pshenokDeveloper tools

Server Survival

server-survival

A 3D cloud-architecture simulation game where players handle traffic, DDoS, scaling, caches, queues, databases, and GPU inference by building resilient systems.

  • DevOps
  • Backend
  • Productivity
  • Web
  • Browser
  • Runs locally
server-survival screenshot
Popularity
6.4k Stars
GitHub stars
Recent activity
9/27/2026
Updated in the last 30 days
License
MIT
Permissive

Why it matters

We look beyond stars: what problem it solves, whether it creates real utility, and what makes its approach worth noticing.

Last 90 days

Problem

Translates abstract and complex distributed system design and cloud architecture concepts into an intuitive 3D simulation game, effectively lowering the barrier to learning architecture.

Practical value

Offers survival, campaign, and sandbox modes with 26 built-in cloud services, allowing players to gain realistic system operations experience while handling traffic, DDoS attacks, and budget balancing.

Innovation / differentiation

Concretizes real engineering pain points such as cold starts, queue-depth scaling, circuit breaking, GPU inference batching, and power constraints through game mechanics with a unique design.

Leverage potential

Suitable as an educational auxiliary tool for developer training, system design interview preparation, or computer networking courses.

Why now

With the widespread adoption of cloud-native architectures and the growing focus on AI inference costs and performance, such educational simulation tools enter at a very opportune time.

Community activity

In the last 90 days there were 35 new issues and 99 pull requests; the bounded issue/PR samples include 9 issue authors and 4 PR contributors, with 1 releases.

Maintainer responsiveness

The 35-issue window sample had a 83% close rate, and the 99-pull-request sample had a 97% merge rate. Maintainer-response observations covered 100% of that issue sample, with a 51% response rate and median first response of 7.5 days.

4 contributors in PR sample1 releasesIssue response rate 51% · sample 35 (100% coverage)Median first response 7.5dPR merge rate 97% · 99 sampled in window

Key highlights

  • Simulate rising traffic, DDoS waves, random events, and service degradation in Survival mode
  • Learn through 25 Campaign levels from basic infrastructure to AI inference and power constraints
  • Adjust budget, RPS, traffic types, and architecture components freely in Sandbox mode

Quick start

How it is installed, how hard it is, and where to start.

Where it runs

Browser

Difficulty

Easy — follow the steps

Runs locally
  1. 01Open the project’s GitHub Pages version directly; no installation or account is required.
  2. 02Start with Campaign mode to learn CDN, caching, queues, databases, and high availability level by level.
  3. 03Use Survival mode to observe dynamic pressure from capacity, health, budget, and attacks.
  4. 04Switch to Sandbox for free experimentation, customize traffic and budget, and share the architecture URL.

Best for

  • Developers who want to try it on their machine

More about it

Server Survival is a browser-based 3D cloud-architecture simulation game. The player acts as a Cloud Architect, placing and connecting infrastructure components under budget and service-health constraints while handling rising traffic, DDoS waves, random failures, and operating costs.

It includes Survival, Campaign, and Sandbox modes. The 25-level Campaign progresses through CDN, caching, queues, read/write scaling, and high availability before moving into observability, multi-region failover, GPU inference batching, model cold starts, and power constraints. Sandbox mode lets players change budget, RPS, and traffic mixes to test architecture combinations freely.

The project uses native JavaScript ES modules, Three.js, and Tailwind CSS with no build step. It can be played directly from the official GitHub Pages site or cloned and served locally with any static HTTP server.

Sources

Each field shows its status and source — expand to review.

13 · Expand
  • capability tags

    Verified

    productivity

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • editor note

    Verified

    {"en":"This is not a generator of correct production architectures; it turns capacity, cost, failure, and design trade-offs into interactive game mechanics. It is useful for learning why caching, queues, monitoring, and multi-region designs exist, but the game’s numerical model should not be treated as real cloud-provider performance data.","zh":"这个项目不是云平台模拟器的“正确答案生成器”,而是把容量、成本、故障和架构取舍做成可交互游戏机制。很适合刚接触云架构的人理解为什么要缓存、队列、监控和多区域,但游戏里的数值模型不能等同于真实云厂商性能。"}

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • how to use

    Verified

    {"steps":[{"en":"Open the project’s GitHub Pages version directly; no installation or account is required.","zh":"直接打开项目提供的 GitHub Pages 在线版本,无需安装或注册。"},{"en":"Start with Campaign mode to learn CDN, caching, queues, databases, and high availability level by level.","zh":"新手先从 Campaign 开始,按关卡学习 CDN、缓存、队列、数据库与高可用。"},{"en":"Use Survival mode to observe dynamic pressure from capacity, health, budget, and attacks.","zh":"在 Survival 模式中观察容量、健康、预算和攻击带来的动态压力。"},{"en":"Switch to Sandbox for free experimentation, customize traffic and budget, and share the architecture URL.","zh":"需要自由实验时切换 Sandbox,自定义流量和预算并分享架构链接。"}],"installAt":"browser","difficulty":"easy"}

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • intro

    Verified

    {"en":"Server Survival is a browser-based 3D cloud-architecture simulation game. The player acts as a Cloud Architect, placing and connecting infrastructure components under budget and service-health constraints while handling rising traffic, DDoS waves, random failures, and operating costs.\n\nIt includes Survival, Campaign, and Sandbox modes. The 25-level Campaign progresses through CDN, caching, queues, read/write scaling, and high availability before moving into observability, multi-region failover, GPU inference batching, model cold starts, and power constraints. Sandbox mode lets players change budget, RPS, and traffic mixes to test architecture combinations freely.\n\nThe project uses native JavaScript ES modules, Three.js, and Tailwind CSS with no build step. It can be played directly from the official GitHub Pages site or cloned and served locally with any static HTTP server.","zh":"Server Survival 是一个直接在浏览器运行的 3D 云架构模拟游戏。玩家扮演 Cloud Architect,在预算和服务健康约束下放置并连接基础设施组件,同时应对不断增加的流量、DDoS、随机故障和运行成本。\n\n游戏包含 Survival、Campaign 和 Sandbox 三种模式。Campaign 有 25 个关卡,主题从 CDN、缓存、队列、读写扩展和高可用,一直到可观测性、多区域故障切换、GPU 推理批处理、模型冷启动和电力约束。Sandbox 则允许调整预算、RPS 和不同流量类型,自由验证架构组合。\n\n项目使用原生 JavaScript ES modules、Three.js 与 Tailwind CSS,没有构建步骤;官方 GitHub Pages 可以直接游玩,也可以克隆后用任意静态 HTTP 服务器在本地运行。"}

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • Latest release

    Verified

    v3.0.0

    Source: GitHub API · latest_release=v3.0.0 · 10/3/2026

  • License

    Verified

    MIT

    Source: GitHub API · license.spdx_id=MIT · 10/3/2026

  • needs api key

    Verified

    No

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • One-liner

    Verified

    {"en":"A 3D cloud-architecture simulation game where players handle traffic, DDoS, scaling, caches, queues, databases, and GPU inference by building resilient systems.","zh":"用 3D 生存游戏模拟流量、DDoS、扩缩容、缓存、队列、数据库和 GPU 推理,让玩家通过搭建架构学习云系统设计。"}

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • Platforms

    Verified

    browser

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • Category hint

    Inferred from materials

    ai-apps

    Source: Project README · hint=ai-apps · 8/16/2026

  • product forms

    Verified

    web

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • role tags

    Verified

    devops, backend

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

  • supports local

    Verified

    Yes

    Source: manual_curated · Manually curated from the verified project README; no AI draft. · 8/17/2026

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