[bdn_]

> Making a server is surprisingly terrible for such a ‘mature’ game.

The official Minecraft server software is exceptionally unoptimized, but a number of independent open source forks exist, some of which can substantially improve performance. Unless you're talking about maintaining the community aspect, which is definitely not so easy... :)

For anyone getting into Minecraft for the first time, be sure to check out the mod Optifine [1]. A substantial portion of the Minecraft community uses it for its UI and performance improvements to the base game. It also allows the use of custom shaders [2], which totally change the feel of the game by adding realistic effects like long shadows, wavy water, and swaying plants. I personally stick with the base game's appearance, but shaders can be really fun for exploring caves and other places with unique lighting.

[1]: https://optifine.net/home [2]: https://www.pcgamer.com/best-minecraft-shaders/

[63]

I don't see why it can't be as easy as Multiplayer -> Host -> Select World. The average player shouldn't need to download a server jar, accept a eula, edit the config, run the jar with command line arguments for ram allocation, and set up port forwarding just to play block game with their friends.

[Quillbert182]

It is that easy, if you're willing to pay Microsoft a monthly fee. If not, then you can also use the open to LAN button on any world, but that will also require port forwarding.

[pie_flavor]

It is as easy as selecting the realm from the Minecraft Realms menu.