Multiplayer

Multiplayer is the server-based version of the game that, as the name would suggest, enables more than one player to interact with each other in a single world. Players can join with others to create structures, mine and fight with each other.

Users can download and run the server package that allows other players to connect to and play on their server. Future versions will have multiple game modes, although the current version supports both Creative and Survival. It should be noted that game modes are individually attributed to each player meaning some can be in creative and some in survival mode. Players can also be promoted to op (system operator) status by the server admin or other ops, which grants them access to server commands such as setting the time of day and teleporting players around.



Currently, Minecraft does not have an offical pre-populated survival server list available, but there is a server list for Minecraft Classic, and the wiki's sidebar has a link to it. However, third-party server lists are available.

An option available for players who do not wish to port forward is set up their server on a local network (using the local IP address as opposed to a global IP address presented by the server's router). A local server usually does not require port forwarding.

Variations of servers
Servers can be classified into a server type, there are a multitude of server types available:


 * SMP (Survival Multiplayer) the standard server type and when creating a server, will by default, become SMP.
 * CMP (Creative Multiplayer) servers can often be mistaken for free build.
 * HMP (Hardcore Multiplayer) now available since 12w08a and up. Players are permanently kicked from the server once they die.
 * There are also servers dedicated to provide their own purpose that do not fit under standard server types.

Some servers use mods ("modifications") to add custom items, crafting recipes, and more that are dedicated to enhancing the vanilla Minecraft multiplayer experience.

Chat


In multiplayer, players can press to chat to others or enter commands. Commands are identified by the server with the use of a forward slash (/) at the beginning of the message. Chat functions include:


 * Chat history - Mouse wheel can be used to scroll up/down for history. and  keys can also be used.
 * Clickable links in chat.
 * Up/down keys for recently sent messages.
 * If you start typing a player's name, and press, it'll automatically type the rest of the username for you, so long as the player is currently logged on.
 * Copy & paste in chat. ( is for paste and is to copy.  will select text for you.)
 * The section symbol, §, allows players to change the style of the text.
 * Just like typing §k in chat displays random characters, §l §m §n and §o creates bold, striked, underlined and italic text respectively, while §r resets any set states. These (the section symbol: §) cannot be typed in vanilla clients because they are restricted from being typed. If § is pasted and posted in chat, the player who sent it will be automatically kicked from the server with an "Illegal characters in chat" message, and an disconnect.endOfStream error server-side.
 * Pressing the '/' acts like a command key: it opens the chat with a '/' in it. In other keyboard layouts, it might be another key.

Third-party server lists
Due to the non-existence of an official server list, different source sites offer lists for different multiplayer servers. A collection of such sites is on the Server list page.

The Minecraft site also contains a server list for Classic servers. However, a Server List in the multiplayer join screen was introduced in Beta 1.8. This does not have a full server list, however, it does save servers, ping them, and can tell you the number of players online and the maximum players online.

Local area network
A LAN game is only accessible to other people in your local network (e.g just the people also connected to your router/switch are able to connect to you)

To open your current single player world for other players in your LAN, type the command "/publish" into the chat (note that this is still very restricted, e.g. as of 12w25a you can't adjust the game options using the commandline) or access the Game Menu and click on the "Open to LAN" button. There you can select the gamemode for other players and whether they should be allowed to use Cheats. Both of these methods give you an IP for use, for example: "Local game hosted on hostname:12345".

Now other players can either connect to your game using the link minecraft provided you or they can connect using the multiplayer menu with its new "Scanning for LAN-Worlds" section at the bottom.

On the technical side a minecraft client with a opened LAN game sends a UDP multicast to the local address 224.0.2.60::4445 every 1.5 seconds. Other clients then listen for this multicast to show your game in their multiplayer menu.

Technical notes
In Classic, the server saves the level to the server_level.dat file every minute, or by issuing the /save-all command. In the full game, the server saves the level in the "world" folder every 30 seconds if chunks have been modified, by default.

Home-made servers do not strictly require access to minecraft.net, and so can be played on an isolated local network with no Internet connection. They use minecraft.net as a repository of player skins and also a database containing a list of accounts, preventing hackers and griefers from using false names while on such a server. This and other settings are modified by editing the server.properties text file.

History

 * Multiplayer was officially released on the 8th of June 2009 for Classic, after many beta trials.


 * SMP (Survival Multiplayer) is released on August 4, 2010.


 * November 10, 2010 (Alpha 1.2.2) - Vehicles are now functional.


 * November 24, 2010 (Alpha 1.2.3) - Health and Damage are now functional.


 * November 30, 2010 (Alpha 1.2.4) - Other players are shown as sneaking when they are sneaking.


 * December 3, 2010 (Alpha 1.2.6) - The /kill command was added to multiplayer.


 * December 20, 2010 (Beta 1.0) - Inventory is now server-sided (fixes disappearing items and duplication glitches).


 * January 13, 2011 (Beta 1.2) - Worn armor is now visible on other players. Paintings work.


 * February 22, 2011 (Beta 1.3) - Players standing on fences no longer get stuck.


 * March 31, 2011 (Beta 1.4) - "Ghost" client-sided slimes no longer spawn.


 * April 19, 2011 (Beta 1.5) - Wolves no longer constantly whimper when they have full health.


 * May 26, 2011 (Beta 1.6) - Huge bugfix update. The Nether works in multiplayer, dispensers now emit smoke and play sounds when used, fixed fake client-sided music discs spawned when ejecting them from a jukebox...


 * July 8, 2011 (Beta 1.7.3) - Modded clients may no longer edit text of placed signs.


 * September 14, 2011 (Beta 1.8) - Ghast attack sounds were fixed.


 * January 12, 2012 (1.1) - It was made possible to enter colored text in multiplayer's chat.


 * March 1, 2012 (1.2.1) - It is no longer possible to enter colored text in multiplayer's chat with the vanilla client. Monster Spawners now show the correct mob inside them. Mob hitboxes were fixed (it is now possible to hit their legs).


 * March 22, 2012 (1.2.4) - Chat was greatly improved. There is now a chat history, it is now possible to complete usernames using the key, and it is now possible to copy-paste. Many multiplayer bugs were also fixed, such as ghost TNT.


 * Some of the later snapshots of 1.3 have each singleplayer world run a multiplayer server, similar to pocket edition.


 * June 7, 2012 (12w23a) - Players can now see the cracking effect when other players mine blocks.


 * LAN is a feature added in snapshot 12w24a.

Bugs

 * Multiplayer is unpolished and contains many bugs, most of them being graphical or sound-related (like some sounds not playing, or the inability to hit mobs in some cases).
 * Many events of the game are affected by bad multiplayer latency (often called "lag"), with effects such as resulting in mobs hitting you more easily than in singleplayer.
 * Livestock including pigs, sheep, cows, and chicken seem to jump on and off of fences making noises as if they were taking fall-damage.
 * Sometimes your skin changes back to default skin. This often happens when leaving/entering The Nether or The End, or when teleporting.
 * Enderman will sometimes not stare at you when you stare at them.
 * In multiplayer, players sometimes glitch through a block or may seem as if they were hovering over a block.

Trivia

 * In multiplayer, one is able to change the gamemode (either Survival or Creative) by simply using a command; however, one needs operator status to do so. (Try /gamemode 1/0 (1 is creative, 0 is survival)).
 * When changing the game mode from survival to creative, your normal inventory is preserved and replaced by the creative items/blocks; when you change your game mode back to survival your normal inventory will be restored.