What is the Minecraft online experience like these days? I only ever hear about people playing self hosted servers with friends. Are there still big servers with unique game modes kicking? Seems like it would be hard to keep sustainable
I've been running my own (not-for-profit, for people over the age of 21) server for the past 5 years.
We're basically just a Vanilla+ server, we have no problems finding new people to join (thanks to /r/MinecraftBuddies)
My kids love Minecraft. They often run a curseforge mod (create?) and then open a port so they can play together inside the home LAN.
But, I don't really understand how this works, and I would love to host it in a way that their cousins in another state could join. Do you know how I research this?
I get a bit confused between the curseforge mods, the java edition. Should I start by downloading a JAR of the server and host it on a cloud server somewhere, and then firewall it off to only permit my NAT IP and the cousin's NAT IPs? At some point maybe I can run it all within a wireguard/tailscale network.
How do I get started in my reading? I'm worried I'll get overwhelmed by reading /r/MinecraftBuddies, but perhaps that is a better place to ask?
First off, it's generally a good idea not to port-forward your own home router outside of defaults (Even if it's just 25565; I created a nightmare scenario for the ISP guy back at my parent's house when I was around 13 doing this).
If they're interested in learning the nitty-gritty on cloud computing and hosting (they probably do if they're already learning Curseforge), then get them into the AWS method. If you want something one-and-done, opt for Minehut.
