Set up the Create: Arcane Engineering server

Create: Arcane Engineering is a Minecraft 1.18.2 Forge modpack that splits progression between machines and magic. Its CurseForge page names Create, PneumaticCraft, Thermal Expansion, Forbidden & Arcanus and Ars Nouveau among its mods, and says each path unlocks machines the other needs. You install the server from the Modpacks tab, using the pack's CurseForge server pack.

Checked against CAE 1.9.3 (the CurseForge file dated 8 November 2023) on Minecraft 1.18.2 and Forge, October 2026.

What the pack needs

• Minecraft 1.18.2 with Forge. The server pack's start script names Forge 40.2.9, but the pack ships no Forge files and no variables.txt. The install sets up Forge for 1.18.2 itself, using the build the pack's own manifest names, which is also 40.2.9. Minecraft 1.18.2 runs on Java 17, which the panel picks for you.
• Memory. The author's page recommends 8 GB of RAM, with 4 GB as the minimum. The server pack holds 180 mod jars. Your plan sets the RAM, so see how much RAM a Minecraft server needs and the Minecraft plans.
• Disk space. The server pack is a download of about 277 MB and unpacks to about 378 MB. The download sits on your plan's disk while it unpacks, so you need room for both.
• A matching client. The newest file is titled CAE 1.9.3, while the server pack is named CAEServer1.9.zip. The author's changelog for 1.9.3 says it fixes dependencies and that you can join 1.9 servers easily with it. Players should install the newest CurseForge file.

Install the server

1. Open your server and choose Modpacks under Content in the left rail.
2. Press the CurseForge chip above the search box, then search for Create: Arcane Engineering.
3. Pick Create: Arcane Engineering. Create: Arcane Engineering Core is a mod, and Chaos: Arcane Engineering is a different pack.
4. Press Install. The popup says it reinstalls your server with the pack and names Forge and Minecraft 1.18.2.
5. Leave Take a backup first ticked. Your current world is replaced by the pack's. Tick Start the server when it's ready if you want it to start itself, and tick I agree to the Minecraft EULA if the popup shows it.
6. Hold Install and reinstall until it fills, then wait for the install to finish.

Because the pack ships no loader, the install fetches Forge 1.18.2 on its own and writes a launch script around it.

Match the pack's server settings

The server pack has no server.properties. Its start script creates one with allow-flight=true, a pack message of the day and max-tick-time=180000 when none exists, and that script does not run here. After the first start, open Config Editor and set Allow flight on and Watchdog timeout (ms) to 180000, then save and restart. Allow flight stops the anti-cheat kicking players who fly. Watchdog timeout (ms) is how many milliseconds a single tick may take before the watchdog kills the server.

First start

Press Start on the Console tab. If the EULA has not been accepted yet, the panel asks you to accept it first. The server is up when the console prints a line containing For help, type. Your address is shown in the left rail, with a copy button beside it. Connect to your server for the first time covers adding it in Minecraft, and joining a modded server from a launcher covers the client side.

Common problems

• A player cannot join. Check they run the newest file on Minecraft 1.18.2 with Forge, then compare their mod list with the server's mods folder.
• The server stops because a tick took too long. Raise Watchdog timeout (ms) as above. The pack's own script uses 180000.
• The install stops while unpacking. Your plan's disk may be too small. Check Disk Analyser, clear space and install again.
• The server crashes at boot. Find and read a crash report shows how to name the mod at fault.