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Create server hostingAbove and Beyond, Astral and the other cogwheel packs

The Create mod replaces cables and power grids with cogwheels, shafts and conveyor belts - technology you can see and touch. A whole family of packs has grown up around it, from Create: Above and Beyond to Create: Astral. At MainHoster.de, you install them in the panel from CurseForge; the matching loader is set automatically.

Create modAbove and BeyondAstralCPU-heavyUnlimited slots

Create at a glance

Well-known packs Create: Above and Beyond, Create: Astral, Create: Arcane Engineering and more
Above and Beyond Minecraft 1.16.5 with Forge, around 136 mods - the classic of the series, Java 8 is enough
Astral Minecraft 1.18.2 with Fabric, Java 17 - tech pack with a full quest path
Other packs version and loader differ per pack and are stated on its CurseForge page
Concept mechanical automation with a quest path instead of a free kitchen sink
Bottleneck tick time, not memory - running contraptions cost CPU
Source CurseForge - installable with a click in the panel
Recommended plan plan L - 6 to 8 GB are quoted for Above and Beyond as well as for Astral

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Create server hosting

Prepaid from €2.99 / month, unlimited slots, no minimum term. The right plan is listed in the RAM table below.

Plans & prices

Create packs are CPU packs, not RAM packs

This is the point where most server planning for Create goes wrong. With kitchen-sink packs such as ATM9, the rule of thumb "more mods, more RAM" applies. Create works differently: every running contraption - every turning cogwheel, every moving train, every conveyor belt with items on it - is recalculated in every single tick. That costs computing time, hardly any memory.

The result is a characteristic picture: memory stays half empty, but TPS drop the further the factory grows. A bigger plan with more GB does not solve that. What helps is computing power per core - Minecraft essentially handles the world in a single thread, and Create depends on exactly that. Our hardware is designed for it.

In practice, this means for choosing a plan: with Create, the number of players decides the plan, not the size of the factory. For the factory itself, the way you build matters more than hardware - more on that below.

The chunk loader effect: factories nobody sees

A Create factory only runs as long as its chunks are loaded. If the builder logs out, the installation stops - trains halt in the middle of the track, conveyor belts freeze with half-transported items. To keep production running, you keep the chunks loaded artificially.

But that turns the calculation around: force-loaded chunks keep ticking around the clock, even when nobody is online. On a server with five players who all keep their base loaded permanently, the full load runs permanently - and the server is not only full once everyone is there, but always.

That is not a bug but a design decision you should make consciously. Sensible practice: only keep those chunks loaded permanently whose production really has to keep running, and agree on the number of force-loads per player within the team. How to see which dimension uses up tick time is described in Lag and TPS.

Above and Beyond, Astral and what it means for the server

Create: Above and Beyond is the classic of the series: a quest path that leads from the first hand crank to space travel, built on Minecraft 1.16.5 with Forge. For the server, that means - as with RLCraft - a look at the Java version: with 1.16.5, Java 8 is enough, and older Forge versions often do not tolerate Java versions that are too new. You switch this in the web interface under Startup in the Docker Image field.

Create: Astral takes the same route with a different foundation: Minecraft 1.18.2 on Fabric, and therefore Java 17 instead of Java 8. It is the more demanding of the two packs, with a full quest path and a pronounced progression tree. If you come from Above and Beyond, you therefore have to switch not only the pack but also the loader and Java version. There are also further Create packs on more recent Minecraft versions; their version and loader are stated on their respective CurseForge page - the series is evolving quickly.

What they all have in common: they are intended for small to medium groups. Create packs thrive on people building together on one installation, not on fifty people raising their own factories in parallel.

Which plan for Create?

The thresholds below apply to this pack - a light Vanilla+ pack and a kitchen-sink pack with a hundred running machines behave completely differently. You can upgrade at any time without losing data and only pay the difference.

Group Plan RAM Price Why
Solo or two players Plan M 4 GB €5.99 / month Carries a shared factory, but is below the 6 to 8 GB quoted for the packs. Order M
3-8 players Plan L 8 GB €11.99 / month The normal case - comfortably covers the common recommendation of 6 to 8 GB. Order L
From 10 players Plan XL 16 GB €21.99 / month Several separate bases that are all supposed to stay loaded permanently. Order XL
Many force-loads Plan L 8 GB €11.99 / month Not because of memory, but because more chunks are active permanently - the CPU counts here. Order L

The memory is taken proportionally from the plan via -XX:MaxRAMPercentage - you don't need to maintain a fixed -Xmx. The basics are covered in the RAM guide.

Setting up Create on the server

  1. Decide which Create pack will be played - Above and Beyond, Astral or a newer one. Version and loader are stated on its CurseForge page.
  2. Stop the server in the web interface.
  3. In the guided setup, choose the matching loader (Forge, NeoForge or Fabric) and search for the pack via the CurseForge installer.
  4. Under Startup, set the Java version to match the pack's Minecraft version - for Above and Beyond on 1.16.5, Java 8 is enough.
  5. Start the server and wait in the console for Done.
  6. Agree within the team which chunks should stay loaded permanently - that decides the later base load more than any setting.

Common pitfalls with Create

TPS drop, RAM is half empty

Cause: The normal picture with Create: running contraptions cost computing time per tick, not memory.

Fix: Switch off or decouple installations that are not needed, do not keep conveyor belts permanently jammed with items and reduce the number of force-loads.

The factory stands still when nobody is online

Cause: The installation's chunks are unloaded as soon as no player is nearby.

Fix: Keep the relevant chunks loaded selectively - but only those whose production really has to keep running.

Trains derail or contraptions fall apart

Cause: The installation crosses a chunk border whose neighbouring chunk is not loaded.

Fix: Plan tracks and large contraptions within loaded areas or load the affected chunks as well.

The server does not start after switching packs

Cause: The Create packs are spread across several Minecraft versions; the Java version no longer matches the new pack.

Fix: Under Startup, adjust the Docker image to the Minecraft version. The mapping is in Change the Java version.

Frequently asked questions about Create

For Above and Beyond as well as for Astral, 6 to 8 GB are commonly quoted - which makes plan L with 8 GB the right size. Plan M with 4 GB carries a group of two, but is below this recommendation. With Create packs, computing time per tick matters more than memory size anyway.

Because every running contraption is recalculated in every tick. The more cogwheels, trains and loaded conveyor belts run at the same time, the longer a tick takes. Switchable installations and fewer permanently loaded chunks help here.

Only if the chunks stay loaded. By default, they are unloaded and the installation stands still. Permanent loading is possible, but raises the server's base load around the clock.

Above and Beyond runs on Minecraft 1.16.5, where Java 8 is enough. Older Forge versions often do not tolerate Java versions that are too new - set the Docker image accordingly in the web interface under Startup.

Yes, precisely because of that. Instead of abstract power grids, you build visible mechanics: shafts, cogwheels, clutches. Above and Beyond also introduces the mechanics step by step via a quest path.

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