A Minecraft server, really?
Yes. And no.
Conodia wasn't just a Minecraft server where people came to play. It was a full-stack, multi-team project with a thought-out infrastructure, custom systems, and a genuine desire to offer something different.
I spent 4 years on it. It's probably the experience that taught me the most — technically and as a person.
What we built
Fully custom Java plugins
Nothing downloaded from SpigotMC. Every in-game feature was developed by the team. Economy systems, ranks, quests, dynamic events — all built in-house.
This forced me to work with poorly documented APIs, understand the performance constraints of a real-time environment, and ship code that other people would run in production.
A TypeScript API
To drive everything, I built a central TypeScript API. It served as the bridge between the game, Discord, and the website. Account management, data synchronisation, admin endpoints — a proper backend layer.
Discord ↔ Minecraft ↔ website integration
The three systems talked to each other in real time. A player banned on Discord was also banned in-game. A purchase on the website was reflected in-game immediately. A message in a specific Discord channel appeared in-game, and vice versa.
This kind of integration is what makes a project feel coherent — and also what demands the most care to maintain.
The team
At its peak, Conodia had 15+ people: developers, moderators, community managers, designers, builders.
Managing a volunteer team is a particular exercise. People give their time freely — which places a form of responsibility toward them that you don't necessarily have with paid employees. I learned to delegate, give feedback, handle conflicts, and motivate without coercion.
The launches
We opened the server three times. The third launch was the best: over 95 concurrent players. For an amateur server with no paid marketing, that was a result we were proud of.
Between each launch, we rebuilt, refined, and learned from what hadn't worked. It's an iterative model applied to a video game.
Why we shut down
Honestly? The Minecraft community — at least the one we encountered — became difficult to manage. Immature at times, toxic at others. A significant chunk of energy that should have gone into creation was spent managing conflicts, handing out sanctions, moderating.
At some point, being the permanent referee stopped being fun. We shut down. Cleanly, without drama.
What I take away
TypeScript, Java, Dart for other side projects. System administration. Team management. Financial management. Product sense.
But above all: the ability to carry a complex project over time, with people, with constraints — and to know when to stop.