Projects

Vanilla+ | Semi-vanilla survival multiplayer Minecraft server

Visit Website

Vanilla+ (vanillaplus.net) is a large scale Minecraft server focused on competitive 'Crystal PvP' while staying close to vanilla gameplay, built around a high-activity spawn with high amounts of Player versus Player, The server is primarily built around a player driven loop of fighting, raiding, and base building. I work across both development and operations, building and maintaining the server’s custom plugins and backend systems, shipping features and fixes, as well as handling performance & reliability, to keep the experience smooth.

Performance under high player counts

Vanilla+ presented a unique challenge in that it required supporting high player counts on a single instance with industry-leading performance and reliability. I provided optimisations through various means; analysing spark reports to make configuration adjustments and forking plugins to rewrite inefficient code are just a few examples.

Building Vanilla+'s custom plugins

I established Vanilla+'s suite of custom Java plugins, some of which are publicly available on the Vanilla+ GitHub organisation. Custom plugins allow for better control and understanding of the code executed on Vanilla+ every second. The competitive advantage offered by custom plugins is clear, adding significant value to Vanilla+ over competing servers. Performance-wise, developing custom plugins for Vanilla+ enabled me to implement advanced optimisations for some of our most resource-intensive plugins.

Monitoring

I also provide Vanilla+ with constant monitoring and issue hotfixes to ensure the server operates as reliably as possible. I do this through a range of tools, including Grafana, Atlassian Statuspage as well as custom-developed tools that report back to Discord channels. Through the monitoring systems I have set up, I'm able to monitor hundreds of data points, from player retention to I/O requests, allowing me to quickly identify issues and deploy patches swiftly.

Outside of development

I contribute to Vanilla+ through day-to-day operational leadership and direction as well. I help to prioritise what gets built next, working to balance performance improvements against new features and translating player feedback into changes that improve retention and gameplay. I also handle release planning and coordination, writing documentation for players and staff members as well as announcements for our 28k+ member Discord server, and working with staff to roll out updates smoothly without disrupting the live experience for players.