Set up the More Animals modpack server

More Animals is a modpack by Lupin and TeamLUP that adds more than a hundred realistic animals, including elephants, crocodiles, giraffes and lions, to a game that keeps a vanilla look. Its CurseForge page lists more than 200 mods and supports multiplayer. The project is still named "More Animals [FORGE] - 1.21 UPDATE!", but its current stable builds are for NeoForge on Minecraft 1.21.1. The last Forge build, for Minecraft 1.20.1, is covered at the end. You install the server from the Modpacks tab, using the CurseForge server pack.

Checked against More Animals [NEOFORGE] - MC 1.21.1 - 33.0.0 (the CurseForge file dated 26 September 2026) on NeoForge 21.1.251 and Minecraft 1.21.1, October 2026.

What the pack needs

• Minecraft 1.21.1 with NeoForge 21.1.251. The server pack's variables.txt names both. Minecraft 1.21.1 runs on Java 21, which the panel picks for you.
• Memory. The author's page recommends a minimum of 7 GB of RAM for the pack, and more for a large number of players. The server pack holds 279 mod jars. Your plan sets the RAM, so check the Minecraft plans and read how much RAM a Minecraft server needs.
• Disk space. The server pack is a download of about 545 MB and unpacks to about 592 MB. The download sits on your plan's disk while it unpacks, so you need room for both.
• The same pack version for players. Players install the same file from the CurseForge app. The author's changelog says to keep a world on the Minecraft version it started on: if you play on 1.21.1, stay on it.

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 More Animals.
3. Pick More Animals [FORGE] - 1.21 UPDATE!. More Animals [NEOFORGE] - Overhauled is a different pack.
4. Press Install and read the first line of the popup. It names NeoForge and a Minecraft version. CurseForge currently lists a 26.1.2 beta ahead of the 1.21.1 builds, so expect 26.1.2.
5. Before you hold the install button, open the version dropdown in the popup (it reads Newest that fits your server) and choose More Animals [NEOFORGE] - MC 1.21.1 - 33.0.0.
6. If that file is not in the dropdown, cancel. The dropdown follows the game version filter, which starts as your server's Minecraft version. Press the Modrinth chip, press Add filter, choose Game version and pick 1.21.1. Press the CurseForge chip again and reopen Install. If the popup shows no version dropdown at all, cancel too, because the install would then take the newest file (the 26.1.2 beta) instead of the 1.21.1 build.
7. 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.
8. Hold Install and reinstall until it fills, then wait for the install to finish.

The pack ships no NeoForge files of its own, so the install reads variables.txt and sets up NeoForge 21.1.251 itself.

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. The pack has no server.properties. The install writes a short one and the server fills in the rest on its first start, so use Config Editor after that to change settings. 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.

The older Forge build

The last Forge file is More Animals [FORGE] - MC 1.20.1 - 78.0.0, dated 21 November 2025. Its server pack is a download of about 322 MB and unpacks to about 358 MB, with 234 mod jars, and its variables.txt names Forge 47.4.0 and Minecraft 1.20.1. That runs on Java 17. Follow the same steps, choosing that file and setting the Game version filter to 1.20.1. The popup may name NeoForge for this file, but the install uses the loader in its variables.txt, which names Forge. Do not move an existing 1.21.1 world to 1.20.1, because Minecraft cannot open a world saved by a newer version.

Common problems

• A player cannot join. Check they run the same file and the same Minecraft version, then compare their mod list with the server's mods folder.
• The install stops while unpacking. Your plan's disk may be too small. Check Disk Analyser, clear space and install again.
• The server lags or runs out of memory. Watch the RAM card on the Console tab and the TPS reading in the left rail. If the RAM card stays full, the author's 7 GB figure is the place to start. Why is my server lagging has more.
• The server crashes at boot. Find and read a crash report shows how to name the mod at fault.