Hey, I'm trying to setup a minecraft server, and exactly 0 tutorials have been helpful. PLEASE HELP THANK YOU. XD
Depends on how many people you want to play with. I play with maybe five other people at the most, just a small group of friends, and I use Hamachi. So while I can't tell you how to set up a large, dedicated server for many people at once, I can tell you how to set up a little one for you and your friends:
First off, you and your friends will need Hamachi so you can all be in a Hamachi network together (I think there's several programs but LogMeIn Hamachi is easiest), and you (or whoever wants to run the server) will need the Minecraft server software (found on the
downloads page- give it its own folder when you download it so you can find its associated files easier).
Next you'll want to make a Hamachi network. If you're using LogMeIn, it's just
Network > Create a new network. Give it a name and a password, give them to your friends, and they would go to
Network > Join an existing network and use the information you gave them.
Now, you run Minecraft_Server.exe. It should crate a world and several files within the folder you put Minecraft_Server.exe in. Two of the files are called "server", but you need to open the one which is the file type PROPERTIES. Your computer should ask you what program you want to open it with. Use Notepad, and you should see a list of items that end with "true" and "false", along with
server-IP and
server-port. Change "online-mode" from true to false so that it reads
online-mode=false. For
server-ip, input the large number next to the power button on LogMeIn Hamachi. For
server-port... I put 25565 but I don't really remember how I came to that number, but I think it was important. Make sure you tell it to "save" and
not to "save as" once you're done changing those properties.
You can mess with the other true and false as you like, it's pretty self-explanatory as to what they do. I personally have
pvp turned off so when there's a lot of mining confusion in tight spaces we don't end up hurting eachother. Turning
hellworld to true on puts you in the Nether until it's turned back to false and the server reset- pretty sure portals still don't work even when it's true so you wouldn't be able to leave even if you /give yourself obsidian and a flint and steel to create one.
Now you guys open up Minecraft, go to Multiplayer, and use the IP that Hamachi gave you and that you put into the PROPERTIES file as the server-ip. And it should work. :3
This is probably a way complicated way to do it but I don't think it requires port forwarding (I didn't have to, but maybe that's because I'd already done that a long time ago and forgot), and you'd know that only those people can get on.