Designing a Symbol-Based Portal System for a Web Browser MMO Strategy Game

Interstellar Empires — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 18:10:56 +0000

In Interstellar Empires, a web-based sci-fi strategy game, portals are not just fast travel. They are a system built around addresses composed of symbols, even if players usually interact with them through missions, intel, or map clicks.

Symbols as Addresses

A portal address consists of 6 unique symbols selected from a pool of 18.

Key rules:
• Symbols cannot repeat
• A single symbol has no meaning on its own
• Only the full 6-symbol combination resolves to a destination

Players rarely need to input these symbols manually. Most of the time, addresses are provided by missions, events, or intel and can be launched directly from the map. Manual dialing exists, but it is optional.

Missions on interactive map

Selected missions shows symbols and allows to send units directly without manual input from player.

Internal Representation

Internally, each complete symbol combination resolves to a location on the galaxy map.

• The address corresponds to a specific position in the galaxy
• There is an additional hidden coordinate (Z) that players never see

From the player’s perspective, symbols are opaque. They are not presented as coordinates, and the game provides no direct way to decode how symbols relate to locations.

The Hidden Z Coordinate

Known addresses always point to the same location. They never redirect elsewhere.

The hidden Z coordinate acts as a validity layer:
• If Z matches, the portal connects
• If Z changes, the same visible address no longer works

The destination still exists, but the portal rejects the input. This allows addresses to expire or be disabled without changing what players see or breaking spatial consistency.

Known vs Manual Dialing

Most portal usage comes from known addresses:
• Missions
• Events
• Intel rewards

Players can also attempt manual dialing. However, without knowing the hidden Z value, the chance of success is intentionally low. Manual dialing exists as a risk-driven option, not the primary way to interact with the system.

Design Constraints and Scalability

Using 18 unique symbols and 6-symbol combinations creates a hard limit on how many distinct addresses can exist. As the galaxy expands, this becomes a real constraint.

To scale the system long-term, the plan is to:
• Introduce additional unique symbols
• Increase address length to 7 or 8 symbols

This preserves the core interaction while allowing the galaxy map to grow without redesigning the mechanic.

Design Goals

The portal system was built with these goals:

• Portal travel should feel intentional, even when launched by a click
• Exploration should not rely on visible randomness
• Addresses must be reusable, shareable, and verifiable (except individual missions, those are individual and can't be shared)
• The system must support long-term expansion

Final Thoughts

This mechanic looks simple in the UI, but it supports exploration, content rotation, and future growth without exposing complexity to the player.

The important part is not that symbols are coordinates, but that the system behaves consistently even if players never understand why.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions or put suggestions in the comments.

Why I Am Building a Browser 4X Space Strategy Game in 2025

Interstellar Empires — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 13:42:45 +0000

When you say you are making a new strategy game in 2025, most people imagine a Steam page, big trailer and a large download.

Interstellar Empires, the game I am working on, is different.

It is a browser 4X space strategy game. You open a tab, log in, and you see your base and the galaxy around it. No installer, no launcher, no 30 GB patch. For some people this looks old school. For me it is exactly the type of game I wanted to play for many years and never really found, so I decided to build it myself.

What Is Interstellar Empires

You start with almost nothing. Just one empty base. No fleets, no units, no army. The first minutes are about placing your first structures, getting your first resources and turning this dead piece of metal into something that looks like a real space station.

From there the game slowly opens. You unlock new buildings, technologies, ships and mechanics. You can send attacks to solar systems, asteroids and stations around the galaxy. You can temporarily occupy some locations and use them for income or strategic advantage, but your home base is always the same single place. You do not spam new outposts all over the map. You have to live with what you have and make smart decisions.

The long term goal is simple to say and hard to reach: build a strong base, field powerful fleets, fight for important locations and survive in a galaxy where other players also want the same thing.

Why Browser And Not A Big 3D Client

Many people ask why I did not just make a “normal” PC game with 3D graphics and a Steam page. There are a few reasons, and they are quite personal.

First, I am a web developer, not a 3D artist. My background is in building web applications, user interfaces and systems that live in the browser. I know HTML, CSS, JavaScript and this whole world. If I tried to make a heavy 3D game, most of my time would go into fighting tools and problems where I have no experience. The browser lets me start quickly, try ideas and focus on the logic of the game instead of shaders and model import pipelines.

Second, I am simply not a graphics person. I like nice visuals of course, but I do not have the skills to produce big 3D assets, animations and so on. If I forced myself into that direction, the project would probably die under its own weight. With a browser game I can keep the visuals simpler, focus on clarity and still make something that looks decent.

Third, I always wanted exactly this type of game: a persistent space strategy game, real time, with one main base, limited positions in space and a lot of focus on planning. I never found a game that hit this exact combination, so I thought “OK, I will just make it”. Starting in the environment I know the best felt natural, so the browser won.

There is also a more practical side. With a browser game, if someone asks you “what are you working on”, you can simply send a link. If they are curious, they can open it in a few seconds. That fits very well with a game where alliances, diplomacy and “come play with us” moments are important.

Real Time, Not Turns

Many 4X games are turn based. You press End Turn, then you wait for everyone else and see what happened. Interstellar Empires does not work like that. Time in the game moves all the time, even when you are not looking.

If you start building something and it says “this will take 30 minutes”, you can literally close the browser, go do something else, and when you come back later it is done. The same for fleets. If an attack takes one hour of travel, that one hour passes in the real world, not in “turns”.

A typical moment might look like this: you log in in the morning, check your base, queue some construction, start a research and send a few attacks to nearby locations that give resources. You see your fleets leaving the base and traveling across the map. You know they will fight there, maybe occupy the place for a while and then return home. You do not park ships somewhere forever. They always return back to your base eventually. Then you close the browser and come back in the evening to see the results and plan the next step.

This rhythm fits very well with normal life. You do not need to sit in front of the screen for three hours to feel progress. A few short sessions per day are enough to keep your empire alive.

Why 4X And Browser Fit Together

Even without turns, Interstellar Empires still has a strong 4X feeling. You expand, you exploit, you fight, you negotiate. The difference is that everything is spread over time.

I think this style of game fits the browser very well. You do not need to be in full “hardcore gaming mode” every time you open it. You can just check what changed, react to new threats and then go back to your day. The galaxy keeps moving on the server, so when you return, there is always a chance that something interesting happened. Maybe someone tried to attack a location you like. Maybe a system became free again. Maybe an alliance started a bigger war.

This slow but constant motion is something I always liked in older online games, and I want to keep that feeling here.

The Feeling I Am Trying To Create

For me, Interstellar Empires is not only about numbers or mechanics. It is about a simple feeling.

I want you to log in and see that the galaxy changed since the last time. Maybe some systems changed hands. Maybe an alliance pushed forward on the map. Maybe someone sent you a message with a threat or an offer. Your single base is just one dot in this bigger picture, but it still matters.

I remember older games where I woke up and the first thing I did was open the game to see what happened during the night. It could be a surprise attack, or a win, or nothing at all, but there was always a bit of tension. I would like Interstellar Empires to give at least a small taste of that.

Where The Game Is Right Now

At the time of writing this, Interstellar Empires is not public yet. You cannot just open the link and start playing. I want to be honest about that.

The base of the game is ready but I just need a little bit more time to do a final polish and after that I would be glad if you join us in Open Beta which is definitely coming soon.

How To Follow The Project

If you came all the way down here, probably you like at least some of these things: 4X, space, browser games, persistent worlds.

I will keep sharing devlogs and small behind the scenes posts while I build Interstellar Empires. If you want to follow the progress and get information when testing starts, you can follow me on:

Thanks a lot for reading. I hope in the future this galaxy will be a nice home for players who enjoy this kind of real time browser strategy game.

Forem: Interstellar Empires