Server control panel with modpack support, multiple worlds etc

So your questions about "can Ptero manage multiple worlds" is a bit of a terminology gotcha.

Ptero manages server instances. A "world" is a very specific thing in Minecraft parlance, namely a dimension in a single server, e.g. overworld, nether, end, resource world, creative world, modded content worlds, etc.

Ptero doesn't manage worlds in any sort of deliberate way, but worlds don't need much managing to begin with. If you're adding worlds to a paper server for example, you just use a plugin like PhantomWorlds or MyWorlds (not Multiverse, bad plugin, do not use), and then the in game commands handle creation and management. Ptero would only play a factor insofar as it has a built in file manager, and can turn on and off whole servers.

On a Forge or Fabric modded server, worlds added by mods don't need management at all. They just happen as a consequence of using their related mods.

So what Ptero actually does for you is offer you a web based panel that allows you to easily turn on and off servers based on what the kids are wanting at any given time, as well as creating new servers with new mods and whatnot. It's an admin panel.

Hopefully that answers your question? If not, feel free to keep drilling down on specific things you're curious about. Aeon is better with this stuff than me, but I don't mind helping until he notices this post.

To TL;DR the fuck out of that;

Ptero manages Docker
Docker -> Minecraft server -> worlds (overworld, nether, end, etc)

I'm sorry I'm so long winded ._.

I like being thorough, okay?

I said nothing against it. :D

yeah I think I was using the term "worlds" to describe a full set of all the "files" that comprise an instance... and I'm thinking what you're saying is that I shouldn't bother trying to run 1 "server" that cycles through different instances but rather have a server for each instance but only have 1 running at a time?

oof... my spelling / grammer sucks in there

Exactly. Have each individual configuration that your kids are interested in, and just turn them on as their interests change.

ok... so re Petro, I think what put me off earlier is that I run portainer on my server and I wasn't sure if I could run petro inside that... would I be better off splitting half the VM resources into a second VM at the hardware level and then having a dedicated server that just runs Petro completely seperate to my portainer VM? does that make sense?

aaaaand we're back at the @Ruddy Ground-Dove questions.

me

lol that's cool man... that's how I feel right now.... my kids are asking me to run modpacks with 200 mods in them or old versions of minecraft from 5 years ago with specific mods that worked only in that instance... it's a wild ride for an old techie like me

See, modpacks are my area of expertise. I've that type of server admin. Been doing that shit since Minecraft released almost 15 years ago. But more traditional homelab stuff? Containers and VMs and proxmox and portainer? Nahhhhh, not a clue.

luckily, that is Aeon's area of expertise.

you can still help me then 🙂 My kids currently want me to setup a server with ATM9... I tried just installing it into both thier clients but it crashes when they connect to each other... can I just move out the files in my current PaperMC server and somehow add ATM to it?

Okay so first thing, the single best thing you can do for client side stuff is get them using [Prism Launcher](https://prismlauncher.org/). It's a modpack management client, totally free and cross platform, and it makes it a breeze to install modpacks CORRECTLY, because they have one-click install options for Curseforge and Modrinth modpacks.

Then all you have to do is worry about the server.

On that note, most modpacks will have a client pack and a server pack. The server pack will usually have all of the mods you need, as well as the server software required. If it doesn't, installation is typically just normal Forge install stuff, e.g. go to Forge website, download installer jarfile, upload to server, run installer.jar --installServer, and it generates all of the folders needed for Forge and auto downloads all of the required files, even dropping a run.sh and run.bat file in there. At that point, you just open the mods folder and drop the modpack's mods in, and open the config folder and drop the modpack's configs in. Easy.

we already use prism 😉