Indie Release Notes #2

• ✅ Auth Screens: Focused on email login, with Facebook login and good placeholders in place.

• ✅ Email Onboarding: Includes a stepper indicator to collect basic information such as name, rig, and avatar.

• ✅ Profile Layout: Main layout completed with hardcoded "Offroad Tracker." Tabs for future sections like Posts, Rigs, and Tracker have been added. The final list may change as development progresses.

• ✅ Profile Settings Page: Currently includes options for editing the profile, completing onboarding (as a reminder if not completed), logging out, and deleting the account.

• ✅ Profile Edit Page: Allows users to update personal information and avatar.

• ✅ Project Structure Improvements: Separated service classes to better organize Providers and Services.

• ✅ Auth Guards: Implemented to handle lost sessions properly.

• ✅ Reusable Components: Multiple reusable components are added to optimize development.

I've officially reached two months of developing MudQuest. Every day for these two months, I've been working on this project, and so far, it's been a blast!

Email Onboarding

This was something completely new to me and fun to learn! Onboarding screens have many opinions on how they should look and what needs to be included. I decided to go with three steps and ask only for the minimum information:

• Screen 1: Personal information, including first name, last name (which will be simplified to just "name" in the next release), date of birth, and bio. All of these can be skipped for now.

• Screen 2: Rig information, where users can provide their first rig. Also, it can be skipped;

• Screen 3: Avatar. If skipped, it will use the default avatar for now. Later, I will change it to an AI-generated one.

It is currently possible to skip the onboarding entirely, though I might change this in the future. Everything is connected to the Profile provider and Profile service.

Authentication Screens

Using Firebase Auth for logic and UI interface with UI overrides to show MudQuest theming and logos. I added a carousel feature to highlight the main features of the app. This will change in the future, currently, I am using AI-generated placeholders, but the main features are correct: Real-Time Event Finder, Offroad Heat Map, Party Tracker/Copilot. I also added placeholders for Facebook and Google because I know many offroad enthusiasts use Facebook to search for groups, so it makes sense to include it as an authentication service. I completely removed the Firebase Profile View screen and replaced it with a fully custom profile screen, where actions like logout and delete account are included.

Because users will have a lot of additional information, I added a separate Profile Model that will be represented as a collection in Firebase Store. It will keep all extra information about the user, while the email will remain in the auth database for security.

• Log in screen: With email or Google/Facebook (placeholders only).

• Sign-up screen: With email or Google/Facebook (placeholders only).

• Forgot password screen: Default Firebase UI, but fully functional and visually appealing.

• Profile Model to hold all the extra user info.

Log out and delete options under the Custom Profile Screen.

Profile Page

The standard profile page allows users to change settings and update personal information. This page is also visible to others with specific allowed actions and serves as a hub for collectibles, which are significant in the offroad community as achievements. The tracker, currently hardcoded and represented by green dots, is designed to let users collect achievements by displaying different cards. For example, a user might aim to complete all Colorado trails, and a Colorado card would be available to mark as complete, showing others their accomplishment. Another example is a simple party tracker that displays the number of parties a user has attended. As mentioned earlier, this feature is currently hardcoded but will be included in the proof of concept (POC) release.

The profile header is now a fully reusable widget, adaptable for multiple pages. While I am satisfied with the current layout, some updates will be necessary later. All data is dynamic and real, except for the Social Bar, which displays parties, rank, followers, and following. This Social Bar is still in development and will be influenced by other features that are not yet ready for release.

The page now includes settings limited to basic profile actions such as logging out, removing the account, completing onboarding, and editing the profile. The edit profile section features a familiar, easy-to-read layout for updating personal information. Rig settings will be introduced in the next release, as they are currently not a priority.

I have added tabs with placeholder data in this release to better assess the design and usability. Although the data is hardcoded, the tabs are fully functional, each remembering its scrolling position, so switching between tabs does not result in losing your place.

• Header with name, rig, avatar, and bio

• Social Bar, currently hardcoded

• Offroad Track, hardcoded

• Fully functional tabs with logic but with placeholder data

• Settings page with a nice layout and reusable components ready for expansion. Currently includes: Edit profile, Complete onboarding, Log out, Delete account

Edit profile page with a form to update all personal information, ready for future extensions: First name, Last name, Date of Birth, bio, avatar

MudQuest Website Updates

I was not happy with my website because it lacked storytelling. I added better section layouts with some scroll interactions so potential users can better understand the main features.

I can’t say I really like Framer(web app that I used for website development). Their first tire is too limited and some for the functionally is very glitchy!! Had to fight with the UX for a few day, but generally I am happy with the result.

Please visit MudQuest - https://www.mud-quest.com

Car Magnets

At the moment, I am not very focused on marketing (though I probably should be) because I am mostly busy with development. I know marketing is important, but for me, it's a win-win situation. If my product is useful to the community, it will generate some revenue. If not, I still gain a lot of experience for future projects, so I think it's okay to take small steps. First, a proof of concept, then later, marketing. However, I am still doing some marketing, so I have ordered these car magnets for my car to get some leads and exposure. I plan to visit niche meetups as they attract attention. I have already been asked multiple times about my project! So, I will keep doing passive ads like this one to see where it takes me. Also, it just looks awesome, doesn't it? :)

What Next?

• Dive deep into real-time party functionality.

• Create a party and make it visible on the map and search.

• Show local parties around you.