Aussie Community

[Fozzy]

Hey all, I've made this account as the start of a new community I am looking to build, I just need some advice.

So for those that don't know, for us Aussies, gaming is a nightmare without servers our side, for example with NBN which is the top fibre here right now, I still get about 200+ ping for Hypixel and basically all other foreign servers. So what I am looking to do is build a server and community that is actually of a decent size all hosted in Australia. The largest server at the moment to my knowledge that is based in Australia has about 15-20 players concurrent, which to me is really small and frustrating for someone who loves duels etc. Facing the same 3 people over and over again is no fun for anyone. The last few days I've been lurking the forms reading as much material as I can about the success of servers and I do understand they need to be unique in order to gain a player base, that is why I am throwing everything I have at the custom aspect of this community I want to build.

So the advice I am asking is what amount will I need to spend in order for a full website/forums, server build & discord server as well as a general ballpark amount of advertising? Money is not really an issue I just want to do this right and not mess myself or other people around by fiddling with pricing etc. Also, if anyone can recommend me the best people for the job please do. I want custom plugins, bots etc for this - developers let me know!

I understand I have no 'rep' within this community, but I hope you, the reader can grasp an understanding of what I am trying to do here and help me out with advice on this! I am always open to criticism, feedback and just a discussion on this topic.

 

[Rqver]

Hey all, I've made this account as the start of a new community I am looking to build, I just need some advice.

So for those that don't know, for us Aussies, gaming is a nightmare without servers our side, for example with NBN which is the top fibre here right now, I still get about 200+ ping for Hypixel and basically all other foreign servers. So what I am looking to do is build a server and community that is actually of a decent size all hosted in Australia. The largest server at the moment to my knowledge that is based in Australia has about 15-20 players concurrent, which to me is really small and frustrating for someone who loves duels etc. Facing the same 3 people over and over again is no fun for anyone. The last few days I've been lurking the forms reading as much material as I can about the success of servers and I do understand they need to be unique in order to gain a player base, that is why I am throwing everything I have at the custom aspect of this community I want to build.

So the advice I am asking is what amount will I need to spend in order for a full website/forums, server build & discord server as well as a general ballpark amount of advertising? Money is not really an issue I just want to do this right and not mess myself or other people around by fiddling with pricing etc. Also, if anyone can recommend me the best people for the job please do. I want custom plugins, bots etc for this - developers let me know!

I understand I have no 'rep' within this community, but I hope you, the reader can grasp an understanding of what I am trying to do here and help me out with advice on this! I am always open to criticism, feedback and just a discussion on this topic.

Hey!

Cool idea, I live in New Zealand but have friends in Australia.

The costs of running the server generally depend on what gamemode's you want, at least for hosting costs & development costs.
What gamemodes are you planning on having?

In my opinion, forums are dying for Minecraft servers, and the new Discord API features means you can do everything you want to in Discord.
If you are set on forums;

• XenForo - https://xenforo.com/ (What MCM uses, older piece of software but very popular in high player count servers)
• NamelessMC - https://namelessmc.com/ (Free forums software designed for Minecraft servers, definitely needs a theme though.)
• Ghost - https://forum.ghost.org/ (Free & Open source but extremely ugly by default, you can get some cool themes for it though.)
• Invision Community - https://invisioncommunity.com/ (Incredibly overpriced IMO, costs up to $600 USD / Month, looks cool without a theme.)

Add me on Discord, Rqver#7150 if you want to discuss this project further, I'm really interested

 

[stifflered]

First off I think it's cool you want to do something with other Aussies and Kiwis. They don't get enough love.

You ask a lot of big questions and it's really hard to give very solid answers without understanding exactly what kind of server you want to build. They can vary in cost, time commitment, and size of team quite drastically. But, aside from encouraging you to ask yourself some important questions to get started, I'll give you some of my experiences:

Developers:
Expect to pay several hundred $ for a single decent plugin to be developed. If a developer tells you they can get it done in a month, expect it to take two as you find bugs and minor features to maintain. I would not recommend doing full custom development of every plugin from the start - even the largest servers use some public plugins and then build their own over time. I have hired some plugin devs that say they'll do a job for $20, and it never, ever, ever works out. Plan out your plugins well ahead of time and save $300+ before you find someone to do the work.

Builders:
After you build up your player community, you can usually rely on them to do some of the building with you, but to start I'd grab a build team to get a nice spawn and some starting builds to inspire new players who join. I usually work with Team Visionary, who currently charge $3 per 1x1 (so a 100x100 build costs $300). But the most important thing when finding a build team is if they can meet your style and vision, not if they have a good price or good reviews. If they can't build in the style you envision, you're gonna be dissatisfied. Look for portfolios.

Moderators:
Your community is only as strong as your team. Having someone who can actually manage a volunteer staff team well (and not just SAY they can while instead they play favorites and don't communicate well) is pretty important IMO. I've seen many promising servers fail because staff team members get burnt out and leave in dramatic fashion. I would hire a Staff Manager for at least a couple hundred bucks a month to start so they take the job seriously and work professionally. I've interviewed over 100 servers and surveyed many others: the #1 complaint of server owners is that their staff aren't motivated, and the #1 complaint from staff is that the leadership doesn't communicate well. Solve that on Day 1 and you may have a good chance at success.

Advertising:
This one is tough and I have a controversial opinion: YouTubers, server list websites, and ads on websites like MCM aren't good for finding long-lasting loyal players. Players who join cause of a YouTuber will leave immediately when the YouTuber does. Server list websites are monopolized by the highest bidders, and the players you do get are the type that go to server list websites: meaning they are just as likely to bounce from server to server as they are to stick around when they find one they like. MCM is good for advertising to get team members, but not players.

But, you could advertise with local schools, newspapers, public libraries, esports lounges and gaming centers. My own server is listed by default on 45 computers on the Minecraft multiplayer tab at a local esports compound, and I've had nice success connecting with parents of kids who want to join a server through after school clubs. I do all of this advertising for free (or with the esports compound, I volunteer host a monthly Minecraft event in their space). Think outside the box and don't just spend money cause there's an audience somewhere - spend money on YOUR audience that fits YOUR server type.

Website:
I think more important than a website is having social media, Discord, and a YouTube/Twitch channel. Meet people where they are. Forums often lack activity, which makes the server look dead and might push new players away. Websites take a bit of work to keep updated and most players barely skim through them anyway. Go where the players are and setup your stuff there so they can easily access. I use NodeHost for my server hosting and they're fantastic and inexpensive (a few bucks a month). The owner also players on my MC server and is a big fan of Minecraft in general, but there are many server hosts in MCM that also do web hosting you could connect with. I use WordPress and Notion for my web stuff - both have free options.

Don't be overwhelmed with everything, though. Start somewhere and make steps of progress along the way.

And have fun!!! Good luck.