It’s future-proofing. We recommend the ViaVersion plugin for your server.
For many players, Minecraft doesn’t update as often as they would like. New versions bring content, people, and a renewed interest for those whom played it prior. While the developers of server software like Spigot and Paper have become increasingly proficient at supporting the latest update from Mojang soon after release, often times server owners are left waiting weeks for this to happen. If the server can’t update until all plugins are compatible, too, then that downtime could easily turn into months on end!
ViaVersion tries to solve that problem, and for free no less! With it running, your server can allow anyone on newer releases of the game to connect and play. This gives many owners time to prepare, but also serves another niche: supporting older version mechanics. For example, if your players prefer the combat mechanics of a Minecraft 1.8 server, then you have the option to install ViaVersion so as not to limit incoming fighters to those running the matching client version. The plugin is even compatible with proxies like Bungeecord, so bigger servers and networks can take advantage, too!
This is made possible through delicate protocol interpretation, so using ViaVersion is not always problem-free. For larger Minecraft releases, servers may still need to wait for this plugin to update. Certain client versions may not play nice with specific server protocols (in many cases, features on newer Minecraft releases will not translate well to older servers), but the ViaVersion team has a good track record of keeping the issue count to a minimum. Even so, some visual-focused plugins, like ItemsAdder, refuse to provide support to those running ViaVersion. Allowing older versions to connect to newer ones requires two additional resources, ViaRewinds and ViaBackwards, but they can be downloaded for free at time of writing. While none of these plugins require learning commands, a support Discord and documentation are available if needed.
- Presentation: 3/5
- Documentation: 3/5
- Usefulness: 4/5
- Code quality: 5/5
- Support: 5/5
This post was last updated January 18, 2025 7:27 pm EST