article, I’ll aim to provide you with all the commands I tried to execute to solve the issue and explain every one by sectioning them. By the end of the article, you might find your own answer to the question.

Explaining the command

Since the command is pretty long, to perhaps try and make adjustments on your own, we need to make sure you understand the command completely. I’ll explain the command section by section:

/execute as – The execute command, as the name would suggest, executes commands but allows you to change who is executing it. The ‘as’ and what follows determines who is executing the command.

@e[type=minecraft:zombie] – the @e defines that an entity will be executing the command. Mobs are entities, so we further defined that only a zombie will execute the command. If you wanted to aim arrows at other mobs, you’d change the ‘minecraft:zombie’ part of the command.

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at @s – This portion of the command tells the game to execute the command at the location of the @e(in this case, zombie)

run summon minecraft:arrow ^ ^ ^1.0 – This is where it gets complicated. The first bit tells the game to summon an arrow at the specified location, while the second bit communicates where the relative position of the entity being targeted. The 1.0 bit will make the arrow shoot one block in front of the zombie. This is also the first part of why the command can’t shoot the zombie since the zombie’s position is ever-changing.

Tags:[“aimed_arrow”] – the tag specifies which type of arrow is used to target the specific entity. This is necessary if you want a chance to pull the command off.

CustomName:'[{“text”:”Targeted Arrow”}] and CustomNameVisible:1 – These two parts of the command are completely unnecessary. The first line gives each arrow summoned a name. In our case, when the command is executed, each arrow will be named ‘targeted arrow’. The second part makes the name of the arrow visible above it.

UUIDLeast:1,UUIDMost:1 – Every entity in the game has a unique identifier that helps the game recognize them. In the case of arrows, both Universally Unique Identifiers are set to 1, which tells the game that we’re talking about arrows. This part of the command helps separate each arrow summoned so that we can interact which each arrow separately if needed.

PersistenceRequired:1 – If persistence is set to one, this ensures that the arrow doesn’t despawn naturally, but rather, the player has full control over what will happen to it.

Arrow motion

Now that we removed the command let’s see what else is required for the command to work. Spawning an arrow using the above command will only spawn it; the arrow won’t have motion, so we need to add another set of commands to update its motion continuously. The command is:

/execute as @e[type=arrow,tag=aimed_arrow] at @s run data modify entity @s Motion set from entity @e[type=zombie,sort=nearest,limit=1] Pos[0]
/execute as @e[type=arrow,tag=aimed_arrow] at @s run data modify entity @s Motion[1] set from entity @e[type=zombie,sort=nearest,limit=1] Pos[1]
/execute as @e[type=arrow,tag=aimed_arrow] at @s run data modify entity @s Motion[2] set from entity @e[type=zombie,sort=nearest,limit=1] Pos[2]

The command will continuously update the arrow’s motion to appear like it’s moving. This command should be added to a repeating redstone circuit and typed into a command block.

Repeating command block and repeating redstone circuit Minecraft

Problems you might run into trying to make the command work

The most obvious problem is that the arrow will never shoot at the mob. Still, probably the biggest one is that the command does not specify which entity (in this case zombie) you want the arrow to shoot, which means that there will be a lot of lag since it’ll try and shoot every zombie currently in your loaded chunks.

The only way to fight this lag is to destroy the command block running it. I could also stop it by killing all zombies in my world and summoning one zombie.

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This means that the command might work in your custom world where you have no mob, only a specified amount of mobs in a certain area, but that’s me just being optimistic about the chances of this command working.

I also tried running this command.’execute as at @s run summon minecraft:arrow ^ ^ ^1 {Motion:[0.0,0.0,0.0],Tags:["moving_arrow"],Pickup:0b,Life:100s,Damage:2.0f,ShotFromCrossbow:1b,CustomPotionEffects:[{Id:"minecraft:instant_damage",Amplifier:0b,Duration:100}]}‘ but unfortunately, the command doesn’t work at all or works in random intervals. My guess with this command is that I didn’t manage to write it correctly, according to the 1.19.4 rules, which is where I was trying to make the command work.

What are your thoughts on this specific problem? Do you know where we went wrong and if making the command work is possible? Let us know in the comments.