First, who are you?

This post is a public page about a private Minecraft Server, sounds a bit odd, right?

The information below provides detail on the things I’ve set up, for portfolio / record purposes. If you’re not somebody in the server, then this page will mostly be useless for you, unless you’re just interested about the way I run things.

I’m your friend / part of the server

Welcome! Keep reading if you want to know how to get the most out of the server.

If you’d like to bring a +1, feel free, ask me to add them.

For me to whitelist you, I need to know your username, and related platform(s). You can join on 2–3 accounts if you want, I don’t mind.

I’m someone else

Well, feel free to have a read about how I run things. Not really much else for you to do. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you’d like to join, and you happen to be friends with me or someone in the server, feel free to ask me/them. There’s a decent chance I whitelist you.

The basics

Server IP: mc.benb.au

Map: https://mc.benb.au/

Version:

You can join on any version from the last 9 years (Server is running 1.20.1)
1.20.x recommended

Platforms:

Java Edition (PC, Mac, Linux) - RECOMMENDED
Bedrock Edition (Windows 10, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, iOS, Android)

Rules

I’m going to keep this simple.

Don’t be a dick.
Don’t steal / destroy / mess up other people’s stuff.
- If you’re going to harvest and replant someone’s farm because you need resources, that’s chill - common sense applies.
Avoid building too close to others - give people space to expand their own bases
Don’t use cheats (See: Edge cases)
Most exploits found in the base game are allowed, except overpowered duplications and gameplay-disrupting bugs.

Mods and Plugins

Mods

Gameplay changing mods are optional, but Simple Voice Chat is highly recommended, along with performance enhancing mods.

For a number of reasons, I do not recommended using Forge and Optifine. Using Fabric / Quilt with the following mods is my suggested alternative:

Sodium
Entity Culling
Dynamic FPS
ImmediatelyFast
Iris Shaders
LambDynamicLights
Zoomify (Optifine Zoom, but better)

While it looks like more work to get things going, I truly believe that this will lead to a better overall experience, especially if you want to add more mods later on.

I will be releasing my personal mod pack soon.

Edge cases / “cheats”

For the most part, do not cheat. Some mods are considered cheats on some servers while on others they’re considered legit, so read on if you’re considering using something “a bit cheaty”

However, there are a few exceptions to this rule:

Gamma / Brightness Mods: While I disagree with cranking your gamma all the way, if you want to boost your brightness to 500-600% using mods, I totally understand.
Freecam: I’m not a fan of this one, but I’m not going to strictly stop you from using it. If you’re using it for debugging Redstone or something, that’s fine. If you’re using it to find diamonds, that’s not fine. Common sense applies here
Macros / Automation: If you’re using a simple macro to AFK, that’s fine, but do not set up large macros to automate complex tasks.

Pro tip: Sometimes it’s easier to put a weight on your mouse, rather than setting up a macro. I personally use a Rubik’s cube if I’m mining, and a macro if I’m clicking every few seconds.

Plugins

The server is running on Paper, which allows me to add various plugins. Most of them are “behind the scenes” stuff, but a few will be very noticeable.

Anything in <Angled Brackets> is a placeholder, replace it with the appropriate value. For example,

/withdraw <amount>

could be used like this:

/withdraw 100

Money

While playing, you’ll notice that certain actions drop coins. Picking them up will increase your balance. Dying will cause you to lose money, so be careful!

Command	Use
`/bal`	View your balance
`/baltop`	Lists the server’s richest players
`/withdraw <amount>`	Turns a given `amount` of money into coins that you can throw to other players, or store securely.

Teleportation

Having any sort of teleporting ability is overpowered in my opinion, but it has its uses when you have friends. At the moment, any teleport function will cost $100. Here are some of the commands:

Command	Use
`/tpa <player>`	Sends a teleport request to `<player>`
`/tpahere`	Requests `<player>` to teleport to you.
`/sethome`	Sets your home
`/home`	Teleports home

Treefeller

Cutting a tree with an axe will lead to the entire tree getting destroyed. Hold down while cutting the tree to prevent this temporarily, or /treefeller <off/on> to toggle it.

Chairs!

Right-click on a stair with your first to sit on it. It’s that easy, and looks pretty neat. You can now add furniture into your houses!

Other

Commands just as /msg <player> and /reply (shortened to /r) are available. Feel free to use them for simple private messaging.

Technical Details

This section is quite minimal for now

There is a world border +- 20,000 blocks from spawn. This should be more than enough for everyone to have somewhere to build and explore. The world has been completely pre-generated to ensure a smooth gameplay experience (and a massive file for me to deal with).

The server is also running in a proxy-based setup, which allows me to run multiple servers on the same IP. This means that I can boot you off to other environments if I wish to. If you’re a content creator who needs an Aussie server for an event, I can organise something for you.

Closing Thoughts

That’s it for now. I hope you enjoy playing on the server, and if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

I’m aware that there’s a solid chance that it totally dies within a few weeks, but I’m happy that I at least got to learn a lot while creating it.