Conquest vs Stratum

Conquest is a free medieval-inspired resource pack for Minecraft Java, intended for builders creating their own worlds. Its influences include packs such as John Smith and games such as Stronghold. Items, armor, elytras, and animals can take on different textures depending on names entered with an anvil; block textures can vary by biome. The listed custom content includes items, armor, shields, paintings, elytras, heads, sounds, and mobs. The project remains in development, so textures may change and additions may arrive over time. Downloads are linked for Minecraft versions from 1.5–1.6 through 1.21.11, along with a shader pack, music add-on, and schematics. The 1.21 pack requires Fabric-based alternatives that provide Optifine features; version 1.20 and earlier require Optifine or Optifine/McPatcher. Listed community mod support includes Aquaculture, Botania, Quark, and Just Enough Items. The pack is free to enjoy; supporters can access a tool early, with the lowest stated amount at $5, subject to change.

Stratum is a Minecraft resource pack for realistic visuals and shader-supported rendering. It includes physically based rendering materials, parallax occlusion mapping, and normal and specular maps when used with compatible shaders. The pack is designed with Continuum shaders in mind and takes steps to work with other popular shader packs. It supports Minecraft Java Edition only, officially covering versions 1.12.2 through 1.21.11. OptiFine is required for textures to load properly; Iris may work but is not fully verified. A free 128×128 version is described as up to date with paid higher-resolution options. One-time tiers cost $5 as a one-time purchase for 256x, $15, paid once for 256x and 512x, or $25, paid once for resolutions through 2048x, with future updates included. Stratum remains in Early Access, and some textures may be missing. Requirements range from 4 GB VRAM and 8 GB RAM at 128x to more than 48 GB VRAM and 96 GB RAM for 2048x.