// modpack server guide
Create: Above and Beyond server hosting & setup guide
A Create: Above and Beyond server needs Java 8 and about 6–8 GB of RAM for up to 15 players.
A Create-based progression pack on Forge 1.16.5 by simibubi, the developer of Create, built around quests and custom recipes.
Pack details checked by hand against Create: Above and Beyond on CurseForge on October 4, 2026.
Create: Above and Beyond is a Forge modpack for Minecraft 1.16.5 with about 130 mods. We'd pick our Premium plan (8 GB) for it.
Quick facts
| Loader | Forge |
|---|---|
| Minecraft versions | 1.16.5 |
| Java needed | Java 8 for Minecraft 1.16.5 Java version chart. |
| Mods | About 130 modsCounted from the mod list on the pack's CurseForge page. |
| RAM | About 4.5–5 GB for 1–3 playersBy player count. |
| Downloads | 2,726,782 on CurseForgeAs of October 4, 2026. |
| Latest version | December 15, 2021 (version 1.3)The newest version when we checked on October 4, 2026. |
| Official server files | Download pagePublished next to the latest version on CurseForge (Server Pack - Above and Beyond v1.3). |
| Where to get it | Create: Above and Beyond on CurseForge |
| Tags | tech, quests |
Create: Above and Beyond server files
Create: Above and Beyond's authors publish official server files. Published next to the latest version on CurseForge (Server Pack - Above and Beyond v1.3). Get the official server files.
Use the server files for the exact version your players install: a server and client on different pack versions won't connect.
How much RAM does a Create: Above and Beyond server need?
| Players online | RAM | DSN plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 players | About 4.5–5 GB | Premium (8 GB) |
| 4–8 players | About 5–6.5 GB | Premium (8 GB) |
| 9–15 players | About 6–8 GB | Premium (8 GB) |
Estimated from about 130 mods with our RAM calculator, not measured: low end if players stay together, high end if they spread out.
Set Java's heap (-Xmx) 10–15% under the RAM you have, about -Xmx7000M on 8 GB. Forge 1.16.5 takes it in the java command (-Xmx), usually in the start script. RAM guide.
Create: Above and Beyond server requirements
| Java | Java 8 |
|---|---|
| Loader | Forge for Minecraft 1.16.5 |
| CPU | Fast single-core speed (one main thread). |
| RAM | About 4.5–8 GB for 1–15 players (table above) |
| Disk | The server files, a growing world and backups |
| Network | TCP port 25565 open to players |
Recommended plan
Our pick for Create: Above and Beyond
Premium
8 GB RAM · planned launch price $30/month
At about 130 mods this is a mid-size pack, and 8 GB gives it room for the mods plus the chunks your players load.
Ordering is closed until we relaunch. We aren't taking orders or payments while we move to new hardware. Join the launch list and we'll email you when Premium servers open.
More than 15 players, or lots exploring at once? Go up to Heavy (12 GB). Not sure? Email hello@dsnservers.com.
Planned launch price in USD, billed monthly once ordering opens, with a 7-day refund window.
How to make a Create: Above and Beyond server on your own PC
What's specific to Create: Above and Beyond, step by step. The full walkthrough for any pack: how to make a modded Minecraft server.
- Install Java 8.
Check with
java -version. Java version chart. - Get the server files.
Download the official server files for the version your players use and unzip them into an empty folder. Follow the readme that comes with them.
- Start it and accept the EULA.
Run the start script in the server files, or
java -jaron the Forge jar the installer made, then seteula=trueineula.txtif you accept Mojang's EULA (EULA step). - Set the RAM with
-Xmx, sized from the table above. - Let friends connect: forward TCP 25565, or use a tunnel or host behind CGNAT (can't connect?).
Or run Create: Above and Beyond on DSN
Once we relaunch (join the launch list), on DSN you'd install Create: Above and Beyond from the panel's CurseForge modpack installer, pick Java 8 on the Startup tab and accept the EULA in the console. No port forwarding.
How to play Create: Above and Beyond with friends
Each player installs Create: Above and Beyond with the CurseForge app or Prism Launcher, the same version as the server, and adds the server's address under Multiplayer.
Different versions of Create: Above and Beyond on the server and a client show up as Mismatched mod channel list or mod rejections. Why friends can't join, timeouts included.
Lag and performance on Create: Above and Beyond
Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded? means ticks take longer than 50 ms; more RAM won't fix that once Create: Above and Beyond has enough (tick lag guide). For Create: Above and Beyond:
- Measure first: spark's
/spark tpsand profiler work on 1.16.5 and name the mod or machine using the tick time. - Distances:
view-distance=8inserver.properties. - Pre-generate: Chunky for 1.16.5,
/chunky radius 3000then/chunky start, before people explore. - Create contraptions and train networks tick in every loaded chunk; check them first when TPS drops.
Common Create: Above and Beyond crashes
What a Forge 1.16.5 server running Create: Above and Beyond hits most. For any other error, paste the log into the free crash log analyzer.
- Wrong Java version. Create: Above and Beyond runs on Minecraft 1.16.5, built for Java 8. Newer Java can break its loader and mods (
Unsupported class file major version 61), so stay on Java 8. Java version fix. - Out of memory. Create: Above and Beyond (about 130 mods) needs about 4.5–5 GB for 1–3 players;
java.lang.OutOfMemoryErrormeans it ran out. Out-of-memory fix. - Client-only mod on the server. This one shows up when the mods folder is copied from a player's game instead of installed as a server. Check a mods list with the client-or-server-side checker. Client-only mod fix.
- After adding or updating a mod. Mods you add to Create: Above and Beyond by hand usually crash it with a missing dependency or a mixin conflict.
- Ticking entity or block entity. The crash report names it and gives its coordinates. Ticking entity fix.
Updates and support
Before moving Create: Above and Beyond past version 1.3, back up the world: see updating a modpack server without losing your world.
Bugs in Create: Above and Beyond itself go to its authors through its CurseForge page. Server problems on DSN: hello@dsnservers.com or Discord.
Packs like Create: Above and Beyond
More: all modpack guides and how to make a modded server.
Run Create: Above and Beyond on DSN when we relaunch.
Our pick, Premium: 8 GB, planned at $30/month.
DSN Servers isn't affiliated with Create: Above and Beyond or CurseForge. We wrote the summary and checked the pack's facts by hand on October 4, 2026. Sources: curseforge.com, api.cfwidget.com, curseforge.com (2).