Computational Literacies Lab

Setup Instructions

In the Minecraft Utopia workshop, we will play together in Minecraft while chatting on Zoom. Please test out these setup instructions before our first workshop meeting on Wednesday, July 7 to make sure everything works smoothly.

You are welcome to run through these instructions on your own but if you would like help, we have setup office hours on Wednesday, June 30 from 6:30-7:30pm and on Thursday, July 1 from 6:30-7:30pm. To join the office hours, please join Dr. Chris Proctor's zoom room at call.chrisproctor.net. If these times don't work for you, please let us know and we can make another appointment.

Goals

  1. Make sure you can connect to Zoom.
  2. Make sure you can connect to our private Minecraft server.

Goal 1: Connecting to Zoom

We will all join Dr. Chris Proctor's zoom room at call.chrisproctor.net during the workshop meetings. Test this out by clicking on the link. Think about which device you will use to log into Zoom while playing Minecraft. It's fine if you are playing Minecraft on one device (like an XBox) while calling into the zoom room using another device (like your phone).

Before the workshop starts, anybody can join Chris's zoom room. During the actual workshop meetings, we will use a waiting room to make sure nobody joins the zoom room who should't be there.

Chris logged into Zoom

Goal 2: Connecting to our Minecraft server

First, you need a copy of Minecraft. Minecraft runs on Computers, phones, tablets, xBox, and other devices too. Any edition of Minecraft will do.

The instructions are a little different for different Minecraft editions, so you need to figure out which edition you have. Use these steps to figure out which edition you have.

  • Are you connecting from a Nintendo Switch or an Xbox? If yes, go to Bedrock Edition on Xbox or Switch.
  • Are you connecting from a laptop or a desktop computer?
    • If yes, open Minecraft and look at the home screen. Does it say "Java Edition" anywhere? Java Edition label on launch screen Java Edition label on launch screen
    • If no, you're on another device like a phone or an ipad. Go to Bedrock Edition.

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on Xbox or Switch

Nintendo Switch: Step-by-step

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  1. Quit Minecraft and open System settings. Open Internet Settings.
  2. Choose the internet connection you use (probably your home Wifi network). Click "Change Settings."
  3. Click DNS Settings and change "Automatic" to "Manual."
  4. Now you will see options for setting primary and secondary DNS.
    • Set your primary DNS to 104.238.130.180.
    • Set your secondary DNS to 8.8.8.8.
    • Click "Save."
  5. Open Minecraft. Choose the "Servers" tab and click "Join" for any server. Doesn't matter :)
  6. You should see a Server List menu pop up. Choose "Connect to Server." Server List
  7. You should see a form with "Server Address" and "Server Port." If you don't see this, quit Minecraft and try again. Apparently it sometimes takes a few tries. Once you see this form, fill in:
    • Server Address: 192.81.211.221
    • Server Port: 19132
    • Toggle Add to Server List to on.

Xbox One: Step-by-step

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  1. Quit Minecraft and open Settings. Open Network.
  2. Choose Advanced Settings, then DNS Settings.
  3. In DNS Settings, change "Automatic" to "Manual."
  4. Now you will see options for setting primary and secondary DNS.
    • Set your primary DNS to 104.238.130.180.
    • Set your secondary DNS to 8.8.8.8.
  5. Open Minecraft. Choose the "Servers" tab and click "Join" for any server. Doesn't matter :)
  6. You should see a Server List menu pop up. Choose "Connect to Server." Server List
  7. You should see a form with "Server Address" and "Server Port." If you don't see this, quit Minecraft and try again. Apparently it sometimes takes a few tries. Once you see this form, fill in:
    • Server Address: 192.81.211.221
    • Server Port: 19132
    • Toggle Add to Server List to on. You should now see our private server in the server list. If you click on it, you should be able to join our world. During this setup period, anybody can join. During the workshop, we will be restricting access to workshop participants.

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

The Bedrock instructions are a little different

  1. Log into Minecraft and click "Play" on the main menu.

  2. Click "Servers" from the tabs on the top. See Example

  3. Scroll down past the "Featured Servers", to reach "Additional Servers". See Examples

  4. Click "Add Server", and enter:

    • Server Name: Minecraft Utopia
    • Server Address: 192.81.211.221
    • Server Port: 19132

    See Example

You should now be able to join this world. During this setup period, anybody can join. During the workshop, we will be restricting access to workshop participants. (Don't get too attached; we're going to reset this world before the workshop starts!)

Minecraft: Java Edition

Connect to the Server
  1. Log into Minecraft and click "Multiplayer" on the main menu.
  2. Click "Add Server" and enter the IP or web address of the server.
    • Server Name: Minecraft Utopia
    • Server Address: 192.81.211.221:25566 See Example

You should now be able to join this world. During this setup period, anybody can join. During the workshop, we will be restricting access to workshop participants.

Trouble?

If you have any trouble connecting, please let us know and we'll work with you to get it figured out asap!

A note on Minecraft versions:

To access a server you need to a version of Minecraft that is at least 1.16. For more information, see Changing game version. The Minecraft Utopia server runs on 1.16.5. To join the server, your client will need to be updated to at least a version that is 1.16, though 1.16.5 is ideal. You'll be able to connect with a client updated to 1.17, though none of the new features will be present.

You're done!

The information below goes into a little detail on how our server is setup. Read on if you're interested :)

GeyserMC/Floodgate

We are using a Java edition server because we needed to install some mods. We're using a mod called Geyser which allows Bedrock Edition players and Java edition players join the same workd. Prtty neat!

With Geyser being a protocol translator between two different games with two different codebases, there are a handful of limitations that Geyser is unfortunately unable to handle. Despite Minecraft Bedrock and Java being quite close in comparison, there are some vast differences in many areas. @Geyser_MC

The following things cannot be fixed without changes to Bedrock or the Java protocol in general. As of now, they are not fixable in Geyser.

There are a few differences between Bedrock and Java, and a few limitations to Geyser's ability to translate between editions. You won't notice any of these unless you're a pretty advanced player, but here they are:

  • Custom heads in inventories
  • Clickable links in chat
  • Glowing effect
  • Crafting in the 2x2 menu while in creative mode
  • Distinguishing between left and right clicks in inventories
  • Redstone dot blockstates
  • "Can be placed on/destroyed" tag for some blocks - for example, different colors of clay/wool that don't exist as separate blocks
  • Potion colors implemented using NBT
  • Various command arguments for any command that doesn't use the Minecraft Brigadier library
  • Unable to see banner layers past 6
  • Movement issues around bamboo due to offset differences between Java and Bedrock
  • Custom anvil recipes
  • Heights lower than 0 or above 256 on non-beta versions of Bedrock
  • Dolphin's Grace potion effect visuals (effects should still work correctly)