// modpack server guide
Create: Astral server hosting & setup guide
A Create: Astral server needs Java 17 and about 5.5–7 GB of RAM for up to 8 players.
A challenging Create tech pack on Fabric 1.18.2 that takes you from your first machines to space travel, with full questing and custom recipes.
Pack details checked by hand against Create: Astral on CurseForge on October 4, 2026.
Create: Astral is a Fabric modpack for Minecraft 1.18.2 with 174 mods. We'd pick our Premium plan (8 GB) for it.
Quick facts
| Loader | Fabric |
|---|---|
| Minecraft versions | 1.18.2 |
| Java needed | Java 17 for Minecraft 1.18.2 Java version chart. |
| Mods | 174 modsThe number of mod files in the authors' server pack for version 2.1.5b. CurseForge lists 197 mods for the whole pack, because the server pack leaves out client-side mods like Sodium Extra. |
| RAM | About 5–5.5 GB for 1–3 playersBy player count. |
| Downloads | 1,443,117 on CurseForgeAs of October 4, 2026. |
| Latest version | August 23, 2026 (version 2.1.5b)The newest version when we checked on October 4, 2026. |
| Official server files | Download pagePublished next to each version on CurseForge, for example Create Astral Server Pack v2.1.5b. |
| Where to get it | Create: Astral on CurseForge |
| Tags | quests, exploration, tech |
Create: Astral on a server: what to know
Create: Astral is a Fabric 1.18.2 pack built around Create and Tech Reborn, with a quest chapter for each of the Moon, Mars and Mercury. Since 2.1.5 the only prebuilt server pack is on CurseForge. Its SERVER_README says the server needs Java 17 and that any other version crashes, and puts the minimum at 4 GB for 1 to 4 players. The pack starts from its own server.jar with startmc.sh (set to 6 GB) or startmc.bat (4 GB); if a host's panel won't run the included scripts, the readme says to boot it with your own start script.
The bundled server.properties sets max-tick-time=200000, view-distance=8 and allow-nether=false, and the pack's description says Nether resources are found on and beyond the Moon instead.
Watch out for
- The CurseForge server pack lacks vinery-1.1.4.jar because CurseForge can't include archived files; copy it from a client's mods folder, or quest icons go missing and Astral Vinery won't load. Source.
- If PipeBlocker crashes on startup, the readme says you can remove it, since the pack's mods are already patched against the exploit it blocked. Source.
Sources: curseforge.com, curseforge.com (2), github.com. Checked October 12, 2026.
Create: Astral server files
Create: Astral's authors publish official server files. Published next to each version on CurseForge, for example Create Astral Server Pack v2.1.5b. 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: Astral server need?
| Players online | RAM | DSN plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 players | About 5–5.5 GB | Premium (8 GB) |
| 4–8 players | About 5.5–7 GB | Premium (8 GB) |
| 9–15 players | About 6.5–9 GB | Heavy (12 GB)Premium (8 GB) can do if players stay close. |
Estimated from 174 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. Fabric 1.18.2 takes it in the java command (-Xmx), usually in the start script. RAM guide.
Create: Astral server requirements
| Java | Java 17 |
|---|---|
| Loader | Fabric for Minecraft 1.18.2 |
| CPU | Fast single-core speed (one main thread). With 174 mods, the first start takes minutes. |
| RAM | About 5–9 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: Astral
Premium
8 GB RAM · planned launch price $30/month
The authors don't publish RAM advice, and their server pack has 174 mods, a mid-size pack, so we suggest 8 GB for a small group.
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.
Running it for a bigger group or a public server? Go up to Heavy (12 GB, $42/month). 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: Astral server on your own PC
What's specific to Create: Astral, step by step. The full walkthrough for any pack: how to make a modded Minecraft server.
- Install Java 17.
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 Fabric 1.18.2 server launcher, then seteula=trueineula.txtif you accept Mojang's EULA (EULA step). With 174 mods, the first start takes minutes. - 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: Astral on DSN
Once we relaunch (join the launch list), on DSN you'd install Create: Astral from the panel's CurseForge modpack installer, pick Java 17 on the Startup tab and accept the EULA in the console. No port forwarding.
How to play Create: Astral with friends
Each player installs Create: Astral 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: Astral 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: Astral
Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded? means ticks take longer than 50 ms; more RAM won't fix that once Create: Astral has enough (tick lag guide). For Create: Astral:
- Measure first: spark's
/spark tpsand profiler work on 1.18.2 and name the mod or machine using the tick time. - Distances:
view-distance=8and a lowersimulation-distanceinserver.properties. - Pre-generate: Chunky for 1.18.2,
/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: Astral crashes
What a Fabric 1.18.2 server running Create: Astral hits most. For any other error, paste the log into the free crash log analyzer.
- Wrong Java version. Create: Astral on Minecraft 1.18.2 needs Java 17. Started on Java 8, it stops with
UnsupportedClassVersionError: ... class file version 61.0, this version of the Java Runtime only recognizes class file versions up to 52.0. Java version fix. - Out of memory. Create: Astral (174 mods) needs about 5–5.5 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: Astral 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: Astral past version 2.1.5b, back up the world: see updating a modpack server without losing your world.
Bugs in Create: Astral itself go to its authors through its CurseForge page. Server problems on DSN: hello@dsnservers.com or Discord.
Packs like Create: Astral
More: all modpack guides and how to make a modded server.
Run Create: Astral on DSN when we relaunch.
Our pick, Premium: 8 GB, planned at $30/month.
DSN Servers isn't affiliated with Create: Astral or CurseForge. We wrote the summary and checked the pack's facts by hand on October 4, 2026. Sources: curseforge.com, curseforge.com (2), curseforge.com (3), api.cfwidget.com.