Quote fromA select group of players now have access to the Minecraft Realms limited alpha test. Minecraft Realms is a service designed to let players play on a server together with minimal setup, and will be available to the public later this year.
Will this change the way I play Minecraft?
- Nothing will change regarding how you create, setup, or host servers today. Minecraft Realms is an additional service of hosting servers for those who want it. Nothing is mandatory.
How can I get into the Realms closed Alpha?
- You can’t yet, sorry. It’s a private, invite-only thing. Keep an eye on this blog for more info!
How much does it cost?
- We’re not sure yet. It will be a subscription service. One subscription = one server. Only the host needs to pay. The host can invite (whitelist) friends to play on his/her server.
How many players can play together?
- This is not confirmed yet. During the closed alpha we have set a limit of four players to test out our systems.
What is Minecraft Pocket Realms?
- It is the mobile version of our Realms service.
How much will Pocket Realms cost?
- We’re not sure yet. It will be a subscription service. One subscription = one server. Only the host needs to pay. The host can invite (whitelist) friends to play on his/her server.
How do I buy a Pocket Realms subscription?
- Realms subscriptions will be available via an in-app purchase within Minecraft – Pocket Edition. You’ll need to log in with your Mojang Account to use the service. If you don’t have an account you’ll be asked to create one.
Players should note that normal Minecraft servers are not being done away with, or being replaced. So far, Realms appears to be targeted towards people who simply want a quick, easy way to play privately with friends and family, and early tests have been very promising. I've personally had a chance to test out the Realms feature, and it's really easy to invite some friends into your game, and just play, without having to worry about port forwarding, setting up permissions, or anything but the game itself.
Keep an ear to the ground, as we bring even more Realms news in the coming days!
And for a very small Server for a few friends there is no need of complicated server plugin support or multiworlds. Just a 24/7 running pure vanilla server plus a whitelist is all you need to have fun with your friends.
Yet for 3+ dollars you can get the exact same thing plus some.
I've always wanted to have people play with me on some of my worlds, but my poor computer really has a lot to handle, and minecraft is pretty darn laggy. But without mod support, I wouldn't want it.
Also... Something that I've been wondering about with mods. (Kinda unrelated) can you put mods on a server as a plugin, and people don't need the mod to play the server? Just curious...
If the plugin adds content like new blocks etc, no. if it adds custom crafting recipes for existing items and related, sure
I can already imagine it: a large big button sitting on my minecraft menu, exept, unlike the texture pack menu that is usful, all it does is give a large popup menu, Microsoft-esque, asking for money that I don't have.
Mojang, please either make it free or add it as a download thing, so us people who would rather not use it don't have to be bothered by it.
-Lungora
Considering a one-time payment is one of the main reasons I originally bought the game, I've already gotten a more tech savvy friend of mine to help me out with port forwarding, and editing text files and using commands for whitelists to play with friends is easy enough already, I don't really see much use for this outside of those who find the server setup process tiresome/have bad internet and have too much money on their hands. I just hope the process stays optional.
And run it 24/7? So you're investing an extra PC and running it 24/7 including the power and maintenance, and that's "free." K.
Also, does this mean that Mojang will also increase the price of Minecraft?
It also depends on a person's client (their computer), not just the server.