The More RAM You Give It

There are three ways to play multiplayer Minecraft: Java Edition, which is free. - You have three options: join a public Minecraft server, create your own or buy a Minecraft Realm. - If your friends are on the same network, you can set up a LAN Minecraft server for local multiplayer.

Minecraft is a simple, yet infinite game. There are millions of players so it's easy for you to find other Minecraft players. It's not always easy to play multiplayer with friends.

How you play multiplayer Minecraft will vary depending on whether you have the newer, console-friendly Bedrock edition, or the classic Java edition. Whichever edition you have, you can only play with friends who have the same version.

Java is the most popular version. There are many ways to play with your friends.

Hosting a multiplayer Minecraft server shouldn't take more than a few seconds.

Here are the facts.

Quick tip: In order to play with others, you must all be playing the same version of Minecraft.

How to play with friends on Minecraft: Java

Minecraft's multiplayer mode is built around servers. Everyone playing together will need the same server.

There are thousands of Minecraft servers already out there, which you and your friends can join to play together in moments - see the section below on how to join a friend's or a public server for more details. You'll have to share these servers with many other people you don’t know.

A Minecraft server can be created for free by you and your friends if you wish to play a private version of Minecraft. It is not an easy task. The server creator will need a computer with good internet speed. If this doesn't suit your needs, you can check out the other options.

These are the steps to take to join an existing Minecraft: Java Edition server or to create your own multiplayer server.

Join a server

1. Launch Minecraft and select Multiplayer.

2. Click Add Server.

3. Enter the address of your host server in the Server Address field and click Next. This could be an URL or an IP address.

4. Wait for the server connection to complete. Once it appears in the list select it and then click Join Server.

Create and join your own server

The following steps will help you set up a server on your Windows 10 computer. The steps should be identical, if not entirely the same, for Mac and Linux computers.

1. Launch a web browser of your choice and navigate to minecraft.net/download. Scroll down and select Java Edition Server.

2. Next, find and download Minecraft server software. Put it somewhere you'll find it. The file will have a .jar extension.

3. Create a new folder on the computer. Give it a name and place the.jar file. This is where your server files are kept.

4. Next, create a plain text file. Right-click in the folder, select New, then text document. Name the text file "start.txt".

Quick tip: On a Mac, you can make a .txt document using the TextEdit application. You can use "cat" to access Linux's terminal.

5. Navigate back to the Minecraft server download webpage. Copy the command text which is:

java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.1.18.2.jar nogui

Notice that the numbers nearing the end will vary depending on Minecraft's latest version.

6. Paste the string of command texts into your start.txt text.

7. Within the string of command text, you'll see the words "minecraft_server.1.18.2.jar." This section of text will need to be renamed "server.jar". The new line of code will now read as follows:

8. This line of code can also be used to modify the RAM allocation for your server. You can increase the RAM, but it will cause more stress to your server.

9. The RAM is determined using the first two numbers in the code line. These numbers are the RAM amounts in megabytes (MB). It defaults to 1024MB RAM or one gigabyte, (GB).

Quick tip: Unlike with storage space, when it comes to RAM, one gigabyte equals 1,024 megabytes - not 1,000. Set the RAM amount in multiples (1,024 megabytes).

1. Launch Minecraft while your server remains open. Select Multiplayer.

2. Select Add Server in the bottom-right corner.

3. Simply type the number "0", or the word, "localhost" into the Server Address field.

Use a LAN server

1. One of the players should launch a solo game world and enter the pause menu, where they'll select Open to LAN.

2. Select the game mode you want, and click the Start LAN World button.

4. The other player or players on the same network should launch their Minecraft, but rather than jump into a world, click the Multiplayer option from the main menu.

5. Minecraft will automatically scan for games on the shared network. Click Join Server when the right world appears.

6. If it fails to find the server, the players can click Direct Connection. Under Server Address, enter the IP Address of the computer hosting your server. A colon (:) is followed by the five-digit port numbers. Soundz promising