Multiplayer and Server Setup

From the Fear Nightfall wiki · Fear Nightfall

Multiplayer and Server Setup covers how Fear Nightfall is run for more than one player: on a dedicated server, on a LAN, and from the shared Prism instance zip that every player installs. The pack is one fixed set of about 132 mods, and the server and every client must use the same mod files for a connection to succeed. The only differences between the two sides are the mods marked as client-only or server-only. Mod List shows which side each mod belongs to.

The server and the clients share the same world rules. The biome distribution, structure weights, loot changes and horror weighting described in Changes to Vanilla apply on the server and must match on every client. The settings that the pack changes are listed below, and each mod and rule is described on its own linked page.

Contents

Dedicated server

The server runs the same mod set as the clients, minus the client-only mods such as the shader stack. The dump mod and the test data used during development are removed. The server file sets online-mode=true, so each player must sign in with a Minecraft account. The server is started on Java 21.

Three server-side changes matter most:

  • Watchdog. max-tick-time is set to -1, which disables the 60-second watchdog. The /locate biome command searches for rare biomes for a long time, and the search exceeded the watchdog and killed the server. With the watchdog off, the same search takes about 14 seconds and the server survives.
  • Phone-home calls. Technical and Library Mods includes Iron's Lib, which reports the player count and server id every five minutes. The pack points that call at localhost. The GitHub gist call in Traveler's Backpack is also pointed at localhost.
  • Undead and player zombies. The Hordes is configured so that zombies and skeletons burn in daylight, zombie villagers can be cured, and time does not pause when the server is empty. Zombie players are set with zombiePlayersStoreItems=false: the corpse keeps the player's items and the zombie still spawns, where before the Hordes mod deleted the inventory. Horde Nights describes the timed attacks.

Immersive Lanterns is the one mod that is kept on the server only. Its client version needs Sodium Dynamic Lights, which the pack leaves out of the client list. Clients join fine without it.

Shared Prism zip and LAN play

The shareable zip contains the Prism instance named "Fear Nightfall". It holds the 132 mods, the pack's configs, the Complementary Reimagined shader pack (off by default) and a starter world. The zip has no saves, logs or personal options.txt. Its Mac Java path is removed so that Prism on Windows picks its own Java installation, and it sets 6 GB of memory by default.

Players who want to play together on a LAN, or on a server they connect to, install this zip and join the same world. The mod files must match the server. Copies of mods from the original Fear Nightfall list are not the same files, and a client that uses them cannot be expected to connect.

Client settings

The client settings the pack changes are these:

  • Lootr. Lootr is set to vanilla_textures = true in its client config, so opened per-player chests look like ordinary chests.
  • Shaders. Iris and Complementary Reimagined are installed. The shader is off by default and is selected in Video Settings.
  • Sodium add-ons. Sodium Dynamic Lights, Sodium Options API and Reese's Sodium Options are removed from the client list. Both Sodium add-ons reference Sodium classes that do not exist in Sodium 0.8.13, and Options API's required companion declares itself incompatible with it, so the client would not start. An older Sodium is not an option, because Supplementaries requires Sodium 0.8.12 or later.
  • Key conflicts. Five real clashes between mods were resolved by changing default keys: the Quiver uses J, the death history uses O, the golem summon uses ., and the Hexerei book recipe uses Y. The full list of defaults is on Controls and Keybinds.

Configuration

The table below lists the settings that the pack changes from the mods' defaults. Each reason is explained on the linked page.

Setting Value Purpose
server.properties max-tick-time -1 Stops the watchdog from killing the server during long biome searches
server.properties online-mode true Requires a Minecraft account for each player
Hordes Zombies and skeletons burn; cures enabled; no pause on an empty server See The Hordes
Hordes zombie players zombiePlayersStoreItems=false Keeps the player's items in the corpse
TreeChop maxTreeBlocks=2048 Raised from 1,024 so that giant trees do not leave floating logs
CTOV (ChoiceTheorem's Overhauled Village) outposts Weight 5 Matches the weight of the other outpost types
Lootr (client) vanilla_textures = true Opened chests look normal
spark (client) backgroundProfiler: false Its native profiler crashed the game on macOS when joining a new world

Structure spacing is tuned per structure set and is covered on Structures. The biome table is covered on Biomes.

Behaviour that differs from a fresh install

Generation changes only affect chunks that are generated after the change. A world created before the pack's worldgen changes keeps its old chunks, so a new player should start a fresh world to see the full effect. The biome table and structure weights are described on World Generation and Horror and Spooky Content.

Some containers are shared rather than per-player, because Lootr cannot make them per-player. They are first come first served: Graveyard coffins and urns, Farmer's Delight cabinets, Hexerei chests, Sleepy Hollows coffins, and the brazier chests from Nether Expansion.

Tips

  • Install the shareable zip rather than assembling the mods by hand. It is the one set that matches the server's mod files.
  • Start a fresh world after the pack is installed, so that the biome and structure changes apply to every chunk you visit.
  • Do not add Sodium Dynamic Lights to the client. The pack leaves it out, because it references Sodium classes that do not exist in Sodium 0.8.13.
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