One of the main draws of Minecraft, aside from the freeform way in which it approaches creativity, is the multiplayer aspect. Sure, you can have a lot of fun generating new worlds and taking on whatever creative projects you may have by yourself, but the option to invite several people, and why not, create a server for a more streamlined experience, is always there.

There are many ways to go about creating a server, and if you’re just starting out, going for a server hosting tool that doesn’t overwhelm you is a great idea. One example is Lodestone, an intuitive app that gives you the necessary tools to create and manage your server.

Right off the gate, the modern, intuitive interface makes the program very approachable to advanced and more casual users alike. It doesn’t overwhelm you with an abundance of options, which makes it smoother to acclimate to the software.

You’ll initially have to create an instance for your new Minecraft server, of which there are currently four options: vanilla, Fabric, Forge, or Paper. Select what you’re after, then proceed with the various other options presented to you by the wizard.

Some notable options include selecting a particular Miencraft version for your server, allocating minimum and maximum RAM values, and passing Command line arguments. You’ll have access to plenty more configurations upon initialization.

Once your server’s been initialized, you can monitor it through the program’s interface. More specifically, the Overview screen displays your system’s load, as well as an up-to-date player list. Further, you can head to the Console interface for more technical details.

The software also does well to integrate a functional file manager within its interface. This will let you freely manage your server’s files as needed and change things on the fly. You can zip and unzip files, delete and relocate them, as well as access and edit text, .HTML, .JSON, and other similar formats directly.

Lodestone facilitates the creation and management of your Minecraft server in a very intuitive manner. I especially appreciated the overall ease-of-use, as well as the robust file manager, and with plugin and mod management functions on the way, the program’s really a very promising one.