Hi everyone 👋, it’s Hito again! I’m 16 and I’m back to share the latest updates I’ve made to The Hideout, my real-time virtual hangout app where you can join rooms, chat, and chill with friends.
You can try it here: joinhideout.vercel.app
What’s New
Since my last post, I’ve focused on improving the experience for everyone and making the app feel cleaner, faster, and more fun. Here’s a summary of what’s changed:
✅ New Features
Real-Time Mafia Game: Players can now join Mafia games with strangers in real-time. It’s fully interactive, just pure social deduction fun.
Feedback System: You can now give feedback directly in the app. Huge thanks to everyone who’s already sent their thoughts, it’s been super helpful!
Presence Improvements: Online/offline indicators are more accurate, so you can see who’s active instantly.
Better Notifications: You’ll get alerts for room activity, messages, and game events.
🧹 Features Removed or Simplified
Excessive UI Animations: Some fancy transitions were slowing down older devices, so I cut them to make the app smoother.
Overcomplicated Settings: I realized too many toggles were confusing. Now, only the essentials remain simple and easy.
Old Test Features: Early experiments (like temporary emojis and hidden rooms) have been removed to focus on what users actually use.
⚡ General Improvements
Faster room creation
Smoother chat updates
Cleaner UI with Tailwind refinements
Optimized Firebase queries for real-time updates
Challenges I Faced
Even with improvements, building The Hideout isn’t always easy:
Balancing Features vs. Simplicity: Every addition had to earn its spot; if it caused friction, it got cut.
Real-Time Syncing: The Mafia game taught me a lot about keeping multiple clients in sync without lag.
Feedback Implementation: Handling user feedback while keeping the app lightweight was tricky, but really rewarding.
What I Learned
Real-time multiplayer interactions are much harder than they look, but incredibly fun to implement.
Listening to feedback early helps you avoid building things no one uses.
Cleaning up old features can be just as important as adding new ones — less is more.
What’s Next
Mobile App Launch: Profiles, friend system, and room customization.
More Games & Activities: I’m planning additional games for rooms beyond Mafia.
Better Analytics: Tracking usage to see what features people enjoy most.
Target launch date for the mobile app: August 27, 2025. Deadlines keep me motivated 😅
Final Thoughts
Working on The Hideout continues to be an amazing experience. I’m learning every day about real-time apps, game mechanics, and user experience, all while building something people actually enjoy.
If you’re curious, try it here: joinhideout.vercel.app
I’d love feedback, bug reports, or even just to know if you tried it with your friends!
Thanks for reading 🙏
— Hito
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