Setting up A Mincraft Server using MineOS Turnkey for Offline Use

MineOS Turnkey
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Hi, I am new to both MineOS and Minecraft as have never played it. However I am trying to setup a Minecraft server for my two grandsons to use offline (ie without Internet access). I don’t know if this is possible. Obviously I have internet access to set everything up but ideally they won’t have internet access to play. The PC will act as both the server (running as a virtual machine in VirtualBox) and workstation to access the World(s)To date I have:-

  • Built a Windows 10 Pc with an i7-2600 CPU, 8Gb ram(this might need upgrading to 16Gb following advice) and 120Gb SSD plus 160Gb HDD for VMs and Worlds
  • Installed Virtualbox and created a VM using MineOS Turnkey
  • I can access the MineOS Server via the local PC IP address at port 8443
    This is where i get stuck. I assume now I have to create worlds (Servers) on MineOS via the WebUI?
  1. Is there a tutorial someone can point me to which describes how to do this?
  2. Can you create multiple servers and switch to them from the webUI? If so do you give each one a seperate port number to be able to select which server you want.
  3. Rather than specify the DHCP assigned IP address can I use the host IP ie 127.0.0.1and change the port no?
  4. How do you then access the Worlds? Do I need to download and Install the Microsoft Minecraft Launcher?
  5. If so it would appear you have to sign in with a Microsoft Account which presumably means access to the internet? Is this the only way to access the Launcher or are there stand alone offline launchers available?
    If lack of internet access is a non starter then I can rethink this but trying to keep my grandchildren in a safe environment and off the public minecraft servers.
    Sorry for lots of what appear straightforward questions to seasoned gamers but as I said I am a complete novice :face_with_open_eyes_and_hand_over_mouth:
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  1. Several. Both text based in this forum, and on youtube
  2. Yes. And they can run simultaneously, so you choose what server you wish to connect to in the minecraft game launcher.
  3. you leave the server address at 0.0.0.0, which means the server will listen to all network cards available. 127.0.0.1 locks the server down to localhost only, which in a virtual machine means only that virtual machine, since the VM and the host most likely will have different IP adresses.
  4. Yes.
  5. The official minecraft launchers are strongly reccomended. All server and minecraft mods (for other server types) use the official launcer and server files as a base.

So the reccomended way is to use official launchers, which means that the server and clients are internet connected to authenticate.

BUT:
There exists hacked clients that do not require login, and you can set your server in “offline” mode which means it do not check accounts against official user lists. This gives you the opportunity to have completely offline games and servers. Be aware that this also means the usernames are not reserved and checked. So admin and / or opped users will easily be spoofed by simply using that username in the game config, making whitelists and blocks virtually useless.

I would reccomend allowing internet connection for the server security (also internally :wink: ). By allowing the server online mode, you will be able to prevent username spoofing, as users are checked by user ID. You can also add a whitelist, so that only allowed users are given access. And if you do not set up port forwarding in your internet modem, external access is blocked (only inhouse access). Depending on your internet modem you can also set up port filtering on outbound internet traffic, blocking access to the most used minecraft ports, so that external servers are unavailable.

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Firstly thank you so much for your reply and suggestions.
One thing I need to clarify is how you access MineOS from the Windows 10 Minecraft Launcher. I have installed it from the Microsoft Store, logged in with my own Microsoft account and created an XBox username but once logged in I can’t seem to see how to access the server. I can see a list down the side of the window with Java Version, Windows 10 version and Bedrock but I can fathom where to enter the server IP address. Should the server appear in this list or do I have to enter settings somewhere?

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Java, windows10 and bedrock are the different minecraft game platforms.

For server properties I reccomendt the java version. You’ll have to select the gameversion you wish, then you get in to the game proper, and can select local (single player) game, or connect to multiplayer servers