Server Architecture

AoW SMP Plugin Stack

Paper runtime, crossplay bridge, the 6 in-house packs, and operational tooling in one map.

1 At-a-glance

AoW SMP is a single survival world with Java and Bedrock bridged through a strict transport layer. The stack is intentionally small where possible and explicit where required for operations and gameplay parity.

Paper · 1.21.8 core runtime
Crossplay · Geyser + Floodgate
6 packs · in-house systems
~21 · third-party plugins
Java · 25565
Bedrock · 19132

2 Foundation layer

These plugins are the transport and quality floor. If this layer is healthy, the six in-house packs stay predictable.

Geyser + Floodgate

Bedrock players are connected into one Java-authored state using stable protocol translation, with identity parity in command and permissions behavior.

  • Single shared world and coordinates for both editions
  • Version compatibility via ViaVersion/ViaBackwards
  • Crossplay-ready name and identity handling
Essentials + Vault ecosystem

Currency, homes, inventories, teleport helpers, and money permissions are centralized in the base plugin layer for stable behavior.

  • Economy primitives and permission handoffs
  • Command consistency across docs and in-game behavior
  • Minimal overhead path for admin tools
Squaremap + web surface

Terrain is rendered into a map runtime that can be used by players for route planning, recovery, and exploration.

  • Public live map endpoint: map.aowmc.com
  • Configured backup endpoint available automatically
  • Failover friendly embed with fallback logic in UI

3 In-house gameplay packs

AoW's custom stack is the layer that makes the server feel distinct. These are the packs players touch every hour.

PackPrimary functionKey player-facing systems
AoWMythicChampion ecosystem8 tiers, titles, affixes, signatures, Blood Moon, Vendetta, Constellations, Codex, Bounties, Nether/End variants
AoWWorldGenCustom world decoration6 plants + 5 structures + terrain decorators; vanilla blocks only
AoWMobsGear, loot, dropsMob gear, biome tints, themed loot tables, Echo Shards
AoWQoLQuality of lifeHUD coordinator, scoreboard, waypoints, trade, quick warp, sim-distance 2-10
AoWContentProgression & itemsClasses, EnchantPlus, custom enchants, foods, fishing, daily, achievements, /profile, /wallet
AoWInfraServer behaviorDiscord bridge, Fracture world-clock, onboarding, announcer, bedtime, safespawn, fixes, signsanitize
Design intent: every pack is paper-api-native and vanilla-safe. No resource-pack lock-in, no client-required add-ons, and no NMS version locks.

4 Third-party layer

The operations, protection, and observability layer. These plugins stay conservative so gameplay updates are easy to reason about.

CoreProtectaudit + rollback LuckPermsranks + context GriefPreventionland + trust QuickShop-Hikarimarket loops WorldEdit/Guardbuild + protection AuraSkillsRPG skills Planactivity analytics Chunkypre-gen

5 Operational safety and growth

Deployment discipline

Each pack builds independently with Maven. Changes move from branch to stage to live with explicit checks and rollback plans.

Performance posture

Pack boundaries keep expensive systems isolated. When map or champion spikes happen, operators can isolate the layer instead of rebooting the whole runtime.

Recovery first

Map failover, snapshot guidance, and command fallback flows are part of the daily operations playbook for staff and moderators.