SpongeCraft

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SpongeCraft is the name given to the official Minecraft server of The SpongeBob Community. To date, it has taken on three different iterations:

  • SpongeCraft Classic (known during its operation simply as SpongeCraft), the original creative mode server which operated from 2015 to 2019, and featured the world of Spongecraftia.
  • SpongeCraft Frontiers, which operated from 2023 to 2026, first as a survival-oriented server, and later as a hybrid game mode server.
  • SpongeCraft Forge, a revival of Classic which replaced Frontiers in 2026, and features an extensive system of addons using the Forge mod loader.

SpongeCraft has been SBC's most prominent and expansive gaming-related feature since the original server's debut in January 2015, and played an important part in the community's history over the years. HawkbitAlpha has served as SpongeCraft's primary maintainer since the launch of Frontiers in July 2023.

History

SpongeCraft Classic (2015-2019)

SpongeCraft (later known as SpongeCraft Classic, to differentiate it from its successors) launched on January 30th, 2015 using Minecraft 1.5.2, and received regular updates over the next two years, with its last major change being a July 2017 update to version 1.12.2. It ran on the Spot server, and featured the world of SpongeCraftia.

SpongeCraft was the creation of MDPP, who launched it as a self-hosted operation using a Raspberry Pi, which placed unique restrictions on building in SpongeCraft's first weeks: a square formation of cakes, dubbed the "cake line", outlined a small perimeter within Historic Spongecraftia, in which players were able to build without overtaxing the server hardware. After this restriction was lifted, players began to rapidly spread construction projects outward from the now densely-packed Historic Spongecraftia City, which evolved into the system of dedicated "nations" such as Unknown Spongecraftia and Arctic Spongecraftia.

Unlike future iterations of SpongeCraft, Classic utilized a special launcher which allowed players to log into the game using their SBC account credentials. This allowed the server to be integrated with the SBC website itself, with one of its key advantages being the ability for players to earn Doubloons from in-game activities. This integration, however, required constant maintenance to keep working, and became less functional over time, before being discontinued in the latter half of 2018 following MDPP's removal from SBC. sbl would assume leadership over SpongeCraft for the remainder of its lifespan.

SpongeCraft Classic holds an especially important place in SBC history due to the Bukkit plugin DiscordSRV, which inspired the creation of the SBC Discord in June 2016. While it was originally made as a bridge between non-gaming SBC members and players on the server, the Discord would go on to replace the aging SBC Xat as the community's primary hub.

On August 25, 2019, it was announced that SpongeCraft would be discontinued in September 2019, due to a combination of low activity and insurmountable technical issues caused by the defunct SBC integration. The map itself was backed up before its closure and released as an archive. The final tournaments were held on September 13 and 14, 2019, before the server went down permanently on September 19.

SpongeCraft Frontiers (2023-2026)

Shortly after being appointed as an SBC Cashier in November 2022, HawkbitAlpha posted a forum thread to gauge interest in a possible comeback of SpongeCraft. The server's future revival was confirmed during the April 2023 rollout of Seahorse 15, and on July 3rd, 2023, SpongeCraft Frontiers was officially revealed to the community, opening to players the next day.

During its initial operation from July to December 2023, Frontiers ran on version 1.12.2 (and later 1.14.4), and had no connection to the original SpongeCraft, being a pure survival server which featured a new map known as the Frontierlands. The server went offline on January 3rd, 2024 due to a lapse in hosting payment, during which the provider deleted its files, forcing a total reset for its reopening. The "V2" relaunch of Frontiers, which went live on February 16th, 2024 as part of Februquarry, introduced yet another new map, Overlandia, but it did not initially gain traction with players. Activity on the server would only rebound in June, after Pretty Patty Pride led to the foundation of Twinleaf Town. This coincided with the server's conversion away from pure survival and into a "hybrid", as players were allowed to freely switch between survival and creative game modes. It received its final version update, from Spigot 1.14.4 to Purpur 1.18.2, in July 2025.

Anthemic Anniversary in August 2024 saw a highly consequential change made to the server with the addition of the Multiverse plugin, which allowed for SpongeCraftia to be added to the server as a second world alongside Overlandia. While it was originally added as a sort of historic archive, the classic map would gradually become the center of activity once again, leaving Overlandia with little development after its addition. This led to the discontinuation of Frontiers in January 2026, with its operator team and server infrastructure being carried over to its immediate successor, SpongeCraft Forge.

SpongeCraft Forge (2026-)

In January 2026, Hawk joined a small team of friends outside of SBC to beta-test SeguinRise, a custom Forge mod pack for Minecraft 1.20.1. Hawk used one of its pre-release builds as the foundation for a new content pack for SpongeCraft, and after several attempted deployments, officially debuted SpongeCraft Forge on January 26th, 2026, taking the place of Frontiers. Due to Forge's incompatibility with Bukkit plugins, the Multiverse plugin was discontinued on the server, causing the removal of Overlandia as a second map. As a result, SpongeCraft Forge is considered the "true" successor to Classic, as it once again brings back the world of SpongeCraftia as its primary setting.

SpongeCraft Forge is the first iteration of SC to use both server-side and client-side mods, introducing not only various quality-of-life improvements for Minecraft itself, but also a vast array of new content including building materials, tools, vehicles, and even media players. It also implements PureBDCraft as the server's official texture pack of choice.

Event History

Classic

Frontiers

Forge

Gallery

  • Classic one week after release
    Classic one week after release
  • Classic 11 months after release
    Classic 11 months after release
  • Classic farewell party, September 15th, 2019
    Classic farewell party, September 15th, 2019
  • Frontiers's first opening day ceremony, July 4th, 2023
    Frontiers's first opening day ceremony, July 4th, 2023
  • SC 10th anniversary celebration on Frontiers, January 30th, 2025
    SC 10th anniversary celebration on Frontiers, January 30th, 2025
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