Simple tool to host customizable multiplayer Minecraft worlds with extensive play options and mod support
Simple tool to host customizable multiplayer Minecraft worlds with extensive play options and mod support
Pros
- Easy to use
- Provides tons of play options for Minecraft
Cons
- Server mods require some practice to use
Minecraft Server is used to run multiplayer Minecraft games on worlds of your (and others') own making.
Minecraft is a world-famous game by the indie developer Mojang. Initially released several years ago as of this writing, it has become so popular that it is a minor feature in Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 10. Knowing that, it's undeniable that Minecraft has had a huge effect on the gaming world – right up to bringing tons of new people into the gaming fold.
In Minecraft, you play as a character made of huge 3D pixels ("voxels"), by default a man in a shirt and jeans named Steve, as you explore an enormous, randomly-generated world made out of square blocks of grass, dirt, and stone. Even the world's trees and structures are formed out of discrete 3D blocks, and it's those same blocks that players use to build homes, places, and even complex machines that serve various purposes.
Minecraft is simple to pick up and play, but with a lot of depth to master. For that reason, it's popular with all sorts of players, from the new to the old. and many players have their first experiences (or at least most of their experiences) with multiplayer games of Minecraft, where players share one of those huge worlds.
The Minecraft server hosts players in these shared worlds, often up to 32 players at a time. It is not the game itself, although on the other hand, this means that you generally do not need to own the game (or have it on a given computer) to run a Minecraft server. In addition to its obvious use of running the game itself, a Minecraft server admin can chat directly from the server with players on the world, or change various world settings (such as the current time of day).
Many Minecraft servers are "modded" to introduce new gameplay modes beyond Minecraft's normal "Survival", "Creative", "Adventure", etc. modes, or to add features (such as new animals or areas) to those existing game modes. The Minecraft server itself does not provide those mods, but can be extended with those mods in a process that ranges from easy to difficult depending on the individual mod.
The server itself is easy to use, so for someone who wants to try hosting a Minecraft server, it is very easy to get started by not using mods. Otherwise, it is easy to learn the program and, later, how to install mods.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Provides tons of play options for Minecraft
Cons
- Server mods require some practice to use
Pros
- Minecraft multi-player
- Many personalization options
Cons
- Learning curve
- Lacks documentation
Minecrafter Server is the tool you need for Minecraft multi-player and persisted worlds.
Minecraft is a popular sandbox game that offers a creative mode, which lets you create in peace, and a survival mode, which requires you to collect resources while surviving a host of threats. It’s an amazing game that’s popular among both children and adults, and while it’s tremendous as a single-player experience, it’s even better as a multi-player game, and for that, you’ll need Minecrafter Server.
Minecraft Server hosts a version of the game that people can share. It can be quite resource-intensive, so it generally requires its own PC. You wouldn’t want to host the server and your client on the same computer usually. The client limit is 100 by default, but since each connected client adds to the necessary resources considerably, that requires a pretty powerful computer so keep that in mind.
The program gives you oodles of options, and you can really shape your Minecraft experience to whatever you want. Want to configure a space where teams face off in a Hunger Games-like scenario? You can do that. You can also create a world where people are working together via a series of farms, and you can even eliminate aspects of Minecraft like the Nether.
Minecrafter Server is arguably at its best when the server can run on a 24/7 basis. This allows for a truly persistent world where the members of that world can access their creations whenever it is convenient for them. It’s also possible to save the world state to file and have Minecrafter Server rebuild it from the file when you load it up the next time.
Minecrafter Server isn’t a simple program. You may be able to get a basic server up and running quickly, but the learning curve to master it is steep. There’s also a lack of documentation, so you won’t find any in-program help. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of information to be discovered on Minecraft-oriented websites across the Internet.
Pros
- Minecraft multi-player
- Many personalization options
Cons
- Learning curve
- Lacks documentation
