Updates
The last time I covered RLCraft was 2019. The RLCraft project last recieved an update in June 2023, and this is the updated guide for the latest version 2.9.3+!
Downloading RLCraft Server files
The download is super simple, head across to the RLCraft CurseForge page and scroll down looking at the sidebar. You should see Recent Files scroll by, and shortly after Minecraft 1.12 Server Packs. Right under that, click the top option to download the latest server .zip.
Downloading Forge
The server pack does NOT include an installer for Forge, which is the .jar file we’re missing.
Check the .zip’s filename for the Minecraft version. Currently mine says RLCraft Server Pack 1.12.2 - So this is the version of Forge we need to download.
Had to the Forge website, expand 1.12 and choose 1.12.2 or click here. Choose Installer under the Latest version.
After the download finishes, double-click the .jar file and it should open the Forge Installer. If it does not: make sure you have Java installed. Head to Adoptium Java 8, choose JRE and then .MSI to download the installer for the latest version of Java 8. After the install completes you should be able to open the .jar file.
Installing Forge
With the Forge Installer open: Choose Install server and click the ... button to select a folder.
Head to the server’s folder and click OK. In my case: Desktop then RLCraft Server. Then hit Install.
Now you should see something along the lines of forge-1.12.2-14.23.5.2864.jar in your server’s folder. Rename this file to just forge.jar. If you don’t see .jar, then make sure File Extensions and Hidden Items are checked under View on the top bar of your file explorer.
Server start.bat
Either create a new start.bat file by renaming a new Text Document (removing .txt), and paste in the following, or choose the Download button to get a pre-configured file:
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Set Xms as the amount of RAM you want to give your server on start, and Xmx to the max amount of RAM the server can use. Remember to leave some for Windows, your browser and your game (if you’re playing on the same computer)!
Inital setup run
Run start.bat to generate files. If you see A problem occurred running the Server launcher.java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException then you likely have a newer version of Java installed that does not work with Minecraft Forge 1.12.
Open start.bat and replace java.exe with C:\Java\Location\java.exe - Where the folder path correctly points to your Java 8 installation. In my case with Adoptium Java 8 it’s located in: C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium followed by jdk-8.0.442.6-hotspot, but your version could be different, bin and finally java.exe is in there. Make sure to surround the entire file path with double quotes - ".
In my case I would adjust the line to look as follows:
"C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\jdk-8.0.442.6-hotspot\bin\java.exe" -Xms4G -Xmx6G -jar forge.jar nogui
Now, running this again works and it generates files.
Accepting EULA
After the first launch you see: You need to agree to the EULA in order to run the server. Go to eula.txt for more info.
Press any key to continue, open eula.txt in the same folder and change false to true.
Configuring
Now, you should see a file similar to FOR SERVERS ONLY - SET THESE IN SERVER.PROPERTIES.txt in the folder. Open it and follow the instructions. For the version I have we need to edit server.properties first.
Open that with Notepad or another plain text editor.
I need to make sure that 4 options are set as follows, which for me they were already. If not, change yours as needed and save.
allow-flight=true
difficulty=3
max-tick-time=-1
enable-command-block=true
Running your server
At this point running start.bat will get your server up to play. Right now you can connect with your RLCraft installation by connecting to either localhost or 127.0.0.1 in the Multiplayer menu. Simple as that!
Remember to type op <your username> in the server console to give yourself permission to run /gamemode and other commands as a server admin if you wish to do so! This is NOT required, as you might be looking for a more hardcore experience.
Letting other people connect
The first thing is the firewall. The Windows Firewall, and antivirus software with firewalls or third-party filewalls that listen to the Windows Firewall rules are easy – Others may need a more in-depth Google session to solve.
Usually you’ll open Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security, but no more! Here are some simple commands to save you LOTS of clicks.
Open PowerShell as admin by searching for it in your start bar, or open the Terminal as admin, if you have that installed, and then make sure PowerShell appears as the top - otherwise select it from the dropdown.
Now, run the following commands to allow traffic for port 25565 through to your computer:
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If you ever wish to remove your Firewall rules for this, run the command: Remove-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Minecraft Server"
Now, people on your local network can connect (the same router as you)
For people outside of that, things get a little more advanced
Port Forwarding
This is an often scary sounding topic, but it shouldn’t be.
Simply put: When someone asks for a connection to port 25565 at your internet router’s IP address, they expect to be sent to your computer, but are instead rejected as the router has strong security rules. We need to tell the router that “it’s okay” and “send the traffic to this computer instead”.
That computer may either be your computer, or another router/s between you and the internet access router.
The first step is finding your local IP address. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run the command ipconfig. Find the way that you’re connected to the internet through, for example Ethernet or Wi-Fi and look for the IPv4 address. Copy this and keep it in mind. It should be something along the lines of 192.168.x.x.
Head to your routers config page or admin page that you’re connected to. This needs to be the first router after your computer on the way to the internet. If you’re connected straight to a fiber box or something of the sorts then it’s easier and you only have to do this once.
Log in with your administrator credentials. There are often defaults set, and there are far too many brands to cover… So this is up to you.
Heading to the Port Forwarding section, or Application Forwarding section and creating a new application should let you type in ports as well as where to send them to.
You’ll enter port 25565 as well as your local IP address, and select UDP to allow traffic to your computer.
Multiple routers lead to confusion as the furthest router needs to point to the next router, all the way to your computer. When I say ‘furthest’ I mean the one connected to the internet, and ‘closer’ as in the ones in-between you and the internet router connected via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable in order. This can be a lengthy process with an advanced network setup.
This guide has a simplified explanation of how to port forward:
You can start from 3:30 as we’ve already covered the firewall!
Otherwise, if you have a multi-router network, this guide is for you as well:
Saving and exiting
Because your server runs on your own hardware: It’s free - other than what you paid for your computer hardware, electricity and internet. There are no hosting fees or anything of the kind! The server is free to run for you and your friends – as many as you want to join! You could have hundreds connected to your server assuming your internet and computer are powerful enough.
When everyone’s done having fun and you want to save and close your server, run the following in the server’s console:
save-all
stop
The first command saves everything, and the second brings the server to a gentle stop allowing it time to prepare and save things on it’s way to a safe exit.
Abruptly exiting your server could cause corruption, data loss and worse! It’s always a good idea to run stop, even if you forget to run save-all.
It may not be necessary to run the save command, but I like to make absolutely sure that our progress is saved before stopping and exiting a server.
OPTIONAL: Pre-gen Chunks
As suggested in the included info file: You can pre-generate chunks to make navigating the world smoother for everyone. Doing so will cause your CPU usage to spike temporarily while the world generates and everything will slow down a little while it generates, so it’s a good idea to leave this running over night! You can do this at any time.
Run the following commands as suggested:
/pregen utils setPriority pregenerator
/pregen timepertick 250
/pregen gen startradius square 0 0 b10000
Then save the world, and restart your server.
You can set it to automatically pause it if a player joins using /pregen utils setPlayerLimit 1
Updating 2.9 or 2.9.1c to 2.9.2
If you’re updating your server and bringing a world across, make sure you run the following commands to get things updated:
/bq_admin default load
/bqs_loot default load
Keep in mind to read the rest of the info text files included as there is more info for those using Spongeforge and OpenJ9.
For longer running servers
As recommended: If your server has a lot of players and runs for months at a time, find and delete Village.dat periodically when it starts getting large as this can cause lag spikes! Do so while the server is saved and turned off.
Have fun
That’s it for setting up your server.
Everything from here out is on you and whoever you want playing on the server.
