Better Minecraft — Better MC, BMC4 for the current Forge edition — is the pack people pick when a group wants "Minecraft, but more of it": 300-plus mods of new biomes, structures, dungeons, bosses and quests on Forge 1.20.1, all layered onto vanilla so friends who have never touched a modpack can just play. It is a natural multiplayer pack. Here are the three ways to play it together, and which one fits your group.
Option 1: the pack's built-in world sharing
BMC4 advertises built-in, free world sharing: one player opens their single-player world and friends join it. It's the quickest way to try the pack together, and it costs nothing.
The catch is the same as any host-from-your-PC setup: the world only exists while the host is playing. When they log off, everyone does, and nobody can explore or build in the meantime. Their machine is also running the world for everyone on top of their own heavily modded client. Fine for a test evening; frustrating for an ongoing world.
Option 2: self-host a dedicated server
A dedicated server keeps the world separate from anyone's game. Here's what you need:
- The server pack, not the client pack. Better MC publishes its server files as a separate download: on the pack's CurseForge page, open Files, choose the exact version your group plays, and look under Additional Files for the server pack. The CurseForge app doesn't download server packs — use the website. Don't run the client zip as a server; it carries client-only mods that crash a dedicated server.
- Not every release has one. Hotfix releases sometimes ship without server files. At the time of writing (late October 2026) the newest release, v62hf, has none, so the latest server-ready build is v62 — and your players need v62 too.
- Java 17, which Forge 1.20.1 requires.
- Memory. BMC4's weight is its world generation, not its mod count — overhauled terrain and hundreds of structures generate as players explore. 8GB is the floor for a smooth group server, 10GB is comfortable, and groups that explore aggressively are happier on 12GB. The reasoning across packs is in our modded Minecraft RAM guide.
Then:
- Extract the server pack into an empty folder and run the start script it ships to set up Forge.
- Accept the EULA —
eula=true in eula.txt — and start again.
- Set memory in
user_jvm_args.txt, for example -Xmx8G on a machine with 12GB or more.
- Open TCP 25565 on your router to that machine and share your public IP.
- Turn on the whitelist (
whitelist on, whitelist add <name>) before sharing the address anywhere.
The self-hosting fine print: the server runs only while that machine is on, your home upload carries every player's traffic, and your IP is the address everyone shares.
Option 3: a hosted server
The same dedicated server, run for you in a datacenter. Better Minecraft server hosting installs BMC4 from its official server pack with Forge and Java 17 already set up, on a plan sized for the pack's world generation. The world is online 24/7, friends join whenever they like, and the panel handles the whitelist, console, file manager, scheduled off-server backups and pack updates, and the hosting page shows which BMC4 version new servers deploy so your group can match it.
Getting everyone on the same version
Whichever option you choose, every player needs exactly the server's BMC4 version. A mismatch is the pack's most common "can't connect" problem, and it happens most around hotfixes: the CurseForge app offers the newest release, while the server may be on the last release that had server files. In the CurseForge app, open the profile's options and change its version to match the server's. Update the server first, then the players.
Which option should your group pick?
- Trying the pack for an evening: built-in world sharing.
- A world for the long haul, with a machine you can leave on: self-host a dedicated server.
- A world for the long haul without a machine running 24/7 at home: a hosted server.
Better MC suits long-lived worlds unusually well — its exploration content spreads players out across the map instead of into one mega-base, so a persistent world with a handful of regulars keeps feeling fresh for months.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I play Better Minecraft with friends?
Three ways: the pack's built-in world sharing (simplest, but only while the host plays), a self-hosted dedicated server from the official server pack, or a hosted server. In every case each player installs BMC4 on the same version as the world they're joining.
Where is the Better MC server pack?
On the pack's CurseForge page under Files: choose your version and look under Additional Files. The CurseForge app doesn't download server packs, and not every release has one — hotfix builds sometimes don't.
How much RAM does a Better MC server need?
8GB is the floor for a group, 10GB is comfortable, and 12GB suits groups that explore a lot. The cost is world generation — new terrain and structures — rather than the number of mods.
Can Bedrock players join a Better MC server?
No. BMC4 runs on Forge, which has no Geyser crossplay build, and its content mods only exist for Java Edition. Everyone joins from Java with the pack installed.
Why can't my friend join my Better MC server?
Nearly always a version mismatch — often a player on a hotfix release while the server runs the last release with server files. Set their CurseForge profile to the server's exact version and try again.