Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
This feature request isn't exactly related to a problem, it's just a suggestion for a feature to further improve the performance of the Java edition, which I thought was fitting given this is an optimization mod.

Describe the solution you'd like
What I have in mind is that the simulation distance (ticking chunks distance) could be decoupled from the render distance, much like in the bedrock edition. This is one of the major reasons why the bedrock edition performs much better than the Java edition.

This feature has actually been implemented in the 1.16.3 version of PaperMC, a custom Java edition high performance server software, and it significantly decreases the load on the main game thread, therefore increasing performance. If this feature was also implemented in Sodium, it may potentially open the door to playing at incredibly high render distances on the Java edition while also running at high framerates. Perhaps a simulation distance slider could be added so players can customize it to their liking (with the minimum being 1 and the maximum being their current render distance).

Describe alternatives you've considered
I'm not really sure if there is an alternative solution. The fact that all chunks within the view distance are ticked is a limiting factor for performance at higher render distances. There are other ways to increase performance of course, but this is a significant factor impacting performance, so might as well try to optimize this as well.

Duplicate of #255