Yes! You heard that right: our Minecraft SMP is returning. Here's everything you need to know to get started.

How do I join?

We've made it as easy as possible to hop on and play, whether you're on PC or console. And there's no need to download any mods to play. Just load up plain ol' vanilla Minecraft!

Quick connection guide


Server IP	`play.vcsmp.com`
Edition	Java (recommended) or Bedrock
Bedrock port	`19132` (default)
Version	`26.1.2` (and onwards)

Whitelist

We use a whitelist to stop troublemakers from joining and taking a torch to everyone's hard work. To be added, just let anyone on the Activity Team know (provide your Java Edition IGN or Xbox Live Gamertag), and they will grant you access to the server as soon as possible.

What are the server rules?

First and foremost, all of Virtual Congress's standard rules apply on VCSMP. This means you can and will be penalised on Virtual Congress for any trouble you cause on the server. Beyond that, we expect everyone to follow these common-sense SMP rules:

No griefing or stealing: VCSMP is a laid-back, vanilla-focused server, and people put a lot of time into their builds. Taking things from other players' chests without permission or destroying their hard work is strictly prohibited. The penalties for griefing will be severe.
No lag machines: Please be mindful of the redstone contraptions you build. Absolutely nothing designed to intentionally cause lag or crash the server is permitted.
No unconsented PvP: Player-versus-player combat is only allowed if both parties agree to it beforehand.
No hacking or unfair advantages: The use of x-ray texture packs, hacked clients, or malicious mods ruins the fun for everyone and will result in an immediate ban. Optifine, Sodium, and minimaps are perfectly fine!

How do I keep my builds safe?

Unlike previous iterations of VCSMP, we made a deliberate decision not to include a plugin that lets players "claim" regions of the server (like Factions or Towny). We feel that claiming plugins detract from the vanilla experience, stifle build freedom, and add unnecessary complexity.

Regardless, griefing is strictly banned. Because we run server-side plugins like CoreProtect, griefers will be caught, and your builds and belongings will be seamlessly rolled back. Your hard work is safe, so build without fear!

What datapacks is VCSMP running?

While the server is completely vanilla for you client-side, we are running a few amazing server-side datapacks to overhaul world generation and enhance the multiplayer experience:

Terralith: Overhauls Minecraft's overworld generation to add new structures and 95+ new biomes.
Incendium & Nullscape: Does exactly what Terralith does, but completely overhauls the Nether and the End, respectively.
Continents: Reshapes the world so that landmasses are further apart, varying in size and shape.
Structory: An atmospheric datapack that adds ruins, towers, cottages, graveyards, settlements, boats, and more.
Vanilla Refresh: Adds quality-of-life changes like new animations/sounds, crop XP, extra loyal tridents, drop ladders, and totems that save you from the void.
VanillaTweaks: We run a custom suite of small mechanic changes. (See VanillaTweaks for descriptions of each). Our current toggles include:
- Quality of Life: Multiplayer sleep, fast leaf decay, graves, XP bottling, cauldron mud/concrete, chunk loaders, double shulker shells.
- Customisation: Armor statues, mini blocks, more mob heads, player head drops, name colors, painting picker, custom nether portals.
- Mechanics: Wandering trades, more effective tools, wood stripper, armored elytra, ender chests always drop.
- Anti-Grief: Anti-ghast, anti-creeper, and anti-enderman griefing.

Have a suggestion? We're always taking recommendations for new datapacks and plugins! Just let us know.

How big is the world?

We have spent considerable time thinking about lag and performance. Because of this, we have pre-generated a 20,000 x 20,000 block region around spawn and have imposed a world border to keep players within this area.

This serves two main purposes:

Encouraging community: Minecraft multiplayer is at its best when players actually collaborate. We don't want members essentially playing single-player Minecraft with a chat feature 100,000 blocks away from everyone else!
Managing lag: Chunk generation is one of the most taxing tasks a Minecraft server can do. Without a border, multiple players traveling into unloaded chunks with speed (like via Elytra) could cause massive lag spikes. With a pre-generated world, exploring feels buttery smooth. It also allows us to safely push the server view distance up!

Note: If the community finds that the border is too restrictive over time, we will happily consider increasing the size of the world.

What was that about a map?

We know how fun it is to see the big picture, so we've added Squaremap to the server! It’s a beautiful, high-detail live viewer of the world that updates in real-time. It’s really fun to zoom out and see the sprawling continents and hidden landscapes of our world. You can start exploring now at https://map.vcsmp.com.

Why not Bluemap or Dynmap? We did look at other map plugins, some of which offer flashy 3D views. In the end, we went with Squaremap for the same reason we've kept the rest of the server simple: it's lightweight, easy on performance, and doesn't get in the way of the vanilla experience :)

Is the End open?

Not yet! We want to ensure everyone has a fair chance to participate in the initial dragon fight, so we will be opening the End as an official, scheduled server event soon. Keep an eye out for announcements!

See you on the server!

We are super duper excited to bring VCSMP back and can't wait to see the amazing things the community will create. If you run into any issues getting connected or have any lingering questions, just reach out to the Activity Team.

Welcome to VCSMP!