Screenshot 1 of 2. A scene with cherry trees, a stone arch and a grassy cliff, with controller button hints on the HUD, in Zima's Vanilla+.
What Zima's Vanilla+ (Steam Deck Optimized) works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | Fabric |
| Minecraft versions | 1.21.1, 1.21.8, 26.2 |
| Environment | Client, Server |
Zima's Vanilla+ modpack is a lightweight Fabric pack for Java that adds a small set of quality-of-life mods to vanilla play. It sits on top of Fabulously Optimized and uses as few extra mods as possible. Players need it installed on their side, and a dedicated host can run it too but does not have to.
Loaders and versions
- Fabric: Minecraft 1.21.1 to 26.2.
What's included
The headline change is tree farming. With FallingTree, one axe swing drops the whole trunk as logs. Every log still wears down the axe, and if the axe breaks mid-chop the tree falls anyway. It does not interfere with vanilla hosts, so you can leave it on when joining them. The rest of the additions, beyond what Fabulously Optimized already ships, fall into a few groups.
- Controller play through Controlify, with the enhanced Steam Deck driver disabled because of a bug.
- Maps from JourneyMap, placed in the lower-right corner so it stays clear of controller button hints, plus Distant Horizons on the Low preset at 32 chunks.
- Sound from Presence Footsteps, Sounds, Sound Physics Remastered and Simple Voice Chat.
- First-person comfort from First Person Model, Shoulder Surfing Reloaded and Dynamic Crosshair.
- Inventory polish from Inventory Profiles Next and Jade.
Preconfigured settings
The pack launches with the Super Duper Vanilla shaderpack on and the frame rate capped at 30 FPS, which keeps laptops and low-end machines from overheating. Desktop players will want to raise the cap on first launch. Weaker machines can switch to MakeUp Ultra Fast or turn shaders off.
Setting up on a Steam Deck
Steam Deck setup is manual but only needed once. For the general import steps, see the modpack install guide.
- 1.In Desktop Mode, install Prism Launcher from the Discover app, then add it to your Steam library. Controller support depends on this.
- 2.Before launching Prism, set the button layout to Gamepad With Joystick Trackpad. Set the right trackpad to As Mouse with Left Mouse Click.
- 3.On first launch, choose Java 21 and cap memory at 8192 MiB. Do not go higher, especially with VRAM set to 4 GiB.
- 4.Sign in under Manage Accounts, choose Add Instance, pick Modrinth, search for Zima and select Zima's Vanilla+.
The trade-off is the Fabric focus. The NeoForge variant is no longer maintained, because the pack now builds on Fabulously Optimized.
Questions about Zima's Vanilla+ (Steam Deck Optimized).
3 questions
What does Zima's Vanilla+ add to vanilla play?
It adds a short list of mods on top of Fabulously Optimized. These include FallingTree for instant tree chopping, Controlify for controller support, JourneyMap for a minimap and world map, Distant Horizons, extra sound mods, a better first-person view and inventory improvements. The aim is minor quality-of-life gains with little performance cost.
Is the NeoForge variant of Zima's Vanilla+ still maintained?
No. The pack is now based on Fabulously Optimized, which runs on Fabric, so the NeoForge variant is no longer being maintained. Current releases are Fabric only, and that is the loader to install when you import the pack.
How much memory should I give Zima's Vanilla+ on a Steam Deck?
The Steam Deck instructions set Java 21 and a maximum memory allocation of 8192 MiB in Prism Launcher. They warn against exceeding that, especially if the device's VRAM is set to 4 GiB. Other hardware has no stated figure.
