Category: GTNH

How We Handle Backups for Our GTNH Servers

Stone Legion

For years, we’ve wrestled with a common problem in the gaming community: managing massive world backups. On our GTNH 2021 server, a full world backup could balloon to over 200 GB. Backing up a file this large was becoming unmanageable and frankly, not worth the effort.

The Evolution of Our Backup System

We decided we needed a better solution, so we transitioned to a system using Restic. I created a cron job to perform incremental backups. The first backup would still be large, but subsequent backups were much smaller, often under 1 GB. This was a significant improvement, though it still had its drawbacks. Restoring something as small as a single player file was still a complex task that required a custom script or moving a huge amount of data. It got the job done, but it was far from ideal.

A real game-changer came with the Server Utilities mod in GTNH 2.7.0, which introduced a chunk-claim-based backup system. This smart system backs up only the claimed chunks within a region, and it only backs up those specific chunks, not the entire region file. This drastically reduced the backup size. What used to be a 200 GB backup on each server is now about 0.5 GB. That’s a savings of 199.5 GB!

Our Multi-Layered Backup Strategy

With our new, smaller backup files, I created a PowerShell script that connects to our three GTNH servers. This script automatically downloads the latest backup file from each server to a local NVMe drive I use for temporary storage. The script is set to keep the five most recent backups, which means we always have five days’ worth of local backups.

This is a great first step, but what if something happens to my house? Proper offsite backup is crucial. I use a Google Drive account that has plenty of storage left. The same script that handles the local backup now automatically uploads those backup files to my Google Drive, storing five backups from each server. This means we now have backups in three different locations:

  1. On the server itself
  2. On my local PC
  3. On Google Drive

In addition to this daily routine, we also perform a massive “deep storage” backup every time we update the servers, not just for major releases. For example, when we upgrade from version 2.7.4 to 2.8.0, we’ll make a full 200 GB backup and store it on an external hard drive that is then shut down and kept offline. This is our last-resort backup in case of a catastrophic failure.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of how we handle our backups. We take the safety of our world files very seriously, and we’re always looking for ways to improve our systems.

GTNH 2021, 2025, and 2026: Our Plans for the 2.8 Update

Stone Legion

We have some exciting, and perhaps not-so-surprising, news about our three servers. That’s right, we now have three!

Introducing the New GTNH 2026 Server

First, let’s talk about our new GTNH 2026 server. We’re planning to release this server around the time version 2.8 of the game drops. We’re keeping things simple with the name, but the server itself will be powered by our new Intel Core 9 285k and will run on a pure Forge platform.

This server isn’t aimed at the hardcore players who are trying to rush to the Stargate Tier. We already have the GTNH 2025 server for that. The GTNH 2026 server is designed to be a more relaxed experience, perfect for new players, those who have never gone much further than the HV tier, or even players like me who have never launched a rocket before.

As we get closer to the launch date, we will post more news. In the meantime, we kindly ask that if you play or have played on GTNH 2025, please consider continuing your journey there. The new server’s main purpose is to bring new players into our community.

Updates for GTNH 2025

Now for the GTNH 2025 server. It will be updated to GTNH 2.8 approximately 2-4 weeks after the official release. We wait to ensure stability and performance, and if all looks good, we’ll proceed with the update. This process usually takes at least two weeks, and sometimes longer, to iron out any major bugs.

We also recently switched from Java 21 to Java 24 due to a hardware failure and will continue to use Java 24 for the 2.8 update. We plan to keep the GTNH 2025 server open to everyone, even with the new GTNH 2026 server starting up. We encourage you to get your friends to play on 2025 as we aim to attract new players to the GTNH 2026 server from outside our current community.

Changes to GTNH 2021

The GTNH 2021 server will also be updated to 2.8, following the same steps as the 2025 server. The biggest change, however, is that we are finally moving from the buggy Crucible/Thermos platforms to a pure Forge setup. This is great news as it should resolve several issues and we believe you will notice an overall performance improvement. We will also be jumping from Java 8 all the way to Java 24.

Because of this change, you will lose Grief Prevention Plus (GP+). However, we have been running Server Utilities for almost a year now, which offers more land claims than you could ever need. We have also already claimed all the abandoned areas on the server. This prevents a “free-for-all” scenario where players’ old land is vulnerable to theft after the upgrade. If a player returns, they will need to contact us to have their old claims removed so they can re-claim the land.

The GTNH 2021 server will remain whitelisted. We have a few very high-level players who use a significant amount of resources, and we have promised them that we will keep the server locked down so they can enjoy it until they are finished.

Our Overall Goal

Ultimately, our goal is to make all our servers very similar in nature. This will make updating, resolving issues, and making changes much easier. We want to provide a fair playing experience across all our servers, without any kind of favoritism. As always, we do not plan on wiping our servers. We will keep them running until you’re tired of them, and even if there are only a couple of players left, like on the GTNH 2021 server, we will keep them running.

Have questions about these changes? Please ask them in one of our three GTNH channels on Discord.

GTNH 2025 Online Again! New Hardware!

Stone Legion

$1000 later we have our ⁠gtnh-2025 Server Online and Running!

Replacement Hardware:
– Ultra 9 285K
– Asus PRO B860M-CT-CSM MB.
– ARTIC MX-4 Thermal Paste

The best part is this upgrade lets us use our 4x 32 GB of DDR5 ram running at 6400MHz CL32’s where before they were running at 4000MHz… So big improvement there as well. (Total of 128GB of DDR5)

Also testing out Java 24 on the Server. I don’t have experimental settings on right now, but big improvements coming soon for that as well!

Have fun and thanks for those who donated via http://paypal.com/StoneLegion that was beyond awesome of you guys helping pay for the costs. Lets hope she stays solid for the next few years <3

Thank you for your understanding and enjoy GTNH like it’s meant to be enjoyed <3

GTNH 2025 Server Just Died!

Stone Legion

Our GTNH Server/Box went Boom! Good news no data loss, but it looks like our pesky Intel 13,900k (already a RMA once) is possible damaged again. We tested our NVME’s drives and running memtest none stop. We don’t want the server down for days, so we are probably going to be buying a 14,900k replacement CPU so we can get back online asap. This will still take up to about 24 hours to show up at my door, but at least we can continue running tests on the server. If you want to donate you can via http://paypal.com/StoneLegion but right now it’s less about the money and more about getting it online asap, but like always the funding goes towards the cost of our servers. Please feel free to talk about this via ⁠gtnh-2025 Channel. I will be on and off as my Baby is not having the best evening, but I’m running tests so most of it does not require me to babysit them… I’m really sorry for the downtime and please forgive me <3

Update 9:30 PM EST: We spending a little over a grand. Were not going to take any more chances on the 13k/14k gen of Intel. We are jumping right to the Ultra 9 285K, with a new Motherboard (sadly new socket change). We hope to get these items in the next 24 hours give or take a few hours and get it online for you ASAP. So were hoping later evening Friday! Because of new chipset, cpu, etc. I need to of course update bios, install Proxmox from scratch run updates, install the vm, then java/server backup and will be back online again. We did memtest, smart checks on the drives, switched ram around, underclocked ram, turned off some cpu features, and sadly was unable to stabilize the server even to offer one night of gaming before we swap the hardware over. Thank you for your understanding and support. <3

PS: Thenextelement crashed the server like 4-5 times in a row before the server CPU gave up and died. So we have someone to blame <3

GTNH 2025 Has Been Released!

Stone Legion

Our brand new GTNH-2025 Server is now out.
More Information:
https://stonelegion.com/mc-gtnh-2025/gtnh-2025-server-information-including-client-download/

This server has very little changes. The biggest changes is removing caves, ravines, etc from the overworld to give it that very nice mining experience and help reduce entity lag.

This is a long term server and is planning to stay online for years.

GregTech 2.4.0 Update & Massive World Expansion & New Server Hardware is Now Out!

Stone Legion

Well that title was fully loaded. So let’s get right to it!

Mk5 Fusion Reactors

GregTech 2.4.0
As expected we have now updated our server to 2.4.0 and it’s once again a monster amount of new and amazing changes worth checking out.
– Reddit’s Summery Patch Notes
– Full Patch Notes

Massive World Expansion!
We have expanded our Overworld from 16,000 x 16,000 Blocks Border to now a whopping 32,000 x 32,000 blocks in size. That is 4 times the increase of land mass. That is over 1 Billion Chunks per world now!
We also Wiped the Nether, End, and Twilight.

Overworld, Nether, & Twilight has been also pre-generated to the 32,000 x 32,000 new border to help prevent as much lag as possible.

New Server Hardware!

Our old server was getting old and just not doing it’s job. So we went crazy and went with an entire new setup.
New Server Specs:

  • CPU: Intel® Core™ i9-13900K Processor 36M Cache, up to 5.80 GHz
  • RAM: 128GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR5 6400MHz
  • Main Disk: 2x 4TB NVME’s Gen 4’s with speeds up to 7,300MB/s
  • APC Smart-UPS C, Line Interactive, 1440VA Battery Backup
  • External Backups every 2 hours.

If you like to play with us, then please check out our Server Information Page!

GregTech New Horizons 2.3.0 Update!

Stone Legion

Quantum Force Transformer, or QFT for short.

Hey Everyone the Big 2.3.0 Update is now Out! Enjoy!

Please don’t forget to backup your Instance before updating. Locations to specifically note:
– options.txt (file) – Basic Game Options Include Keybinds, Graphics, Audio, and more.
– optionsof.txt (file) – OptiFine Config if you installed it.
– visualprospecting (folder) – Keeps your ores / oils from Journey Map!
– journeymap (folder) – Keeps your Map Data & Waypoints Data.
– saves/NEI (folders) – Keep NEI Changes & Recipe Bookmarks!
– screenshots (folder) – If you been taking picture via the F2 key.
– saves (folder) – If you play Single Player or Have Testing Worlds
– schematics (folder) – if you made any schematics

To grab the latest version you can download the MultiMC Drag & Drop onto the Instance One here! For help setting up the client then go here.

GregTech New Horizons 2.2.8 Update!

Stone Legion
Vidaj Early Base

Hey everyone we have decided to update from 2.2.3 to 2.2.8 and there has been a lot of changes and we feel like it’s time as it looks like update 2.3 might be a couple of weeks if not longer still.
– 2.2.3-2.2.7 Change Logs
– 2.2.7-2.2.8 Change Logs

Please don’t forget to backup your Instance before updating. Locations to specifically note:
– options.txt (file) – Basic Game Options Include Keybinds, Graphics, Audio, and more.
– optionsof.txt (file) – OptiFine Config if you installed it.
– visualprospecting (folder) – Keeps your ores / oils from Journey Map!
– journeymap (folder) – Keeps your Map Data & Waypoints Data.
– saves/NEI (folders) – Keep NEI Changes & Recipe Bookmarks!
– screenshots (folder) – If you been taking picture via the F2 key.
– saves (folder) – If you play Single Player or Have Testing Worlds
– schematics (folder) – if you made any schematics

To grab the latest version you can download the MultiMC Drag & Drop onto the Instance One here! For help setting up the client then go here.