As a Minecraft server content creator at rental-server.net, I often encounter misconceptions about server optimization. One persistent issue is the misuse of Spigot’s “max-tick-time” setting. Many server administrators believe it’s a performance enhancer, but in reality, it’s detrimental to your server’s health and stability.
The purpose of this article, inspired by insights from leading server developers, is to explain why you should never use “max-tick-time” and what you should do instead to ensure optimal Minecraft server performance.
The Misconception of “max-tick-time”
The “max-tick-time” setting in Spigot aims to limit the server tick time, seemingly to prevent server crashes during heavy load. Users often see it as a safeguard, believing it helps maintain server responsiveness. This is a misunderstanding of how Minecraft servers function and what causes lag.
The idea that PaperSpigot not offering “max-tick-time” is a downside, as mentioned in some communities, is fundamentally incorrect. Paper, known for its performance and stability enhancements over Spigot, omits this feature for good reason: it’s a flawed system.
Why “max-tick-time” is Fundamentally Broken
The core issue with “max-tick-time” lies in its crude approach to server lag. Instead of addressing the root causes of performance bottlenecks, it attempts to mask the symptoms by skipping server ticks. This tick skipping introduces a cascade of problems:
Inconsistencies and Broken Mechanics
Minecraft’s game logic relies heavily on consistent server ticks. Game mechanics, entity behavior, and even tile entity updates are all tied to the server’s tick rate. “max-tick-time” disrupts this fundamental rhythm.
- Entity Instability: Skipping ticks can lead to unpredictable entity behavior. While advancements like Entity Activation Range aim to optimize entity ticking safely, “max-tick-time” disregards these carefully designed systems. Entities may be left in inconsistent states, leading to glitches and unexpected interactions within the game world.
- Tile Entity Failures: Tile entities, such as chests, furnaces, and redstone contraptions, are particularly vulnerable. Many tile entities rely on consistent tick progression for their internal logic. Skipping ticks can completely break their functionality. For example, timed events within tile entities that are designed to trigger every 20 ticks (1 second) may be missed entirely, leading to broken redstone circuits or malfunctioning machines.
- Player Disruption: “max-tick-time” even skips ticking players. This can delay critical updates to the client, such as chunk loading and entity/tile entity state synchronization. Players may experience visual glitches, delayed interactions, and an overall unresponsive game world.
Masking Underlying Server Load Issues
The most significant problem with “max-tick-time” is that it acts as a band-aid solution. If your server is lagging to the point where “max-tick-time” is kicking in, it’s a clear sign of a deeper issue. Instead of hiding the symptoms, you need to identify and resolve the root cause of the server overload.
Using “max-tick-time” is akin to ignoring a warning light on your car’s dashboard. It might temporarily silence the alarm, but it doesn’t fix the underlying mechanical problem, and could lead to more severe damage in the long run.
If your server is experiencing excessive lag, you should be focusing on:
- Reducing Player Count: Too many players for your server’s resources will inevitably lead to performance issues.
- Reducing Entity Count: Large numbers of entities, especially in loaded chunks, are a major performance drain. Consider optimizing mob spawning or encouraging players to reduce entity-heavy farms.
- Upgrading Hardware: Your server hardware might be insufficient for the demands being placed upon it. Consider upgrading your CPU, RAM, or storage.
- Distributing Load: If you are running a large community, consider expanding to multiple interconnected Minecraft servers to distribute player load and reduce strain on individual servers.
The Correct Approach: Optimization and Performance Tuning
Instead of relying on “max-tick-time”, focus on genuine server optimization techniques. Paper Minecraft is a significant step in the right direction, offering substantial performance improvements over Spigot without compromising game mechanics.
Key areas for server optimization include:
- Utilizing Paper Minecraft: Paper includes numerous performance patches and optimizations that directly address common lag sources.
- Entity Activation Range: This Paper feature intelligently manages entity ticking, ensuring only relevant entities are fully processed, significantly reducing CPU load without breaking game mechanics.
- Optimized Server Configuration: Fine-tune your
spigot.yml,paper.yml, andserver.propertiesfiles with performance-focused settings. Understand the impact of each setting and tailor them to your server’s needs. - Plugin Optimization: Poorly written or inefficient plugins can be a major source of lag. Regularly review your plugins and ensure they are optimized and up-to-date. Consider removing or replacing resource-intensive plugins if necessary.
- World Optimization: Large, unoptimized worlds can contribute to lag. Pre-generating your world and using world optimization tools can improve performance.
How to Disable “max-tick-time”
If you are currently using “max-tick-time”, disable it immediately. To ensure it does not interfere with your server, set the max-tick-time values in your spigot.yml configuration file to 1000. This effectively deactivates the tick limiter without negatively impacting server operation.
Conclusion: Ditch the Tick Limiter and Optimize Properly
“max-tick-time” is not a performance solution; it’s a harmful crutch. It masks serious server load issues, introduces inconsistencies into your game world, and ultimately degrades the player experience.
For a healthy and high-performing Minecraft server, prioritize proper optimization techniques, utilize performance-enhanced server software like Paper Minecraft, and address the root causes of server lag.
Don’t let your friends use the tick limiter! Share this information and help spread awareness about the dangers of “max-tick-time”. Encourage server administrators to focus on real performance improvements instead of relying on broken band-aid solutions.
[url=http://rental-server.net/blog/understanding-minecraft-server-tick-time-limits-why-max-tick-time-is-a-bad-idea/]You should not use Spigot's "max-tick-time" - Learn Why
