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Two simple settings that can affect Minecraft server performance are view-distance and simulation-distance.
Both can be found inside:
server.properties
view-distance controls how much world data the server sends to each player.
simulation-distance controls how far away entities and other game mechanics continue to update around players.
The default values are commonly:
view-distance=10
simulation-distance=10
For a smaller server with limited CPU resources, you can try:
view-distance=8
simulation-distance=6
Then restart the server and test normal gameplay.
Do not immediately set both values extremely low. Players will notice mobs disappearing, farms behaving differently and terrain appearing closer to them.
The important difference is that simulation distance affects active game processing, while view distance mainly controls how much world data players receive.
If your server is struggling because many players are spread across the map, reducing simulation distance can reduce the number of actively ticking areas.
Always compare performance before and after the change.
You can check:
/tps
/mspt
If MSPT improves without negatively affecting gameplay, keep the new values.
There is no perfect value for every server. A survival server with 10 players and a network with hundreds of players require completely different settings.
Paper currently accepts values between 3 and 32 for these settings.
Both can be found inside:
server.properties
view-distance controls how much world data the server sends to each player.
simulation-distance controls how far away entities and other game mechanics continue to update around players.
The default values are commonly:
view-distance=10
simulation-distance=10
For a smaller server with limited CPU resources, you can try:
view-distance=8
simulation-distance=6
Then restart the server and test normal gameplay.
Do not immediately set both values extremely low. Players will notice mobs disappearing, farms behaving differently and terrain appearing closer to them.
The important difference is that simulation distance affects active game processing, while view distance mainly controls how much world data players receive.
If your server is struggling because many players are spread across the map, reducing simulation distance can reduce the number of actively ticking areas.
Always compare performance before and after the change.
You can check:
/tps
/mspt
If MSPT improves without negatively affecting gameplay, keep the new values.
There is no perfect value for every server. A survival server with 10 players and a network with hundreds of players require completely different settings.
Paper currently accepts values between 3 and 32 for these settings.