#017

December 26, 2025:- Referral Activation, UI Optimization & Developer Debug Tools

Purpose

To expand organic growth via the referral system, enhance UI polish for better player experience, and surface developer-facing tools for debugging and diagnostics ahead of broader testing

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Key Highlights

🔗 Referral System Activation (Beta)

• Referral links now functional and tracked per-user via signed token in registration.

• Backend rewards logic initialized—early test users flagged for milestone tracking.

• Invite conversion stats logged for future funnel analytics.

💻 UI Polish & Experience Tweaks

• Homepage assets optimized (image lazy-loading, bundle size reduced ~24%).

• Modal stacking and mobile layout bugs resolved (e.g., chat popup overlapping match view).

• Scroll position now preserved across most navigation routes.

🛠️ Developer Debug Tools Released (Internal Only)

• New /debug/stats page shows real-time API latency, session logs, and request health.

• Error traces grouped by component, with linked Git commit hashes for tracing.

• Toggle for simulated poor connection mode (used during reconnect logic testing).

📊 Beta Feedback Modal Live

• “Rate Your Match” popup deployed to ~25% of players post-game.

• Feedback includes emoji rating + optional text comment, stored in telemetry logs.

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Why It Matters

• Referrals represent a critical non-paid growth engine and signal early product-market fit.

• UI quality directly affects session length, bounce rate, and onboarding conversion.

• Internal debugging tools help maintain dev velocity and stability with a small team.

• Direct user sentiment logs allow early signal detection and tuning.

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Open Issues

• Referral admin panel lacks reward override tooling—currently managed via manual DB update.

• Debug stats page exposed to all staff roles; needs ACL role separation.

• Feedback modal occasionally fails to load after reconnect events.

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Fixed

• Referral attribution no longer overwritten on browser refresh during registration.

• Partial page reloads now correctly retain dynamic content (e.g., match status, stats).

• Modal z-index conflict on mobile resolved for staking confirmation.

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Next Steps

• Launch A/B test for onboarding layout (referral input vs. default join).

• Add referral funnel visualization to admin analytics dashboard.

• Begin UI support for multiple games in match lobby (filtering, category tags).

• Refine internal API latency reporting to distinguish between DB and RPC bottlenecks.