Run your own Minecraft server: take total control of your Minecraft experience!
What’s more fun than playing multiplayer Minecraft? Running your own Minecraft server. Now there’s a complete, up-to-date guide to doing just that–even if you have no networking or server experience!
Best-selling tech author Timothy L. Warner covers all you need to know, from the absolute basics to cutting-edge customization. You’ll learn from crystal-clear, step-by-step instructions designed for today’s newest Minecraft servers.Warner guides you through prepping your computer and network…installing a basic server and powerful third-party alternatives…welcoming and managing users…protecting against griefing and other attacks…adding powerful plug-ins and mods…using easy subscription hosting services…giving your users a truly awesome game experience.
This book’s #1 goal is to help you have more fun with Minecraft. But you’ll also master practical skills for a well-paid technology career!
- Gain deep multiplayer Minecraft knowledge for running your server well
- Configure your computer to reliably host Minecraft
- Control your server through the Minecraft Server console
- Connect users, communicate with them, and set rules they must follow
- Master basic networking skills for improving server uptime and performance
- Safeguard your server and users, and prevent griefing
- Simplify complicated mods with integrated modpacks and launchers
- Run on the Realms public cloud—let Minecraft worry about maintenance and security
- Evaluate and choose a third-party hosting provider
- Customize your spawn “lobby” to help new users find their way
- Support multiple worlds and teleportation
- Earn cash with ads, sponsorships, cosmetic upgrades, or VIP access
Minecraft is a trademark of Mojang Synergies / Notch Development AB. This book is not affiliated with or sponsored by Mojang Synergies / Notch Development AB.
Timothy L. Warner is the author of Hacking Raspberry Pi and The Unauthorized Guide to iPhone, iPad, and iPod Repair: A DIY Guide to Extending the Life of Your iDevices!. He is a tech professional who has helped thousands of people become more proficient with technology in business and education. He holds the CompTIA A+ Computer Technician credential and 20 other technical certifications. As Director of Technology for a progressive high school, he created and managed a self-servicing warranty repair shop for all of its Apple hardware. Now an author/evangelist for Pluralsight, he shares Windows PowerShell scripting knowledge at 2minutepowershell.com.
Table of Contents:
Introduction 1
Who Should Read This Book 1
How This Book Is Organized 2
Conventions Used in This Book 3
Follow Me! 3
About the Bitly Hyperlinks 3
System Requirements 4
Chapter 1 Minecraft Multiplayer from the Gamer’s Perspective 5
Understanding Minecraft Multiplayer 6
Minecraft Demo Mode Versus Minecraft Premium 7
Please Avoid Cracked Launchers 8
The Three Types of Minecraft Multiplayer 10
Finding “Good” Minecraft Servers 10
Understanding Minecraft Server Lists 11
A Word on Minecraft Minigames 14
About Connection Addresses 15
Public Versus Whitelist Servers 15
Joining an Online Server 16
Minecraft Multiplayer Netiquette 19
The Importance of Help 19
Chatting with OPs and Other Players 20
Setting Chat Options 22
The Three Rules of Multiplayer Netiquette 23
Rule #1: Obey the Server Rules—Or Leave 23
Rule #2: Act in Accordance with the “Golden Rule” 23
Rule #3: Ask Without Fear 24
The Bottom Line 24
Chapter 2 Building a Vanilla Minecraft Server 25
Preparing the Java Environment 25
Verifying Your Java Version (Windows) 26
Verifying Your Java Version (OS X) 27
Downloading and Installing the JRE 27
Installing the Minecraft Server 28
The Windows Installation Process 29
The OS X Installation Process 31
An Interlude…Your Lab Environment 34
Buy Another Copy of Minecraft? Really? 34
First Run and Initial Configuration Steps 34
Understanding the Server Configuration Files 35
The Minecraft Server Console 37
Running More Than One Server Instance 42
Finding Vanilla Servers on the Internet 43
The Bottom Line 44
Chapter 3 Operating a Vanilla Minecraft Server 45
Understanding Our Test Environment 45
Configuring the Server’s World 47
Introducing Sublime Text 47
Understanding server.properties 48
Getting Your User(s) Connected 50
Scanning, Scanning… 51
Interacting with Your Users 53
/say, /tell, and /me 55
/tp and /give 59
Exerting Discipline on Your Server 59
/kick 60
/ban and /ban-ip 61
/pardon, /pardon-ip, and /whitelist 63
Adding a Management Layer to Your Server 65
Introducing McMyAdmin 65
Installation Notes 67
Configuration Notes 67
McMyAdmin Editions 68
Opening a Single-Player Game to the LAN 68
The Bottom Line 70
Chapter 4 Understanding Networking as It Relates to Minecraft 71
Revisiting Our Test Network 72
Learning as We Go: Basic Networking Terminology 73
IP Addresses 73
Private and Public Addresses 74
Network Address Translation 75
DHCP 75
Taking the Next Step: Preparing Our Network for Minecraft Server 76
Discovering Our Computer’s Networking Configuration 76
Viewing Our Router’s Configuration 78
Allowing Minecraft Traffic Through the Firewall 81
Ports 81
Configuring Port Forwarding 83
Testing the Connection 85
Let’s Play! 86
Using a Hostname Instead of an IP Address 88
Understanding DNS and DDNS 88
Setting Up No-IP 88
Sweeping Up the Shavings 90
The Bottom Line 91
Chapter 5 Installing a Custom Minecraft Server 93
Beginnings: It’s a Wild, Wild West 93
If Not Bukkit, Then What? 94
Installing SpigotMC 95
Starting SpigotMC Server 96
Configuring SpigotMC 97
server.properties 98
spigot.yml 98
bukkit.yml 98 Testing the Player Experience 99
Introducing Bukkit Plugins 100
Describing the Most Popular Plugins 100
A Question of Balance 102
Installing, Configuring, and Using Bukkit Plugins 102
Obtaining Essentials: RTFM 102
Configuring Essentials 106
Testing the Gameplay Experience 108
The Bottom Line 112
Chapter 6 Integrating Mods into Your Minecraft Server 113
Introducing Cauldron 113
Minecraft Forge in a Nutshell 114
Installing the Forge Client 115
Getting Cauldron Up and Running 117
First, Our Plugin Proof of Concept 118
PermissionsEx Quick Start 118
Testing the Plugin 120
Now for the Good Stuff—Installing a Mod 122
Installing RailCraft 122
Testing the Railcraft Player Experience 125
Experimenting with Integrated Modpacks and Launchers 129
Feed the Beast (FTB) 130
Installing FTB Server 132
Starting the FTB Launcher 134
ATLauncher and Other Options 134
Quality Client Mods 135
The Bottom Line 136
Chapter 7 Exploring Minecraft Realms 137
Understanding Cloud Services 137
Pros and Cons 139
Introducing Minecraft Realms 139
Let’s Sign Up! 140
Playing in a Minecraft Realms World 142 Inviting Players 145
Managing Players 148
A Brief Tutorial on Command Blocks 150
About Target Selectors 151
Programming Command Blocks 152
Configuring Minecraft Realms 154
Backup and Restore 154
Viewing Backups 154
Forcing a Backup 155
Downloading a World to Single-Player 155
Uploading a World to Realms 156
Restoring a World 157
The Bottom Line 157
Chapter 8 Taking Control of Minecraft with Third-Party Hosting 159
What to Look for in a Third-Party Minecraft Host 160
Minecraft Hosting Terminology 160
What’s Important in a Minecraft Host 161
Joining MCProHosting 163
Getting to Know the Control Panel 168
Configuring and Starting Our Minecraft Server 169
Logging In 170
Adding Some Plugins 172
Making Additional Tweaks to Your Server 175
Editing Your Config Files 175
Deploying a Resource Pack 177
Mapping Your Server to a Domain 180
Domain Name Mapping with GoDaddy 180
A Brief Roster of Other Well-Regarded Minecraft Hosting Companies 183
The Bottom Line 184
Chapter 9 Giving Your Players the Best Gaming Experience 185
Protecting Your Server from Abuse 186
Distributed Denial-of-Service Attack 186
What to Do to Prevent DDoS Attacks 187
Griefing 188
Hack Yourself 189
Blocking Griefers 190
Tips for Addressing Griefers 194
Customizing the World Spawn 194
Setting the Server Spawn 195
Building a Spawn Lobby 196
Preparing the Land for a Lobby Schematic 197
WorldEdit—A More Flexible Terraforming Solution 199
Using WorldEdit to Drop in a Schematic 200
Supporting Multiple Worlds and Teleportation 202
Using Multiverse 202
Creating and Teleporting Between Worlds 203
Deploying Portals 203
Connecting the Two Worlds 206
The Bottom Line 208
Chapter 10 Monetizing Your Minecraft Server 209
Understanding Mojang’s Position on Minecraft Server Monetization 210
The New Minecraft EULA 210
The Backlash Against Mojang 211
Monetizing Minecraft While Maintaining EULA Compliance 212
Donations 212
In-Game Advertising and Sponsorship 216
Cosmetic Upgrade Sales 217
VIP Server Access or Subscriptions 219
Setting Up BuyCraft 220
Creating a Paid Package 223
Giving a Paid Item to All Players 225
Creating a Free Package 226
Advertising Your Minecraft Server 228
Where to Advertise 228
The Importance of the Server Status Banner 229
Registering Your Minecraft Server 231
About Voting 232
Someplace to Compare Yourself 233
Creating a Custom Server Entry for the Minecraft Client 234
Customizing the MOTD 235
Final Thoughts 235
Appendix Tim’s “Top 10” Lists 237
Top 10 Minecraft Hosts 237
Top 10 Public Minecraft Servers 239
Top 10 Bukkit Plugins 240
Top 10 Modpacks 240
Top 10 Resource/Texture Packs 242
Top 10 Minecraft YouTubers 243
Top 10 Minecraft Minigames 243
Top 10 Minecraft Custom Maps 244
Top 10 Minecraft Seeds 245
Index 247
About the Author :
Timothy Warner is an IT professional and technical trainer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Tim became acquainted with information technology in 1982 when his dad bought the family a Timex Sinclair 1000 home computer and he taught himself BASIC programming. Today he works as an author/evangelist for Pluralsight and shares Windows PowerShell knowledge with anyone who’ll listen at his Two Minute PowerShell blog: http://2minutepowershell.com. You can reach Tim directly via LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/timothywarner.
