Glossary of terms

A widely-used set of JVM tuning flags by Aikar (a long-time Paper contributor) that configure the G1 garbage collector for low-pause Minecraft workloads. AoW SMP uses them alongside -Xms8G -Xmx8G.

A numeric property of an entity — MAX_HEALTH, MOVEMENT_SPEED, ATTACK_DAMAGE. the Champions module in AoWMythic scales MAX_HEALTH (and other attributes) per Champion tier — from a light bump at Veteran up to the brutal Cataclysm tier — to make Mythic Champions progressively tankier.

Third-party plugin (v2.3.12) providing the skills system: Mining, Foraging, Farming, Fishing, Combat, etc. Each gives passive bonuses and unlockable skill trees. Use /skills to open the GUI.

The version of Minecraft that runs on Windows 10/11, mobile, console, and tablets. Uses the RakNet/Bedrock protocol over UDP. Joins AoW SMP via Geyser on port 19132.

The original modding API for Minecraft servers. Spigot extended Bukkit; Paper extends Spigot. Anything in the org.bukkit.* namespace is "Bukkit API" — events, materials, locations, etc.

A 16×16 column of blocks running from world bottom to top. Minecraft loads, generates, ticks, and saves the world in chunk units. view-distance 8 means each player loads roughly an 8-chunk radius.

The Paper event fired when a newly-generated chunk is being "decorated" with structures, trees, ores, etc. the flora module in AoWWorldGen, the ore-vein module in AoWWorldGen, and the structure module in AoWWorldGen all hook this event so additions only apply to fresh terrain.

The per-plugin settings file shipped in plugins/<Plugin>/config.yml. Every custom AoW plugin has one, and reloads via /aow<name> reload.

Bukkit event fired whenever a mob spawns. Carries a SpawnReason — NATURAL, SPAWNER, BREEDING, REINFORCEMENTS, PATROL, RAID, JOCKEY, etc. the mob-gear module in AoWMobs, the Champions module in AoWMythic, and the SafeSpawn module in AoWInfra all listen to it.

The ability for Java and Bedrock players to share a single world. AoW SMP achieves this through Geyser + Floodgate + ViaVersion sitting in front of Paper.

Third-party plugin (v2.10.0) that places floating text in the world without needing armor stands. Used for shop signs, leaderboards, and warp markers.

Mojang gameplay setting controlling mob aggression and damage. AoW SMP runs difficulty=easy — friendly to new players, but mobs still do real damage at night.

A paper-global.yml setting that, when true, requires every client to present a signed Mojang profile. AoW SMP sets this to false so Floodgate-spoofed Bedrock players are accepted.

The Bukkit-era "Swiss army knife" plugin (we run v2.22.0) that provides /home, /spawn, /tpa, /pay, /balance, kits, /msg, /afk, /list, and the in-house economy backend.

The companion plugin to Geyser (v2.2.5-SNAPSHOT) that lets Bedrock players authenticate with their Microsoft/Xbox account — no Java account purchase required. Floodgate prefixes Bedrock names with a ., so a Bedrock player named "Steve" appears in-game as .Steve.

The cross-play bridge (Geyser-Spigot v2.10.1-SNAPSHOT) that listens on UDP 19132 for Bedrock clients and translates their packets into the Java Edition protocol. On AoW SMP, Geyser hands off to ViaVersion which then talks to Paper 1.21.8. use-direct-connection is set to false so the ViaVersion hop is reachable.

Land-claim plugin (v16.18.7) using a golden shovel. Right-click two opposite corners and the rectangle between is protected from non-trusted players. Use /trust <player> to give access.

The chunk of memory the JVM allocates for Java objects. AoW SMP reserves 8 GB heap (-Xms8G -Xmx8G), with a 2 GB swap file as an OOM cushion. Bigger heap means more chunks can stay loaded — but also longer GC pauses if tuned wrong (hence Aikar flags).

The original PC Minecraft. Uses TCP on port 25565 by default. AoW SMP runs Java Edition 1.21.8 natively.

Java Virtual Machine — the runtime that executes the server JAR. AoW SMP uses Eclipse Temurin / OpenJDK 21.0.0 (Java 21 LTS).

A bundle of starter items handed out via EssentialsX or, for first-join, by AoWWelcome: stone tools, 16 bread, 16 torches, and 1 oak boat.

Paper event fired when a loot table (chest, mob drop, fishing) is rolled. AoWChestLoot hooks this to add tiered bonuses to vanilla chests without clearing existing loot.

The permissions plugin (v5.5.57) that manages ranks (member, mod, etc.) and individual permission nodes. New players are added to member automatically by AoWWelcome.

The Java build tool we use for every custom plugin. AoW SMP builds with Maven 3.8.7 + maven-compiler-plugin 3.13.0 targeting Java release 21, against paper-api 1.21.8-R0.1-SNAPSHOT.

A Node.js library that lets a program join a Minecraft server as a real player. Planned use: the AI Player Bot (Mineflayer + Claude) — scaffold lives at Z:/Brands/aowmc/agent/.

The Microsoft/Mojang login service that proves a Java client owns the account they claim. AoW SMP runs online-mode=true, so all Java clients are validated. Bedrock skips this and uses Floodgate instead.

The flagship mob system, powered by the Champions module in AoWMythic. Any mob can spawn as a titled, named Champion across 8 tiers — Anomalous, Fledgling, Veteran, Elite, Champion, Legend, Mythic, Cataclysm — with archetype titles (a zombie "the Rotting Farmer"), affixes, signature attacks, and tier-scaled loot. The old "AoWElites" (rare gold mobs with ~3× health past ~200 blocks) is now just the Veteran/Elite middle tiers of this deeper system.

"Message of the Day" — the short line shown in the server list. Ours is AoW SMP - Java + Bedrock crossplay.

"Milliseconds Per Tick" — the average wall-clock time the server takes to process one tick. Under 50ms is healthy; over 50ms means the server is dropping TPS.

A two-part identifier (plugin:thing) used throughout Bukkit for things that need to be uniquely named — recipes, advancements, PDC keys, etc. Custom AoW plugins use their own namespace.

Server setting that controls whether Java clients are required to authenticate with Mojang. AoW SMP is online-mode=true; Floodgate is what lets Bedrock players bypass this without compromising security.

"Operator" — a player flagged in ops.json as having full server permissions. Vanilla concept; most custom permissions are layered on top via LuckPerms.

The compile-time dependency every custom plugin uses. Hard rule on AoW SMP: paper-api only — no Vault, LuckPerms, or Floodgate imports in custom plugin source.

The high-performance Spigot fork we run as the actual server software. Current build: 1.21.8 (build 69).

Paper's built-in mechanism for attaching custom key-value data to entities, items, chunks, and worlds — persisted to disk automatically. Used by the guidebook/onboarding module in AoWInfra to version-stamp guide books, by AoWDaily to track streaks, by the Champions module in AoWMythic to tag champion UUIDs along with their tier and title.

A dotted string like essentials.home or aow.daily.use that a plugin checks to decide if a player can do something. LuckPerms is what stores and resolves these.

Third-party plugin (v2.12.2) providing a shared format like %player_name% or %auraskills_mining_level% that other plugins (TAB, DecentHolograms) can render.

Generating world chunks ahead of time so players don't trigger expensive generation while exploring. Done with Chunky (v1.4.40). Terralith pre-gen is still in progress on the roadmap.

The wire format clients and servers use to talk. Java Edition has its own; Bedrock uses RakNet on UDP. Geyser + ViaVersion translate between them so both can speak to Paper 1.21.8.

The UDP-based protocol Bedrock Edition uses for its game packets. Geyser listens for RakNet on 19132 and translates it to Java Edition packets.

A bundle of textures, sounds, and models a client loads to change the visual/audio look. AoW SMP does not require one — everything uses vanilla items/blocks.

Code that runs on the server, not the client. Every AoW custom plugin is server-side — no client mod required.

The historical fork of Bukkit that Paper is based on. Most legacy plugin ecosystems still target "Spigot" even when running on Paper.

Web-based 2D world map (v1.3.12) running on internal map service. map.aowmc.com is the public endpoint for the live map.

The Linux service manager. AoW SMP runs as the minecraft.service unit under the minecraft user, with auto-restart and start-on-boot. Install dir is /opt/mcserver/.

Third-party plugin (v6.1.0) that controls the tablist (the Tab-key roster), scoreboard sidebar, and player nameplate prefixes.

A datapack that dramatically expands biome variety and terrain shapes. Currently active on AoW SMP; full pre-gen with Chunky is on the roadmap (~30 minutes on 4 cores).

Minecraft's game-loop unit. 20 ticks = 1 second at full speed. Playtime in AoWBoard is rendered as hours = ticks / 72000.

"Ticks Per Second" — the headline performance metric. 20.0 is perfect; under 20 means the server is falling behind realtime.

Two transport protocols. Java Edition uses TCP on port 25565 (reliable, ordered). Bedrock Edition uses UDP on port 19132 (RakNet on top adds its own reliability layer). Both must be open on the firewall.

Old-but-still-essential API bridge (v1.7.3-b131) that lets plugins talk to "the" economy without caring which one is installed. Bridges EssentialsX economy to QuickShop-Hikari and GlobalMarketplace.

Plugin (v5.10.1-SNAPSHOT) that lets clients of older or different versions connect to a newer server. On AoW SMP it's the second hop in the cross-play chain: Geyser emulates a Java client at some version, ViaVersion bumps that up to Paper 1.21.8.

Companion plugin (v5.10.1-SNAPSHOT) that handles the opposite direction — letting newer Java clients connect to an older server. Installed for safety as protocol versions move.

The held item that triggers a plugin's two-point selection. WorldEdit's wand is normally a wooden axe, but on AoW SMP it's been changed to a blaze rod so axes still chop wood properly. Set positions with //pos1 / //pos2.

Vanilla feature that restricts who can join. AoW SMP runs with whitelist OFF — anyone with the address can connect.

The classic mass-editing plugin (v7.4.4-beta-01). Select a region with the blaze rod, then run commands like //set, //replace, //copy, //paste. Op-only on AoW SMP.

Region-protection plugin (v7.0.17+2370). Used alongside GriefPrevention for staff-defined regions (spawn area, special zones) with fine-grained flag control.