Deploy and Host Multiplayer-Web-Lobby on Railway

A complete real-time multiplayer lobby system with WebSocket communication, 2D player visualization, and live chat functionality. Built with Socket.IO, Phaser.js, and Redis for instant player interaction and seamless scaling across multiple concurrent users.

About Hosting Multiplayer-Web-Lobby

Hosting Multiplayer-Web-Lobby involves deploying two containerized services: a Node.js WebSocket server for real-time communication and an Nginx-served client with Phaser.js game engine. The system uses Redis for player state persistence and horizontal scaling, enabling multiple server instances to share lobby data. Railway automatically handles service discovery, SSL certificates, and environment configuration, making deployment seamless for both development and production environments.

Important: Configure Public Networking ports in Railway:

• Server Service: Set port to 3000
• Client Service: Set port to 80

Common Use Cases

• Game Jams & Hackathons - Quick multiplayer foundation for rapid prototyping
• Educational Projects - Teaching real-time web technologies and WebSocket communication
• Multiplayer Game Development - Base template for browser-based multiplayer experiences
• Interactive Demos - Showcasing real-time collaboration and synchronization
• Team Building Applications - Virtual meeting spaces with interactive elements

Dependencies for Multiplayer-Web-Lobby Hosting

• Node.js 18+ - Runtime environment for the WebSocket server
• Redis - In-memory data store for player state and lobby persistence
• Docker - Containerization for consistent deployment environments
• WebSocket Support - Modern browser compatibility for real-time communication

Deployment Dependencies

• Socket.IO Documentation - Real-time WebSocket communication library
• Phaser.js Guide - 2D game engine for player visualization
• Redis Documentation - In-memory database for scaling
• Docker Multi-stage Builds - Optimized container deployment

Railway Configuration Steps

1. Deploy both services from the template
2. Add Redis plugin to your Railway project
3. Configure Public Networking ports:
   • Server Service → Settings → Networking → Port: 3000
   • Client Service → Settings → Networking → Port: 80
4. Wait for deployment (~2-3 minutes)
5. Access client URL and start playing!

Implementation Details

The system uses Railway's automatic environment variables for service discovery:

// Client automatically detects server using Railway's env vars
const socketUrl = (() => {
  if (window._env_ && window._env_.SERVER_URL) {
    return window._env_.SERVER_URL; // Uses RAILWAY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN
  }
  // Fallback logic for different environments
})();

Server handles real-time events with Redis scaling:

// Automatic Redis adapter for horizontal scaling
if (process.env.REDIS_URL) {
  const pubClient = createClient({ url: process.env.REDIS_URL });
  const subClient = pubClient.duplicate();
  io.adapter(createAdapter(pubClient, subClient));
}

Player state synchronization across all connected clients:

// Real-time player actions broadcast
socket.on("player-action", ({ lobbyId, action, data }) => {
  socket.to(lobbyId).emit("player-action", {
    id: socket.id,
    action,
    data,
    timestamp: Date.now(),
  });
});

Why Deploy Multiplayer-Web-Lobby on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Multiplayer-Web-Lobby on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.