Minecraft Server Configuration

Jarret B

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Joined
May 22, 2017
Messages
336
Reaction score
361
Credits
11,504
Title.jpg


If you have read my recent article, ‘Minecraft Server on Linux’, then you may want to do more than just play Minecraft. The Minecraft Server allows you to control many aspects of playing as well as managing players. This article will cover some of these aspects to help make your server more appealing to the players.

To start, you need to have a Minecraft Server running as I outlined in my previous article - ‘Minecraft Server on Linux’. Make sure you do not use the parameter ‘-nogui’ since the Minecraft Server control screen will be needed in some cases in this article. Of course, you need to have a Graphical User Interface (GUI) running on your Linux system.

Adding Mods

A mod can alter the game play to allow different functionality to the players. The functionality can include map generation, inventory, crafting and others. Each mod will provide different functions to the world created on the Minecraft Server. Some mods can work together while others may cause conflicts. Be careful when running multiple mods together.

NOTE: Some mods will only work on specific Minecraft versions, both client and server. A mod installed on the server must also be installed on the client. I will cover both of these options to make the process easier.

Since there is a version compatibility for the mod I will be using, Minecraft Server 1.7.10, which can be found at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/1.7.10/minecraft_server.1.7.10.jar. The older version is installed in the same way as was described in my other article. Make sure you have the EULA taken care of and the online-mode setting as described in the other article.

Once the server is installed and running you can start on the mod. We will use a Mod Loader called Forge. Forge can be found at files.minecraftforge.net Find the version 1.7.10 and then select the ‘Universal’ download as well as the ‘Installer’. Both are .jar files and can be run on any system with Java.

If the Minecraft Server is running it will need to be closed. In the bottom right side of the GUI is a command line entry area. Click on the line and type ‘stop’ and press ENTER. The Minecraft Server should shutdown normally.

Place the two Forge files in the same folder as the Minecraft Server .jar file. Start the Forge Installer from the command line ‘sudo java -jar forge-1.7.10-10.13.4.1558-1.7.10-installer.jar’. You should be prompted with a screen as shown in Figure 1. The first thing is to set the folder to the one containing the Minecraft Server .jar file. This folder contains the necessary configuration files, such as ‘eula.txt’. Once the directory is set properly select the option to ‘Install Server’. Click ‘OK’ to proceed with the Forge installation.

Figure 01.jpg


FIGURE 1

The installation will create folders in the designated directory. A folder called ‘mods’ is the place where mod files are put to be loaded.

Now to load the Minecraft Server with Forge is as simple as running the same Minecraft Server command, but replace the Minecraft Server .jar file with the Universal Forge .jar file. For example, on my system I used the command: ‘java -Xms1024M -Xmx1024M -jar forge-1.7.10-10.13.4.1558-1.7.10-universal.jar ‘ to start my server.

Now it is only a matter of downloading mods. So, I will download the Five Nights At Freddys Mod from http://vl4.voidswrath.com/release/[1.7.10]FiveNightsAtFreddies%201.2.2Installer.jar and save it in the ‘mods’ folder.

On a client system the Forge Client should be installed and then launch the launcher as normal. Do make sure you select the Forge Profile. Once loaded, select the option for multiplayer and join your server. Once joined go to a menu and you should see a button for ‘Mods’. In here select the Five Nights At Freddys Mod and begin.

NOTE: When adding mods be aware this will increase the memory requirement for the systems – both client and server. Each mod will have varying requirements.

Now that a mod is running we need to be able to control the Minecraft Server a bit more.

Minecraft Server Commands

The Minecraft Server can be controlled in the GUI by entering commands in the lower right. The line for the command line entry will accept many commands. The following list is a partial list of commands which may be useful for you to manage your server:

  • help – Shows a list of all available commands.
  • defaultgamemode [s/c/a/sp] - Switches the default mode for new players joining the server to be either Survival, Creative, Adventure or Spectator mode.
    • Survival - Players gather their own building materials. There is a health, hunger and armor bar to make sure the character does not die. Characters can die in this mode.
    • Creative [c] – The player has infinite access to all building materials. The character cannot die in this mode.
    • Adventure [a] – Players can interact with mobs and the like.
    • Spectator [sp] – You cannot interact with blocks or players, but you can see what they see. Your character appears a floating head to others. You basically are like a ghost and fly around and through things.
  • difficulty [p/e/n/h] - Switches the players difficulty levels between Peaceful, Easy, Normal or Hard.
    • Peaceful [p] – This difficulty mode causes hunger to be disabled and there are no enemies to worry about when playing.
    • Easy [e] - Hunger is enabled, but damage only occurs from hunger when you have more than 5 hearts. Hostile mobs have lower health than normal and can cause less damage. Creepers have a smaller detection radius than usual.
    • Normal [n] - Hunger is enabled and can cause the player damage even when there is only half a heart left. Hostile mobs have standard health and cause regular damage.
    • Hard [h] - Hunger is enabled and can kill your character. Hostile mobs cause more damage and have a little extra health. Creepers have a larger detection radius then normal for their attacks.
  • gamemode [s/c/a/sp] [player] - Switches the default mode for a specific players on the server to be either Survival, Creative, Adventure or Spectator mode.
    • Survival - Players gather their own building materials. There is a health, hunger and armor bar to make sure the character does not die. Characters can die in this mode.
    • Creative [c] – The player has infinite access to all building materials. The character cannot die in this mode.
    • Adventure [a] – Players can interact with mobs and the like.
    • Spectator [sp] – You cannot interact with blocks or players, but you can see what they see. Your character appears a floating head to others. You basically are like a ghost and fly around and through things.
  • list - Lists all the current players on the server.
  • op [player]/deop [player] - Gives the specified player operator privileges (or takes them away - deop).
  • save-(all/on/off) – With ‘save-all’ will instantly save the current world. With ‘save-on’ turns world saving state to on which is the default setting. With ‘save-off’ will turn the automatic saving off.
  • setworldspawn [ x y z ] - Sets the default spawning point for all players entering the world.
  • spawnpoint [player] [ x y z] – Functions the same as ‘setworldspawn’, but is set for a specified player.
  • stop - Shuts the server down.
  • time set [value] - Changes the Minecraft world time; you can use “day”, “night” or a value from 0 to 24000. At 6:00 A.M. the time is either ‘0’ or ‘24000’. One hour has a value of ‘1000’. So 7:00 A.M is represented by a time of ‘1000’. Keep in mind that ‘6000’ is noon and ‘18000’ is midnight.
  • tp [target player] [destination] - Teleports a player. The first parameter is the target player to be moved. The second parameter can be another player or a given x/y/z coordinate. To teleport a Target Player they must be on-line. To move the Target Player to a Destination Player the Destination Player must also be on-line.
  • weather [clear/rain/thunder] - Changes the weather to what you specify. You can also add a second argument for changing the weather for a specified number of seconds between 1 and 1,000,00.
    • clear – Removes any current weather settings.
    • rain – Rain causes the the biome to be darker than when the weather is ‘clear’. Rain will fall in a temperate biome and can put out fires. Endermen and snowmen can be killed by rain. Fish are more abundant in rain. Farmland becomes wet and helps growth. In a colder biome the rain will turn to snow.
    • thunder – makes the biome darker than ‘clear’ and more so than ‘rain’. The darkness can cause hostile mobs to spawn. Thunder also brings lightning which can cause damage if the player is hit by it.
  • kill [player] – Kills the specified player in the game.

These are but a few of the commands available to you on the Minecraft Server. Remember that you can type ‘help’ in the command-line box to get a full listing of all of the commands. The command ‘help’ will show you page one of the commands. To see other pages use the command ‘help <page number>’. For example, to see page three you would type ‘help 3’.

Happy Gaming!
 
Last edited by a moderator:


Top