Always show mob nametags without crosshair + cache LevelHead tag scan

common/src/main/java/io/github/dolphinclient/DolphinClientConfigCommon.java

@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ public boolean showButton() {
 	public final BooleanOption showOwnNametag = new BooleanOption("showOwnNametag", false);
 	public final BooleanOption useShadows = new BooleanOption("useShadows", false);
 	public final BooleanOption nametagBackground = new BooleanOption("nametagBackground", true);
+	public final BooleanOption alwaysShowEntityNametags = new BooleanOption("alwaysShowEntityNametags", true);
 
 	public final ForceableBooleanOption timeChangerEnabled = new ForceableBooleanOption("enabled", false);
 	public final IntegerOption customTime = new IntegerOption("time", 0, 0, 24000);
@@ -128,6 +129,7 @@ public DolphinClientConfigCommon() {
 		nametagOptions.add(showOwnNametag);
 		nametagOptions.add(useShadows);
 		nametagOptions.add(nametagBackground);
+		nametagOptions.add(alwaysShowEntityNametags);
 
 		general.add(customWindowTitle);
 		general.add(debugLogOutput);

common/src/main/resources/assets/dolphinclient/default-profile.json

@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@
       "nametagOptions": {
         "showOwnNametag": "false",
         "useShadows": "true",
-        "nametagBackground": "false"
+        "nametagBackground": "false",
+        "alwaysShowEntityNametags": "true"
       },
       "timeChanger": {
         "enabled": "false",

common/src/main/resources/assets/dolphinclient/lang/en_us.json

@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@
 	"allocated": "Allocated",
 	"alwaysCrit": "Always Show",
 	"alwaysCrit.tooltip": "Whether to always emit these particles when hitting.",
+	"alwaysShowEntityNametags": "Always Show Entity Name Tags",
+	"alwaysShowEntityNametags.tooltip": "Renders name tags on named mobs without having to look at them, like in newer versions.",
 	"alwaysShowHeadLayer": "Always Show Hat Layer",
 	"anchorpoint": "Anchor Point",
 	"applyBlend": "Apply Blending",

pack/overrides/config/dolphinclient/Default.json

@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@
       "nametagOptions": {
         "showOwnNametag": "false",
         "useShadows": "true",
-        "nametagBackground": "false"
+        "nametagBackground": "false",
+        "alwaysShowEntityNametags": "true"
       },
       "timeChanger": {
         "enabled": "false",

versions/1.8.9/src/main/java/io/github/dolphinclient/mixin/EntityRendererMixin.java

@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@
 
 package io.github.dolphinclient.mixin;
 
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Arrays;
 
 import com.llamalad7.mixinextras.injector.v2.WrapWithCondition;
 import com.llamalad7.mixinextras.injector.wrapoperation.Operation;
@@ -35,6 +34,7 @@
 import io.github.dolphinclient.modules.hypixel.LevelHeadPlacement;
 import io.github.dolphinclient.modules.hypixel.bedwars.BedwarsMod;
 import io.github.dolphinclient.util.Util;
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.ints.Int2ObjectOpenHashMap;
 import net.minecraft.client.Minecraft;
 import net.minecraft.client.entity.living.player.ClientPlayerEntity;
 import net.minecraft.client.render.TextRenderer;
@@ -131,9 +131,21 @@ public abstract class EntityRendererMixin<T extends Entity> {
 	/**
 	 * Pixels to lift the level so it clears the below-name scoreboard row and holograms
 	 * parked just above the username. Vanilla only draws that scoreboard row inside 10 blocks.
+	 *
+	 * <p>The scan iterates every loaded entity in a box, so the result is cached per entity
+	 * per tick. The world's entity set can only change the outcome once per tick anyway.
+	 * Cache layout: {@code [tick, baseAbove, belowName, nameAnchor, tagAnchor...]}; the tag
+	 * anchors are the payload {@link LevelHeadPlacement#extraPixels} expects.</p>
 	 */
 	@Unique
 	private int dolphinclient$tagsAbove(Entity entity, int fontHeight, int baseAbove) {
+		int tick = entity.ticks;
+		double[] cached = dolphinclient$tagsAboveCache.get(entity.getNetworkId());
+		if (cached != null && (int) cached[0] == tick && cached[1] == baseAbove) {
+			double[] tags = Arrays.copyOfRange(cached, 4, cached.length);
+			return LevelHeadPlacement.extraPixels(fontHeight, cached[2] != 0, cached[3], tags, baseAbove);
+		}
+
 		boolean belowName = false;
 		if (entity instanceof PlayerEntity player && !player.isSneaking() && this.dispatcher.camera != null
 			&& player.squaredDistanceTo(this.dispatcher.camera) < 100.0) {
@@ -142,13 +154,12 @@ public abstract class EntityRendererMixin<T extends Entity> {
 		}
 
 		double nameAnchor = entity.y + entity.height + 0.5;
-		double[] tags = null;
+		double[] tags = new double[4];
 		if (entity.world != null) {
 			// A nametag floats up to a couple of blocks above its carrier's hitbox, so the
 			// query has to reach below the anchor to find tags parked right above the username.
 			Box box = new Box(entity.x - 1.0, nameAnchor - 3.0, entity.z - 1.0,
 				entity.x + 1.0, nameAnchor + 3.0, entity.z + 1.0);
-			List<Double> above = new ArrayList<>();
 			for (Entity other : entity.world.getEntities(entity, box)) {
 				if (other == entity || !other.hasCustomName() || !other.isCustomNameVisible()) {
 					continue;
@@ -165,19 +176,26 @@ public abstract class EntityRendererMixin<T extends Entity> {
 					anchor -= other.height / 2.0;
 				}
 				if (anchor > nameAnchor + 0.05) {
-					above.add(anchor);
-				}
-			}
-			if (!above.isEmpty()) {
-				tags = new double[above.size()];
-				for (int i = 0; i < above.size(); i++) {
-					tags[i] = above.get(i);
+					tags = Arrays.copyOf(tags, tags.length + 1);
+					tags[tags.length - 1] = anchor;
 				}
 			}
 		}
-		return LevelHeadPlacement.extraPixels(fontHeight, belowName, nameAnchor, tags, baseAbove);
+
+		tags[0] = tick;
+		tags[1] = baseAbove;
+		tags[2] = belowName ? 1 : 0;
+		tags[3] = nameAnchor;
+		if (dolphinclient$tagsAboveCache.size() > 1024) {
+			dolphinclient$tagsAboveCache.clear();
+		}
+		dolphinclient$tagsAboveCache.put(entity.getNetworkId(), tags);
+		return LevelHeadPlacement.extraPixels(fontHeight, belowName, nameAnchor, tags.length > 4 ? Arrays.copyOfRange(tags, 4, tags.length) : null, baseAbove);
 	}
 
+	@Unique
+	private static final Int2ObjectOpenHashMap<double[]> dolphinclient$tagsAboveCache = new Int2ObjectOpenHashMap<>();
+
 	@WrapWithCondition(method = "renderNameTag(Lnet/minecraft/entity/Entity;Ljava/lang/String;DDDI)V", at = @At(value = "INVOKE", target = "Lnet/minecraft/client/render/vertex/BufferBuilder;begin(ILnet/minecraft/client/render/vertex/VertexFormat;)V"))
 	private boolean disableNameTagBackground(BufferBuilder instance, int drawMode, VertexFormat format) {
 		return DolphinClient.config().nametagBackground.get();

versions/1.8.9/src/main/java/io/github/dolphinclient/mixin/MobRendererMixin.java

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2026 DSNS <dominic@seung.dev>
+ *
+ * This file is part of DolphinClient.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
+ *
+ * For more information, see the LICENSE file.
+ */
+
+package io.github.dolphinclient.mixin;
+
+import com.llamalad7.mixinextras.injector.ModifyExpressionValue;
+import com.llamalad7.mixinextras.sugar.Local;
+import io.github.dolphinclient.DolphinClient;
+import net.minecraft.client.render.entity.EntityRenderDispatcher;
+import net.minecraft.client.render.entity.MobRenderer;
+import net.minecraft.entity.Entity;
+import net.minecraft.entity.living.mob.MobEntity;
+import org.objectweb.asm.Opcodes;
+import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.Mixin;
+import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.At;
+
+@Mixin(MobRenderer.class)
+public class MobRendererMixin {
+
+	/**
+	 * Vanilla 1.8 only renders a mob's name tag while it is under the crosshair; newer versions
+	 * always show it. Fake the crosshair check to match modern behavior. The preceding
+	 * {@code hasCustomName()} check is left untouched so unnamed mobs stay tag-free.
+	 */
+	@ModifyExpressionValue(method = "shouldRenderNameTag(Lnet/minecraft/entity/living/mob/MobEntity;)Z", at = @At(value = "FIELD", opcode = Opcodes.GETFIELD, target = "Lnet/minecraft/client/render/entity/EntityRenderDispatcher;targetEntity:Lnet/minecraft/entity/Entity;"))
+	private Entity dolphinclient$renderNametagsWithoutCrosshair(Entity original, @Local(argsOnly = true) MobEntity mob) {
+		if (DolphinClient.config().alwaysShowEntityNametags.get()) {
+			return mob;
+		}
+		return original;
+	}
+}

versions/1.8.9/src/main/resources/dolphinclient.mixins.json

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 		"LocalRemoteClientPlayerEntityMixin",
 		"MinecraftClientAccessor",
 		"MinecraftClientMixin",
+		"MobRendererMixin",
 		"ParticleAccessor",
 		"ParticleManagerMixin",
 		"PlayerEntityMixin",