Comment Opinions Please!
The Beginning
That's right, I'm a server owner, running a server can be easy, or it can be
hard! If it's easy than your not doing it right, there are always
hundreds of more ways to improve your minecraft server. And not even I
know many of them at all. I started my server with a simple 2GB RAM
which can be real important when you want lots of players to have more
ram, which is why I upgraded to 4.5GB Ram with cubichost.
What Makes a Server Fun
What makes servers fun?
What may strike you and I as fun, could be different to each individual who
plays on your server, It is you who determines how long a member will
stay, A lot of server are just lucky, they get the right members at the
right times, the right personalities, some aren't so lucky, and that is
when it becomes difficult to grow your playerbase. This is why you need a
good common ground, something that most everyone likes! If you are
running a Minigames only server make sure to have just one minigame so
players can actually play with each other(for brand new servers). If
you're running factions, make sure you have good starter kits, If you
are running towny, Decent starter kits such as: Wood, Wooden Tools,
Animals, Wheat(Any PVE Element), And perhaps offer to help start off the
first few towns. People join servers to play with other people, Just
keep that in mind.
How to keep players?
What works really well is when you give your members something to do,
something to achieve. Perhaps an auto ranking system. Playtime
determining when you rank up in game, that will keep your member there
longer. There are many variations of ranks that would spark the players
interest.
What are best times to bump on PMC?
Best times To bump on Planet Minecraft?
Many server owners think the best times to bump on pmc
is when kids not currently in school, or are home from school, This is
partially true, but there is more you have to look at and think about.
PMC has a wonderful feature where it tells us how many players are
currently online browsing the site, take that to your advantage, find
the busiest time and bump that server!
What traits to look for in staff.
This could be the hardest part of any new starting server. Staff is real
important, you can't run a server on your own unless you plan on getting
no sleep. Servers have many time zones, you're not gonna stay up
forever. Take a break!Here are some useful traits that I tend to use on my server:
Best Minecraft plugins for your server
The following plugins are some plugins I found really useful on my own server, Which is currently turning out to be real successful:
plugin allows you to reward your players in many different ways for
many different reason. It currently supports all versions of Minecraft
1.8 and up. here is a link to the plugin page on spigot: RewardPro
Protect is a simple and non-configurable but useful plugin. It protects
any returning players for 5 minutes on rejoin, and protects any ne to
the server players for 24 hrs on join, and it can simple be canceled
using the command /noob off. Here is a link to the plugin: Noob Protect
(Keep in mind, the only way players may die is by falling into void or /kill with this plugin)
and have an economy plugin, you could use this plugin. This plugin pays
players for daily logins, and by the hour or minute, this plugin is
also really easy to configure. Here is a link to Time is Money
There are many other plugins you can use to make the server more newplayer
friendly, if you have any, please comment down below! I am open to more
ideas.
Core Plugins For Your Minecraft Server
There are thousands of different plugins you can use for your server, dozens
and dozens of admin plugins, hundreds of add-on plugins, but only a
select few of all these plugins are essential for your server to be
successful. Speaking of "Essentials", one of the first plugins you
should worry about is:
Essentials:
Essentials is a super complex plugin that gives your server over 100 different
commands to spice things up on your server, it is also required to run
many different types of plugins for different types of servers. You may
download Essentials builds here.
Vault:
Vault is another really important plugin to use, Vault is an Economy,
Permissions and Chat API. Many plugins require you to have this
installed to your server, there is no config, meaning easy download and
installs to your server with no problems, just make sure you're getting
the right versions! You can download Vault here
WorldGuard
If you are planning on making a more vanilla type server where players can
do anything anywhere, this plugin wont help you, but please keep in
mind, players who join servers want something interesting. Worldguard
allows server admins to protect land from regular members of the server
from breaking, or placing, or even switching. You can deny exiting a
place, or deny entering a place without certain permissions. You can
download this plugin here
CoreProtect:
Coreprotect is a simple block logging plugin, this plugin logs block
activity/interactions. Say "Steve" Breaks a block and steals some pork
out of "Eaves" chest. Eave will make a ticket for a grief report. The
staff member "Notch" will go to the location of the grief and type /co
i, from there Notch will right click blocks to check the block logs, and
chest logs. Steve is found guilty because CoreProtect was keeping logs
of those blocks disturbed by Steve. Anyway you can download this plugin
from here
User Opinions:
The Beginning
That's right, I'm a server owner, running a server can be easy, or it can be
hard! If it's easy than your not doing it right, there are always
hundreds of more ways to improve your minecraft server. And not even I
know many of them at all. I started my server with a simple 2GB RAM
which can be real important when you want lots of players to have more
ram, which is why I upgraded to 4.5GB Ram with cubichost.
What Makes a Server Fun
What makes servers fun?
What may strike you and I as fun, could be different to each individual who
plays on your server, It is you who determines how long a member will
stay, A lot of server are just lucky, they get the right members at the
right times, the right personalities, some aren't so lucky, and that is
when it becomes difficult to grow your playerbase. This is why you need a
good common ground, something that most everyone likes! If you are
running a Minigames only server make sure to have just one minigame so
players can actually play with each other(for brand new servers). If
you're running factions, make sure you have good starter kits, If you
are running towny, Decent starter kits such as: Wood, Wooden Tools,
Animals, Wheat(Any PVE Element), And perhaps offer to help start off the
first few towns. People join servers to play with other people, Just
keep that in mind.
How to keep players?
What works really well is when you give your members something to do,
something to achieve. Perhaps an auto ranking system. Playtime
determining when you rank up in game, that will keep your member there
longer. There are many variations of ranks that would spark the players
interest.
What are best times to bump on PMC?
Best times To bump on Planet Minecraft?
Many server owners think the best times to bump on pmc
is when kids not currently in school, or are home from school, This is
partially true, but there is more you have to look at and think about.
PMC has a wonderful feature where it tells us how many players are
currently online browsing the site, take that to your advantage, find
the busiest time and bump that server!
What traits to look for in staff.
This could be the hardest part of any new starting server. Staff is real
important, you can't run a server on your own unless you plan on getting
no sleep. Servers have many time zones, you're not gonna stay up
forever. Take a break!Here are some useful traits that I tend to use on my server:
- Mature
- Open Minded ( Can get inside the head of a player, view from different perspectives)
- Has a good overall moral
- Friendly
- Good judgment
- [Editors note: I myself Use these to help my server!]
Best Minecraft plugins for your server
The following plugins are some plugins I found really useful on my own server, Which is currently turning out to be real successful:
- RewardPro:
plugin allows you to reward your players in many different ways for
many different reason. It currently supports all versions of Minecraft
1.8 and up. here is a link to the plugin page on spigot: RewardPro
- Noob Protect:
Protect is a simple and non-configurable but useful plugin. It protects
any returning players for 5 minutes on rejoin, and protects any ne to
the server players for 24 hrs on join, and it can simple be canceled
using the command /noob off. Here is a link to the plugin: Noob Protect
(Keep in mind, the only way players may die is by falling into void or /kill with this plugin)
- Time Is Money:
and have an economy plugin, you could use this plugin. This plugin pays
players for daily logins, and by the hour or minute, this plugin is
also really easy to configure. Here is a link to Time is Money
There are many other plugins you can use to make the server more newplayer
friendly, if you have any, please comment down below! I am open to more
ideas.
Core Plugins For Your Minecraft Server
There are thousands of different plugins you can use for your server, dozens
and dozens of admin plugins, hundreds of add-on plugins, but only a
select few of all these plugins are essential for your server to be
successful. Speaking of "Essentials", one of the first plugins you
should worry about is:
Essentials:
Essentials is a super complex plugin that gives your server over 100 different
commands to spice things up on your server, it is also required to run
many different types of plugins for different types of servers. You may
download Essentials builds here.
Vault:
Vault is another really important plugin to use, Vault is an Economy,
Permissions and Chat API. Many plugins require you to have this
installed to your server, there is no config, meaning easy download and
installs to your server with no problems, just make sure you're getting
the right versions! You can download Vault here
WorldGuard
If you are planning on making a more vanilla type server where players can
do anything anywhere, this plugin wont help you, but please keep in
mind, players who join servers want something interesting. Worldguard
allows server admins to protect land from regular members of the server
from breaking, or placing, or even switching. You can deny exiting a
place, or deny entering a place without certain permissions. You can
download this plugin here
CoreProtect:
Coreprotect is a simple block logging plugin, this plugin logs block
activity/interactions. Say "Steve" Breaks a block and steals some pork
out of "Eaves" chest. Eave will make a ticket for a grief report. The
staff member "Notch" will go to the location of the grief and type /co
i, from there Notch will right click blocks to check the block logs, and
chest logs. Steve is found guilty because CoreProtect was keeping logs
of those blocks disturbed by Steve. Anyway you can download this plugin
from here
User Opinions:
I think that this guide is useful to new server owners interested in
growing their playerbase. Even if they don't necessarily agree with all
of the ideas, it's always good to understand another's experience and
possible ways to solve similar problems. Since you're interested in
feedback, I'll elaborate on why I like your post:
redrum64 said:
↑
This plugin pays
players for daily logins, and by the hour or minute, this plugin is also
really easy to configure. Here is a link to Time is Money
In my opinion, rewarding players for their time spent on the
server is more of an added bonus. Accumulating money or valuable items
by playing isn't enough to actually hook in new players if they find the
game boring, but it might encourage already active players to stay on
the server when other members aren't online. The real value of this
plugin, in my opinion, is the possibility for daily login rewards that
can act as a substitute for voting. While voting can help promote a
server, only a couple of votes doesn't do much. New players who join
are likely to have joined other servers and tested out the voting
rewards already. They have used all of their votes on the main voting
sites and simply cannot vote for the server to receive the voting
rewards that are no doubt very valuable when starting out. Having a
daily login reward enables players searching for new servers to have a
great start on your server, and in the long run, the daily login reward
might just snag some players who regularly vote for another server.
redrum64 said:
↑
If you are running
a Minigames only server make sure to have just one minigame so players
can actually play with each other(for brand new servers).
I agree with starting out small as long as players have hope for
expansion in the (near) future. Hub servers attract players because they
reach a wider variety of interests, but yes, they spread out players
and reduce community interaction. Starting small enough for a few new
players to interact is essential to minigames servers that rely on there
being enough players to actually start the game. While other gamemodes
can also benefit from a sense of community, I think other gamemodes
should strive to be unique enough and have enough individual content to
interest players who join alone.
redrum64 said:
↑
If you're running
factions, make sure you have good starter kits, If you are running
towny, Decent starter kits such as: Wood, Wooden Tools, Animals,
Wheat(Any PVE Element)
I personally don't like having many starter kits, but I recognize
their importance. I prefer having a more challenging game where I have
to make my own tools, but this can be difficult for players joining a
fairly empty server. Without regulars around to answer questions and
help new players start out, kits can make a great start on the server a
lot easier. These kits also bring me to a point about donator ranks.
When I look at potential servers to join, some of the first things I
look at are the ranks. Many large servers have ranks priced upwards of
$100 USD. Such large scale donations are appealing, but having expensive
ranks is not the way to go when starting out. If players join your
server just to try it, they're not going to want to invest a lot of
money in it. Therefore, it's more effective to entice players with small
packages that make them stand out than with large packages containing
loads of items that make the game easier and make a lonely server
ultimately less difficult/entertaining.
redrum64 said:
↑
The most important
part of a server is its Staff and "Spawn Structures", basically what
catches the eye. Put yourself in the position of the player, What would
you want to see, how would you want to play the game. Always put your
members ahead of the fun parts of being an owner(hard work pays of).
Almost always when I join a server I see the owner simply sitting
in-game. I understand that after you go through so much set up and
testing the game might not be all that appealing to play, but I think
that actually playing on the server (mostly) legitly is a way to
encourage other players to play. Also, giving staff ranks only the
permissions they need to do their job might send people who simply join
and ask for staff away, but eventually it will lead to only players who
really want to help others applying for the positions. Staff members will also have to play fairly, which encourages them to remain active and progress (who wants to play towny, skyblock, etc when you have creative and don't work for resources?).
I like your server, and it was nice getting to interact with you in-game.
- Naarcissus
growing their playerbase. Even if they don't necessarily agree with all
of the ideas, it's always good to understand another's experience and
possible ways to solve similar problems. Since you're interested in
feedback, I'll elaborate on why I like your post:
redrum64 said:
↑
This plugin pays
players for daily logins, and by the hour or minute, this plugin is also
really easy to configure. Here is a link to Time is Money
In my opinion, rewarding players for their time spent on the
server is more of an added bonus. Accumulating money or valuable items
by playing isn't enough to actually hook in new players if they find the
game boring, but it might encourage already active players to stay on
the server when other members aren't online. The real value of this
plugin, in my opinion, is the possibility for daily login rewards that
can act as a substitute for voting. While voting can help promote a
server, only a couple of votes doesn't do much. New players who join
are likely to have joined other servers and tested out the voting
rewards already. They have used all of their votes on the main voting
sites and simply cannot vote for the server to receive the voting
rewards that are no doubt very valuable when starting out. Having a
daily login reward enables players searching for new servers to have a
great start on your server, and in the long run, the daily login reward
might just snag some players who regularly vote for another server.
redrum64 said:
↑
If you are running
a Minigames only server make sure to have just one minigame so players
can actually play with each other(for brand new servers).
I agree with starting out small as long as players have hope for
expansion in the (near) future. Hub servers attract players because they
reach a wider variety of interests, but yes, they spread out players
and reduce community interaction. Starting small enough for a few new
players to interact is essential to minigames servers that rely on there
being enough players to actually start the game. While other gamemodes
can also benefit from a sense of community, I think other gamemodes
should strive to be unique enough and have enough individual content to
interest players who join alone.
redrum64 said:
↑
If you're running
factions, make sure you have good starter kits, If you are running
towny, Decent starter kits such as: Wood, Wooden Tools, Animals,
Wheat(Any PVE Element)
I personally don't like having many starter kits, but I recognize
their importance. I prefer having a more challenging game where I have
to make my own tools, but this can be difficult for players joining a
fairly empty server. Without regulars around to answer questions and
help new players start out, kits can make a great start on the server a
lot easier. These kits also bring me to a point about donator ranks.
When I look at potential servers to join, some of the first things I
look at are the ranks. Many large servers have ranks priced upwards of
$100 USD. Such large scale donations are appealing, but having expensive
ranks is not the way to go when starting out. If players join your
server just to try it, they're not going to want to invest a lot of
money in it. Therefore, it's more effective to entice players with small
packages that make them stand out than with large packages containing
loads of items that make the game easier and make a lonely server
ultimately less difficult/entertaining.
redrum64 said:
↑
The most important
part of a server is its Staff and "Spawn Structures", basically what
catches the eye. Put yourself in the position of the player, What would
you want to see, how would you want to play the game. Always put your
members ahead of the fun parts of being an owner(hard work pays of).
Almost always when I join a server I see the owner simply sitting
in-game. I understand that after you go through so much set up and
testing the game might not be all that appealing to play, but I think
that actually playing on the server (mostly) legitly is a way to
encourage other players to play. Also, giving staff ranks only the
permissions they need to do their job might send people who simply join
and ask for staff away, but eventually it will lead to only players who
really want to help others applying for the positions. Staff members will also have to play fairly, which encourages them to remain active and progress (who wants to play towny, skyblock, etc when you have creative and don't work for resources?).
I like your server, and it was nice getting to interact with you in-game.
- Naarcissus
> Core plugins. There are people who have no idea about Essentials,
Coreprotect, Worldguard and other useful plugins to have. What you
suggest is good for gameplay, but perhaps not optimal when it comes to
actual setup of the server - the formation of the server's core. Making a
note of the permissions plugin options would be helpful as well.
>
A note on what kind of hosting you prefer. Specific sites are not
allowed, but even a look at the pros and cons of home vs online hosting
may be useful.
> Technical babble. Basics for plugin
installation, initial setup, a note on permissions, setup resources if
you advise a permissions plugin (such as the extensive documentation
available for PEX) and so on.
All in all, quite good. If this
expands, it would save me the trouble of making a general concept guide,
and allow me to dig into specific elements of servers while being able
to just point here for a general overview.
Coreprotect, Worldguard and other useful plugins to have. What you
suggest is good for gameplay, but perhaps not optimal when it comes to
actual setup of the server - the formation of the server's core. Making a
note of the permissions plugin options would be helpful as well.
>
A note on what kind of hosting you prefer. Specific sites are not
allowed, but even a look at the pros and cons of home vs online hosting
may be useful.
> Technical babble. Basics for plugin
installation, initial setup, a note on permissions, setup resources if
you advise a permissions plugin (such as the extensive documentation
available for PEX) and so on.
All in all, quite good. If this
expands, it would save me the trouble of making a general concept guide,
and allow me to dig into specific elements of servers while being able
to just point here for a general overview.
