26.2 Changelog 5/7: For the resource pack team

For the resource pack team​

Resource packs: formats and pack.mcmeta​

• Trap: 88.0 is the 26.2 resource pack format, but it was also the data pack format of 1.21.9 and 1.21.10.
• Minor versions (69.0, 75.0 and so on) exist since 1.21.9; a minor bump stays compatible within its major. 26.2 got no hotfix, and since 15/09/2026 the launcher's "Latest release" is 26.3.

• NEW min_format and max_format are required. Each takes a number, [major] or [major, minor]. As a minimum, 74 means 74.0; as a maximum, 74 means 74 with any minor.
• CHANGED pack_format is optional, unless the pack also claims a format below 65 (clients older than 1.21.9).
• REMOVED supported_formats is forbidden when the range starts at 65 or higher. It's only still required when the range reaches below 65, and must then match the majors of min and max.
• CHANGED Overlay entries need min and max too. Their old formats field is required on every entry once any overlay covers a format below 65, and forbidden otherwise.

{
  "pack": {
    "description": "MCME Human (26.2)",
    "min_format": 88,
    "max_format": 88
  }
}

• Human, the overlay gotcha: its overlay entries 1_21_1 and 1_21_4 only have the old formats field, without min and max. That's invalid for 1.21.9 and newer clients, and we don't know yet whether a 26.2 client skips the overlays or rejects the pack's metadata. Add min and max to both entries, or drop the overlays from the 26.2 build.
• Survival only declares "pack_format": 46. It's probably accepted as a legacy pack; give it the same header as the others anyway.

{
  "pack": {
    "description": "MCME Example (1.21.4 - 26.2)",
    "pack_format": 46,
    "supported_formats": [46, 88],
    "min_format": 46,
    "max_format": 88
  },
  "overlays": {
    "entries": [
      { "directory": "ov_1_21_4", "formats": [46, 64], "min_format": 46, "max_format": 64 },
      { "directory": "ov_26_2", "formats": [88, 88], "min_format": 88, "max_format": 88 }
    ]
  }
}

Resource packs: what breaks in our packs​

Pack audit: shader overrides​

• REMOVED Human's HUD shader. Our "MCME-Action-Bar" override, core/rendertype_text.vsh, moves font glyphs with a huge negative ascent into place. 26.2 removed that program: the six rendertype_text programs became core/text and core/text_background. The file also still uses #version 150 and loose uniforms, which 1.21.6 and 1.21.9 replaced. Port it to core/text.vsh inside #ifdef IS_GUI, using the Projection and DynamicTransforms uniform blocks. Until then, the HUD icons will likely be missing or misplaced.
• REMOVED objmc. The vanilla-client variant of Human and Mordor (the default for non-Fabric players, built by generateVanilla in ResourcePackScripts) ships 1.21.1-era objmc shaders, wired up through shaders/core/rendertype_*.json. Those JSON program files stopped working in 1.21.5. objmc itself was last updated for 1.21.11 (17/02/2026).
• CHANGED fog.glsl. The same variants override include/fog.glsl with a 1.21.1 file. It lacks the Fog uniform block, apply_fog and fog_spherical_distance, which vanilla 26.2's terrain, entity and text shaders import.

Pack audit: beds and signs​

• REMOVED Beds, signs and hanging signs are ordinary block models in 26.2. The game ignores textures/entity/bed/ and textures/entity/signs/, which all six region packs override, so our custom beds and signs silently fall back to vanilla.
• Fix: Mojang's Slicer v1.2.1 (GitHub, 13/05/2026) cuts the old textures into the new block/<color>_bed_*, block/<wood>_sign and block/<wood>_hanging_sign files. It targets format 87.0 (a 26.2 snapshot), may leave some manual work, and doesn't do the pillar rename below. Bed items are now composite models of head and foot, so ship both. The sign edit screen uses gui/sign/<wood>.png.
• CHANGED Sign carriers. Human and Dwarven override sign blockstates to show custom models (for example warped_sign → block/directional_sign_top*). In 1.21.4 the block entity drew the vanilla board as well, which is presumably why our sign textures were blank. In 26.2 the blockstate model is the sign, so our models replace the board outright. The game still draws the sign text, at a position packs can't change yet, so check where it lands on each carrier.
• REMOVED Human's particle override models/block/oak_hanging_sign.json is dead; the new models are called <wood>_hanging_sign_rot_0 and so on.

Pack audit: custom player heads​

• CHANGED Both packs override items/player_head.json and draw every custom_model_data entry (our "statue" parts) and the fallback with the minecraft:head special model. Since 1.21.6 that type no longer loads the skin from the profile, so our custom heads show the default skin until they use the new minecraft:player_head type.
• CHANGED Since 26.1 the special renderers (heads, banners, shields, tridents and others) no longer apply their own transform; vanilla's item definitions carry it in a transformation field. Definitions copied from 1.21.x without it will likely render flipped or offset.
• Fix: switch to minecraftlayer_head and copy the transformation from vanilla 26.2's items/player_head.json. Survival's shield.json and trident.json fallbacks need vanilla's transformation too. Items model definition

Pack audit: item textures in block models​

Pack audit: silent texture renames​

• CHANGED Pillars (26.2): block/quartz_pillar.png → quartz_pillar_side.png (Human, Dwarven, Mordor, Paths of the Dead, Rohan) and purpur_pillar.png → purpur_pillar_side.png (Human, Dwarven, Mordor). Keep the old file too if our own models use it.
• CHANGED Sun and moon (1.21.11): environment/sun.png → environment/celestial/sun.png, and the moon_phases.png sheet became 8 files in environment/celestial/moon/ (full_moon, waning_gibbous, third_quarter, waning_crescent, new_moon, waxing_crescent, first_quarter, waxing_gibbous). All six region packs.
• CHANGED Iron chain (1.21.9): chain → iron_chain in the blockstate, item definition, models and textures. Mordor.
• CHANGED Entity textures (26.1): 76 moved or were renamed with identical content, and the rabbit got a new model with redrawn textures. Ours: cat persian and tabby → cat_persian and cat_tabby (all six); shield_base and shield_base_nopattern → entity/shield/ (Human, Mordor, Paths of the Dead, Rohan, Lothlorien); spectral_arrow and tipped_arrow → arrow_spectral and arrow_tipped (Mordor, Paths of the Dead, Rohan, Lothlorien); enchanting_table_book → entity/enchantment/ (Human, Rohan); the armor stand, beacon beam, end portal, experience orb and minecart (Dwarven).
• CHANGED Glint (1.21.5): misc/enchanted_glint_entity.png → enchanted_glint_armor.png (Mordor). Mordor's misc/white.png is dead too; vanilla removed it in 1.21.9.
• CHANGED Effect backgrounds (1.21.11): effect_background_small → effect_background (nine-sliced); effect_background_large removed; effect_background_ambient added. Survival.

Pack audit: per-texture translucency​

Pack audit: strict JSON​

Resource packs: changes per version​

Resource packs: new possibilities​

• NEW Free element rotation. Any angle within ±45° (1.21.6), then rotation around x, y and z at once with no limit (1.21.11), plus z rotation in blockstate variants. Culling still uses the unrotated faces. Angled beams, rafters and leaning ruins become plain JSON models, and so might some objmc and OBJ models (elements are still boxes, not free triangles). Model
• NEW Translucency on any block (26.1). Windows, ice or crystal no longer need a translucent carrier such as tripwire or glass panes: the texture's alpha decides.
• NEW Remodelable beds and signs (26.2). Their shape is an ordinary blockstate and model now, so medieval beds and carved inn signs are possible.
• NEW Mipmaps per texture (1.21.11). mipmap_strategy and alpha_cutoff_bias in .png.mcmeta keep thin cutouts (fences, leaves) from vanishing or thickening at a distance. Worth testing whether this lets us drop our "turn mipmapping off" advice for OptiFine.
• NEW Item models. select and condition on any data component (1.21.5), a transformation per sub-model (26.1), oversized_in_gui (1.21.6, which Mojang calls temporary), on_shelf (1.21.9), swap_animation_scale (1.21.11) and the bell, book and end_cube special types (26.1). With item_model and custom_model_data set by the server, that covers most custom item textures without any mod. Items model definition
• NEW Sprites in text (1.21.9). The object text component shows any atlas sprite or a player head in chat, holograms and signs, which could replace some font-glyph tricks.
• NEW Also: data-driven pig, cow, chicken, cat and frog variants (1.21.5), mob sound variants (26.1), waypoint styles for the locator bar (1.21.6), and cheaper animated textures thanks to GPU sprite animation (1.21.11).

Resource packs: OptiFine features on 26.2​

Resource packs: the MCME modpack and Special Model Loader​

• ⚠ Special Model Loader (SML) has no 26.x build. The last official build is 1.21.4-1.4.0, with no upstream commits since 19/01/2025. The Sodium variants of Human (420 .obj models) and Mordor (150) depend on it. The community fork SpecialModelLoader Updated stops at 26.1.2; its source targets a 26.2 snapshot but has no release. Without SML, those OBJ models (leaves, branches, beams and more) will likely show up as missing models.
• No clean fallback: Architect warns Sodium players on the vanilla variant that they "might experience texture errors", and that combination is untested with Sodium 0.9.
• REMOVED Indium: Sodium 0.6.0 and newer have the Fabric Rendering API built in, and Indium is incompatible with it.
• The MCME Modpack Marker (v1.0.0) only declares 1.21.x, so Fabric refuses to launch with it on 26.2. Until a new marker ships, Architect can't detect Sodium players automatically; Fabric players get a clickable hint to run /rp client sodium instead.
• The MCME installer is hard-coded to 1.21.4, so running it again can't produce a 26.2 setup. Its README describes the rebuild. A 26.2 mods zip would need Fabric API 0.161.0+26.2, Sodium 0.9.2, Iris 1.11.4+26.2, Continuity 3.0.1+26.2, LambDynamicLights 4.12.4+26.2 and Logical Zoom 0.0.36, no Indium, a new marker and an answer for SML.

Resource packs: how the server sends packs​

ServerResourcePacks
  <pack>                one per region pack
    <client>            vanilla, sodium, lite
      <resolution>      16px
        <variant>       light, dark, footprints
          <version key> 1_21_4, 26_2, ...
            url, sha

• Client and region: the client is sodium when the Modpack Marker announces itself, and otherwise vanilla for non-Fabric clients; players can switch with /rp client. With auto-switching on, Architect also picks the highest-weight region pack at the player's position every second.
• Version: Architect takes the highest key whose protocol number in protocolVersions.yml is at or below the player's; if none qualifies, it takes the lowest key. With 1_21_4 and 26_2, a 1.21.11 player (774) gets the 1.21.4 build and a 26.3 player (777) the 26.2 build. Keep the 1_21_4 entries as a fallback. ViaVersion runs on every server, so Architect sees each player's real client version.
• protocolVersions.yml: Architect only writes its bundled copy when none exists, so plugin updates never change it. On our network it's one file shared by every server, and it already has 26_1: 775 and 26_2: 776.
• ⚠ Right now no pack has a 26_2 key. The newest key in every ServerResourcePacks section is 1_21_4, so 26.2 and 26.3 players currently get the 1.21.4 builds. There are three configs to update: the shared one (hub has an identical copy), rpserver's own (it adds Erebor and spells Paths of the Dead as "Pathsofthedead") and eventserver's (its packs have no version keys at all).
• A missing key is fatal: the lookup gives up as soon as any version key under a variant is missing from that file. A 26_2 entry in the config without the 26_2 line in protocolVersions.yml means no pack at all for that pack, client, resolution and variant, the 1.21.4 players included. /rp then reports a missing URL configuration.
• Every served path needs its own 26_2 key with a url and a sha (26_2, not 26.2). /rp server <pack> <version> 26.2 fills in the release URLs for the standard paths (vanilla, sodium or lite; 16px; light or footprints) and refreshes the newest SHA-1 per variant. It can fail if the config lacks one of those paths, and other paths, such as dark, need a manual entry. /rp calcsha <pack> all recomputes every SHA-1. Without the 26_2 line in protocolVersions.yml, a SHA-1 may never get written, so check every entry has one.
• When testing, watch for the FAILED_DOWNLOAD and FAILED_RELOAD statuses: Architect doesn't message the player about FAILED_RELOAD.

Resource packs: migration checklist​

1. Branch: a 26.2-only build with the simple header is easier than overlays, and Architect serves a build per client version anyway.
2. Strict JSON: run every .json and .mcmeta through python -m json.tool or jq and fix what it flags.
3. Path audit: flag every assets/minecraft file that exists in vanilla 1.21.4 but not in 26.2 (the 26.2-assets tag of misode/mcmeta helps), then rename or move it. Keep old files that our own models use.
4. Beds and signs: run Slicer 1.2.1, check its output, add the gui/sign backgrounds and review every sign carrier.
5. Pillars: add quartz_pillar_side and purpur_pillar_side by hand.
6. Atlases: search block models for item/ textures and copy those into block/. No item model may mix atlases.
7. Translucency: clean stray alpha or set force_translucent; tune thin cutouts with mipmap_strategy and alpha_cutoff_bias.
8. Item definitions: for every overridden definition that uses minecraft:special, re-copy vanilla 26.2's fallback, add its transformation to our entries, and switch heads to minecraftlayer_head.
9. Entities: the 26.1 renames, the 1.21.5 saddle split and the redrawn cow, pig, chicken, rabbit and zombie horse (new sizes and layouts). Decide whether baby mobs need textures.
10. Sky: move the sun and split the moon into 8 files.
11. Shaders: port or drop the HUD, objmc and fog overrides. Test on OpenGL and on Vulkan, and with the Sodium variant (Sodium doesn't use the vanilla terrain shaders).
12. pack.mcmeta: fix or drop Human's overlays, and give Survival the full header.
13. Test on a real 26.2 client: reload with F3+T and read the game log for missing textures and model, metadata or shader errors. F3+S dumps the atlases, so you can check where a sprite landed. Walk a test area with every carrier blockstate, sign, bed, head on a display entity and HUD icon, and compare with 1.21.4 screenshots.
14. Deploy: publish the release, add the 26_2 url and sha entries through Architect in all three configs (shared, rpserver, eventserver), and join with a 26.2 client (and once with 26.3).