Connected Textures¶

Connected Textures (CTM) connects matching blocks together, making them appear unified.

Different types of connected texture methods are available with different requirements and restrictions.

General properties¶

These properties apply for all CTM methods.

method¶

Method to use when choosing a block's replacement texture:

• ctm: Standard 8-way method, 47 tiles.

• ctm_compact: Compact 8-way method, uses 5 tiles. Cannot be combined with any overlay method.

• horizontal: Connect to blocks on left and right only.

• vertical: Connect to blocks above and below only.

• horizontal+vertical: Connect horizontally, then connect vertically.

• vertical+horizontal: Connect vertically, then connect horizontally.

• top: Connect to block above only.

• random: Pick a tile at random.

• repeat: Repeat a fixed pattern over large areas.

• fixed: Use a single fixed tile, equivalent to random with only one tile.

• overlay: Overlay for block transitions, uses 17 tiles.

• overlay_ctm: Overlay variant of ctm method.

• overlay_random: Overlay variant of random method.

• overlay_repeat: Overlay variant of the repeat method.

• overlay_fixed: Overlay variant of fixed method.

tiles¶

List of replacement tiles to use.

Different methods require a different number of tiles: some need as many as 47, some need only 1. This Each tile must be a separate image, just like terrain and item textures. Tiles can be specified in several ways:

• name -> name.png

• name.png -> name.png

• 8-11 -> 8.png, 9.png, 10.png, 11.png

• <skip> -> Skip this tile, continue with next CTM properties.

• <default> -> Use the default texture for that block/tile.

• full/path/name.png -> full/path/name.png

In all cases except the last (full path), the PNG file must be in the same directory as the properties file itself.

The formats can be mixed and matched: tiles=0-4 5 some/other/name.png.

Tile index ordering¶

The order in which each tile name appears is its tile index. This index ordering is zero-indexed (starts from 0). It is ordered after expansion, for example: 0 1 3-5 6 counts as 7 tiles (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7), not 4.

Index ordering is independent of the tile names. For example, 1 2 3 0 name 30-35 would have the index ordering of

matchTiles¶

List of tiles this method should apply to.

Multiple .properties file can refer to the same block/tile and they will be processed in alphabetical order by filename. All tile-based entries are checked before block ID-based ones; the first match wins.

matchBlocks¶

List of blocks this method should apply to.

To refer to a tile from vanilla Minecraft, simply use its name in textures/block: matchBlocks=dirt To refer to a tile from a mod, its name must be known: matchBlocks=botania:blazeblock

Tiles output by CTM rules can also be matched by another rule; the tile name is simply the full path to the tile: matchBlocks=optifine/ctm/mygrass/1.png

Block format: (optional parts are in []) [namespace:]name[:property1=value1,value2...:property2=value1,value2...] For example:

• Short name: oak_stairs

• Full name: minecraft:oak_stairs

• Full name + properties: minecraft:oak_stairs:facing=east,west:half=bottom

connect¶

The conditions under which two blocks should connect. For methods that connect to adjacent blocks, this rule specifies how the game should decide if two blocks should be connected:

• block: Connect if this block's name == neighbor block's name.

• tile: Connect if this block's tile texture == neighbor tile's texture.

• state: Connect if this block's full state (block + properties) == neighbor block's state.

faces¶

Limit CTM to certain faces of the block:

• bottom: Bottom face (negative Y).

• top: Top face (positive Y).

• north: North face (negative Z).

• south: South face (positive Z).

• east: East face (positive X).

• west: West face (negative X).

• sides: Shorthand for north south east west.

• all: All sides.

This works for all blocks, regardless of shape.

biomes¶

Biome restrictions. Modded biomes also can be used.

If the first character is !, the list is inverted. For example:

biomes=!jungle deep_ocean birch_forest

will match a biome that is neither a Jungle, Deep Ocean, or Birch Forest.

heights¶

Height restriction, no limit.

minHeight¶

maxHeight¶

name¶

Only for blocks which have corresponding nameable tile entities. Generally, this means containers that can be renamed.

For example: Beacon, Brewing Stand, Enchanting Table, Furnace, Dispenser, Dropper, Hopper, and Command Blocks.

Method properties¶

ctm: standard 8-way¶

tiles¶

List of the 47 tiles to use when connecting.

innerSeams¶

Whether to show seams on inner edges when connecting to adjacent blocks.

ctm_compact: compact 8-way¶

tiles¶

List of the 5 tiles to use when connecting.

innerSeams¶

Whether to show seams on inner edges when connecting to adjacent blocks.

ctm.N¶

Compact CTM tile replacement. Allows definition of replacement tile for a specific CTM case.

N is the index of the tile from the full ctm method template (47 total tiles, indexed 0-46).

With ctm_compact and this option, more than 5 tiles can be defined.

horizontal: horizontal only¶

tiles¶

List of the 4 tiles to use when connecting.

vertical: vertical only¶

tiles¶

List of the 4 tiles to use when connecting.

horizontal+vertical: horizontal then vertical¶

tiles¶

List of the 7 tiles to use when connecting.

vertical+horizontal: horizontal only¶

tiles¶

List of the 7 tiles to use when connecting.

top: top face only¶

tiles¶

The single tile to use when connecting.

random: random connect¶

tiles¶

List of the tiles to use when connecting. Can be infinitely long or short.

weights¶

List of weights to apply to the random choice.

For example, for tiles=1 2 3 4; weights=10 1 10 5, tile 1 has weight 10, 2 has 1, 3 has 10, and 4 has 5. Weights do not have to total any value; in the above example, tiles 1 and 3 will each be used ~38% of the time.

The amount of numbers in this list should be equal to the amount in tiles but it does not have to be.

• If fewer: Missing weights are all the average of the defined weights.

• If greater: Extra weights are ignored.

randomLoops¶

Repeats the random function by this amount to increase randomness. Can be used to make different textures use different random patterns.

symmetry¶

Desired level of symmetry for the faces of each block.

Applies to standard 6-sided blocks only (dirt, glass, not fences).

• none: All 6 faces are textured independently.

• opposite: 2-way symmetry; opposing faces have the same texture, but each pair can potentially have a different texture.

• all: All 6 faces have the same texture.

linked¶

Whether to link textures between related blocks.

If true, OptiFine uses the same random number seed for all blocks of a contiguous column. For example, the top and bottom halves of tall grass. This allows randomized textures that will remain consistent within each set of blocks.

If false, the two halves will be scrambled, chosen independently.

method=random
tiles=grass_top1 grass_top2 grass_top3
weights=1 2 3

repeat: repeated¶

width¶

The width of the repeating pattern.

height¶

The height of the repeating pattern.

tiles¶

A list of tiles. The number of elements must equal width * height.

fixed: one texture¶

tiles¶

Single tile to use.

overlay: texture atop¶

tiles¶

List of replacement tiles to use.

May use the special name <skip> for empty tiles to be skipped; cannot use the <default> special name.

connectTiles¶

Connect only to blocks which are using the specified tiles.

connectBlocks¶

List of blocks to connect to.

tintIndex¶

What tint index to use for the tile's texture.

Use -1 to disable it.

tintBlock¶

The block used for the tile texture tinting.

Different blocks use different colors for the same tint index.

layer¶

The layer on which the overlay texture should be rendered.

Values:

• cutout_mipped: Transparent textures with mipmaps.

• cutout: Transparent textures without mipmaps.

• translucent: Translucent textures with mipmaps.

External links¶

• Ewan Howell's CTM Converter

JSON schema¶

{
	"$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
	"$id": "https://gitlab.com/whoatemybutter/optifinedocs/-/blob/master/schemas/ctm.schema.json",
	"title": "Connected Textures",
	"description": "Connected Textures (CTM) connects matching blocks together, making them appear unified.",
	"type": "object",
	"properties": {
		"method": {
			"enum": [
				"ctm",
				"ctm_compact",
				"horizontal",
				"vertical",
				"horizontal+vertical",
				"vertical+horizontal",
				"top",
				"random",
				"repeat",
				"fixed",
				"overlay_ctm",
				"overlay_random",
				"overlay_repeat",
				"overlay_fixed"
			],
			"description": "Method to use when choosing a block's replacement texture."
		},
		"tiles": {
			"type": "string",
			"description": "Space-separated string of replacment tiles to use."
		},
		"matchTiles": {
			"$ref": "common.schema.json#/$defs/item_id_list",
			"description": "Space-separated string of tiles this method should apply to."
		},
		"matchBlocks": {
			"$ref": "common.schema.json#/$defs/item_id_list",
			"description": "Space-separated string of blocks this method should apply to."
		},
		"weight": {
			"type": "integer",
			"default": 0,
			"description": "If multiple properties files match the same block, the highest weighted one is used."
		},
		"connect": {
			"enum": [
				"block",
				"tile",
				"state"
			],
			"description": "The conditions under which two blocks should connect."
		},
		"connectTiles": {
			"$ref": "common.schema.json#/$defs/item_id_list",
			"description": "Connect only to blocks which are using the specified tiles."
		},
		"faces": {
			"type": "string",
			"pattern": "(bottom|top|north|south|east|west|sides|all) ?",
			"description": "Limit CTM to certain faces of the block."
		},
		"biomes": {
			"type": "string",
			"description": "Space-separated string of biome restrictions."
		},
		"heights": {
			"type": "string",
			"description": "Height restriction ranges."
		},
		"minHeight": {
			"type": "integer",
			"minimum": -65535,
			"deprecated": true,
			"description": "Legacy key for heights."
		},
		"maxHeight": {
			"type": "integer",
			"maximum": 65535,
			"deprecated": true,
			"description": "Legacy key for heights."
		},
		"tintIndex": {
			"type": "integer",
			"minimum": -1,
			"default": -1,
			"description": "Tint index, only for overlay method."
		},
		"tintBlock": {
			"$ref": "common.schema.json#/$defs/item_id",
			"description": "The block used for the tile texture tinting."
		},
		"layer": {
			"enum": [
				"cutout_mipped",
				"cutout",
				"translucent"
			],
			"default": "cutout_mipped",
			"description": "The layer on which the overlay texture should be rendered."
		},
		"name": {
			"type": "string",
			"description": "Only for blocks with have corresponding nameable tile entities."
		}
	},
	"patternProperties": {
		"^ctm\\.\\d+$": {
			"type": [
				"string",
				"integer"
			],
			"minimum": 0,
			"description": "Compact CTM tile replacement. Allows definition of replacement tile for a specific CTM case."
		}
	},
	"required": [
		"tiles"
	],
	"additionalProperties": false,
	"allOf": [
		{
			"if": {
				"properties": {
					"connectTiles": {}
				}
			},
			"then": {
				"properties": {
					"method": {
						"const": "overlay"
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"if": {
				"patternProperties": {
					"^ctm\\.\\d+$": {}
				}
			},
			"then": {
				"properties": {
					"method": {
						"const": "ctm_compact"
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"if": {
				"properties": {
					"tintIndex": {}
				}
			},
			"then": {
				"properties": {
					"method": {
						"const": "overlay"
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"if": {
				"properties": {
					"layer": {}
				}
			},
			"then": {
				"properties": {
					"method": {
						"const": "overlay"
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"if": {
				"properties": {
					"method": {
						"const": "ctm"
					}
				}
			},
			"then": {
				"properties": {
					"innerSeams": {
						"type": "boolean",
						"default": false,
						"description": "Whether to show seams on inner edges when connecting to adjacent blocks."
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"if": {
				"properties": {
					"method": {
						"const": "ctm_compact"
					}
				}
			},
			"then": {
				"properties": {
					"innerSeams": {
						"type": "boolean",
						"default": false,
						"description": "Whether to show seams on inner edges when connecting to adjacent blocks."
					}
				},
				"patternProperties": {
					"^ctm\\.\\d+$": {
						"type": [
							"string",
							"integer"
						],
						"minimum": 0,
						"description": "Indexes of replacement tiles for specific CTM cases."
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"if": {
				"properties": {
					"method": {
						"const": "random"
					}
				}
			},
			"then": {
				"properties": {
					"weights": {
						"type": "string",
						"description": "Space-separated string of weights to apply to the random choice."
					},
					"randomLoops": {
						"type": "integer",
						"minimum": 0,
						"maximum": 9,
						"description": "Repeats the random function by this amount to increase randomness."
					},
					"symmetry": {
						"enum": [
							"none",
							"opposite",
							"all"
						],
						"default": "none",
						"description": "Desired level of symmetry for the faces of each block."
					},
					"linked": {
						"type": "boolean",
						"default": false,
						"description": "Whether to link textures between related blocks."
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"if": {
				"properties": {
					"method": {
						"const": "repeat"
					}
				}
			},
			"then": {
				"properties": {
					"width": {
						"type": "integer",
						"minimum": 1,
						"maximum": 16384,
						"description": "The width of the repeating pattern."
					},
					"height": {
						"type": "integer",
						"minimum": 1,
						"maximum": 16384,
						"description": "The height of the repeating pattern."
					},
					"symmetry": {
						"enum": [
							"none",
							"opposite"
						],
						"default": "none",
						"description": "Desired level of symmetry for the faces of each block."
					}
				},
				"required": [
					"width",
					"height"
				]
			}
		}
	]
}