BetterF3 in FTB Skies 2

BetterF3 replaces Minecraft's original debug HUD with a highly customizable, more human-readable one. If you've ever squinted at the vanilla F3 screen hunting for your coordinates or FPS, this mod is built to make that easier.^[1]

This pack includes BetterF3 11.0.3, the NeoForge build for 1.21.1.^[2]

What you can customize

Every line of the HUD belongs to a module, and you control those modules in a few ways. Here is what the mod's project page lists:^[1]

• Change the color and the position of each module.^[1]
• Add and delete modules, and add spacings between them.^[1]
• Disable individual lines of a module, or the whole module.^[1]
• Add a shadow to the text (on by default) and change the color of the background behind all lines.^[1]
• Use opening and closing animations with configurable speeds.^[1]

Who it's for

It's a client-side quality-of-life mod for anyone who checks the debug screen regularly, whether that's for coordinates, performance numbers or anything else the F3 screen shows. It adds no items, blocks or recipes, so there is nothing to craft or unlock.^[1]

Unverified Whether Cloth Config is installed in this pack, and so whether F3 + M works here, is unconfirmed from the sources. The sources also don't place BetterF3 anywhere in the pack's progression: no quests involve it, and it isn't on the ATM Star path.

BetterF3 is a different kind of mod. There's nothing to craft and no machine to build, because it replaces Minecraft's original debug HUD with a more customizable, more human-readable one. Your first step is to open the F3 screen and see how it looks.^[1]

Open the F3 screen

Press F3 in game. The debug screen you see is the BetterF3 version, with the info split into modules. Each line on the screen belongs to a module.^[1]

Open the editor with F3 + M

To change how the screen looks, press F3 + M in game. The mod's project page says this shortcut needs Cloth Config. It is included on Fabric and highly recommended on Forge. If the shortcut does nothing for you, a missing Cloth Config is the first thing to check.^[1]

Tweak the HUD to your taste

Here is what the project page says you can change:^[1]

• Change the color of each module.^[1]
• Change the position of each module.^[1]
• Add and delete modules, and add spacings between them.^[1]
• Disable individual lines of a module, or the whole module.^[1]
• Turn the text shadow on or off. It is active by default.^[1]
• Change the color of the background behind all lines.^[1]
• Adjust the opening and closing animations, including their speeds.^[1]

Unverified No items, crafting recipes or quests tied to BetterF3 could be confirmed in this pack, so there is no crafting order to follow. This mod is only about customizing the debug screen.

BetterF3 has no machines, multiblocks, power, fluids or item handling to automate. It is a client-side HUD mod that replaces Minecraft's original debug screen with a more customizable, more human-readable one. So the core mechanics here are about how the HUD is organized, not about building anything.^[1]

Modules: how the HUD is built

Everything on the HUD is split into modules, and each line on screen belongs to one module. Modules are the unit you customize, so once you understand them, you understand the whole mod.^[1]

• Change the color of each module.^[1]
• Change the position of each module.^[1]
• Add and delete modules, and add spacings between them.^[1]
• Disable individual lines of a module, or disable the whole module.^[1]

Look and feel options

• Text shadow: you can add a shadow to the rendered text, and it is activated by default.^[1]
• Background: you can change the color of the background behind all lines.^[1]
• Animations: the HUD can animate when it opens and closes, and the animation speeds are configurable.^[1]

Editing the HUD in game

The mod page says that with Cloth Config installed, you can press F3 + M in game to edit the F3 menu. On Fabric, Cloth Config is included with the mod, and ModMenu is optional for reaching the options menu. On Forge, Cloth Config is highly recommended for F3 + M.^[1]

Unverified Which loader this pack uses for BetterF3, whether Cloth Config is present in the pack, and whether F3 + M works here are not confirmed by the available sources. The pack also has no BetterF3 config files that I can show, so I can't say whether the pack changes any defaults.

FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 ships BetterF3 version 11.0.3, the NeoForge build for Minecraft 1.21.1. The mod has been in the pack since FTB Skies 2 1.0.1 or earlier, so it's a long-standing part of the modpack.^[2]

BetterF3 11.0.3

The only mod changelog entry we have is for 11.0.3, published on 2024-11-04. It lists just one change: updated translations. Nothing in it touches gameplay or the debug screen layout, so if you were hoping for new features in this version, there aren't any listed.^[3]

Pack changelogs

There are no pack changelog entries for this mod, so I can't tell you how its version changed between FTB Skies 2 releases.^[2]