Since my time as a Minecraft community developer and owner, I’ve come across a number of resources that I think anyone wishing to start a Minecraft server should be aware of, if they are not already aware of them. Existing server owners may find this information useful too.
The list of resources I recommend are listed below:
- Paper Minecraft Server
- World Edit
- Fast Async World Edit
- Dynmap
- NuVotifier
Paper Minecraft Server
Paper is a fork of the popular Spigot Minecraft Server, including more performance fixes and features than Spigot provides. Designed as a drop-in replacement for Spigot, Bukkit plugins are also supported. You can read the documentation for Paper here.
World Edit
World Edit is the go-to plugin for world manipulation. Whether you are working with exact coordinates, rotating a build or copying a structure from a different world or even server, world edit is for you. It is a tried and true plugin for those wishing to use an aid for building structures and manipulating them. You can read more about it here.
Fast Async World Edit
Fast Async World Edit (FAWE) is an extension to World Edit that greatly improves performance when placing blocks and adds other features as well. It increases performance by hooking World Edit, converting block operations from synchronous to asynchronous. There are also a number of modes for placing blocks that can be used. This plugin is absolutely essential if you use World Edit. You can read more about it here.
Dynmap
Dynmap provides map functionality for your Minecraft worlds. Using technology similar to Google Maps, you can see your whole world and navigate around it. Providing features such as live player positions, web chat and map markers, this is an excellent plugin for showcasing your worlds. You can view the plugin page here.
NuVotifier
A fork of the popular Minecraft plugin Votifier, NuVotifier is a plugin that allows players to get notified when a vote is made for their Minecraft server. It is also compatible with Votifier so a drop-in replacement is possible. To read more about it, click here.
NOTE (9-22-2018): As of Minecraft 1.13, Fast Async World Edit is now built on top of World Edit. You no longer need to use World Edit alongside if you use Minecraft 1.13+.