Guides · Minecraft
Modpacks and version pinning, for servers that stay up
A hundred dependencies that all have to agree. What pinning means, why client and server must match, and when not to update at all.
· 5 min read
523 articles
SweetMask
SweetMask is a gaming enthusiast and content writer covering gaming news, updates, guides, and online communities. Focused on delivering clear, accurate, and useful content, he helps players stay informed about the latest developments, game updates, and trends across the gaming world.
Articles — page 5
523 resultsGuides
Ark, Rust, Valheim and Conan: Which Server Culture Suits You
Wipe cycle, group cap, rates and raiding rules decide your experience more than the game does. How to read a survival listing, and when to join.
· 7 min read
Game Updates · Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 Update October 5 2026: sv_wallbug
The Team Fortress 2 update October 5 2026 adds sv_wallbug for community servers, resolves view jitter, and updates zombie infection maps.
· 3 min read
Game Updates · 7 Days to Die
7 Days to Die 3.3.0 Stable Released for Hosts
The 7 Days to Die 3.3.0 stable update adds expandable backpacks, an 8x6 base inventory, vehicle inventory checks, and modding virtual methods for hosts.
· 4 min read
Guides · Minecraft
Joining a Modded Minecraft Server Without Losing an Evening
Mods are not plugins, the pack picks the loader, and the install is shorter than its reputation. How to join a modded server without losing an evening.
· 7 min read
Guides · Minecraft
Towny, Claims and the Problem of Owning Land
What a claim protects and what it quietly does not, how Towny differs from simple claims, and the six settings that cause every argument.
· 7 min read
Guides
Prison Servers Explained
Mining a wall of stone until you can afford a better wall of stone. The purest progression loop in Minecraft, and the tuning that decides whether it works.
· 7 min read
Game Updates · Garry's Mod
Garry's Mod November 2025 Update Hits Maps and NPCs
The Garry's Mod November 2025 update brings Source engine water upgrades, 4-way blends, NPC combat fixes, and spawnable Half-Life 2 weapons.
· 3 min read
Guides
Picking a game to host, and the workload that comes with it
Session length and switching cost predict the workload better than genre does. Population threshold, cost, update cadence and tooling maturity.
· 5 min read
Guides
Scheduled tasks on a game server, and failing safely
Backups, restarts, updates, cleanup. Getting them on a schedule is easy; making the failures visible is the part that takes thought.
· 5 min read
Game Updates · Minecraft
Minecraft 1.21.11 Pre-Release 1 Hits Java Server Hosts
Minecraft 1.21.11 pre release 1 arrives with Data Pack 94.0, weapon reach components, texture filtering, and spear combat tweaks for Java servers.
· 4 min read
Guides
Keeping your regulars through a major game update
The risk is not the downtime, it is the dispersal. Announce before they find out, keep the group together elsewhere, and return in stages.
· 5 min read
Guides
When a plugin author disappears, and the update lands
Wait, replace, fork, or drop the feature. How to tell an abandoned project from a quiet one, and why dropping it is the underrated option.
· 5 min read
Game Updates · Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 Update October 1 2026: Scream Fortress
Details on the Team Fortress 2 update October 1 2026, launching Scream Fortress XVIII, five new community maps, engine fixes, and map updates.
· 4 min read
Guides · Minecraft
Nine Minecraft Plugins Most Servers Should Be Running
The plugins most servers should run, the ones people install and regret, and why a small stack is the difference between a hobby and a second job.
· 7 min read
Guides
Disk Speed Matters More Than You Think
Most stutter blamed on the CPU is a scheduled write. How to tell whether the disk is your problem, and what faster storage does and does not buy you.
· 7 min read
Guides
Writing a Whitelist Application That Gets Accepted
Applications are rejected for four reasons and bad writing is not one of them. What the reviewer is looking for, and a version that takes three minutes.
· 7 min read
Guides
Factions: Minecraft's Oldest PvP Format
Power, land and raiding. How the territory mechanic works, why the format is not what you remember, and where in a season to arrive.
· 7 min read
Guides
Bedwars and the Minigame Network
Four teams, four beds, and a queue rather than a place. What separates a minigame network from every other kind of Minecraft server.
· 7 min read
Guides
Finding the plugin conflict, without losing the evening
A server that worked yesterday and does not today is usually two plugins disagreeing. The bisect works — in the right order, on a copy.
· 5 min read
Guides
The Source server settings that actually matter
Fifteen convars out of several hundred decide how a server feels, whether it gets listed, and whether it stays yours.
· 5 min read
Guides
IPv6 for game servers: mostly irrelevant, occasionally essential
Widely deployed everywhere except game hosting, because the query protocols predate it. The one case where it is the only way to be reachable.
· 5 min read
Guides · Counter-Strike 2
Executes, Practice Servers and Nade Lineups
What a practice server gives you that an empty one does not, how executes differ from retakes, and how to spend an hour on lineups without wasting it.
· 7 min read
Guides
Proxies and Why Some Servers Hide Their Real Address
A proxy solves two problems and introduces three. When it makes sense, the mistake that makes it pointless, and the cheaper things that solve most of it.
· 7 min read