Full Stack
Hero Exchange (2025)
Full Stack Microservices Platform with Gamification
A dark-fantasy hero marketplace evolved from FlogIt (2023), transformed from a car auction demo into a fully gamified trading platform. Features 8 .NET microservices, real-time bidding via SignalR, virtual currency system (Gold), XP/leveling, achievements, daily mystery boxes, and animated hero sprites. Built with a testing-first approach including integration tests for Gateway, Notification, Identity, and Bidding services.
Key Features
- •8 microservices: Gateway, Auction, Bidding, Gamification, Search, Notification, Identity, Bot
- •Real-time bidding with SignalR WebSocket broadcasts and Zustand state management
- •Gamification system: Gold wallet, XP/levels, achievements, daily quests, mystery boxes
- •Python bot service for automated marketplace activity with configurable rates
- •Event-driven architecture: RabbitMQ consumers for AuctionFinished, BidPlaced events
- •YARP reverse proxy Gateway with admin token protection and CORS configuration
- •Duende IdentityServer with PKCE flow and guest login support
Services / Architecture
- •8 .NET 8 microservices: Gateway (YARP), Auction, Bidding, Gamification, Search, Notification, Identity (Duende)
- •Next.js 13 App Router with Server Actions, SignalR client, and animated hero sprite components
- •GamificationService: Wallet, Achievements, Quests, MysteryBox, ActivityFeed controllers
- •Python bot service (FastAPI) with configurable bid/auction rates and pytest test suite
Methodologies & Testing
- •Testing-first: Jest/RTL for frontend (AuctionCard, Filters, stores), xUnit for Gateway/Notification/Identity/Bidding
- •Event-driven: AuctionFinishedConsumer transfers Gold, awards XP, unlocks achievements via RabbitMQ
- •Clean architecture: Service boundaries, HTTP clients between services (GamificationClient in BiddingService)
- •Documentation: Comprehensive docstrings across all controllers and services
Deployment
- •Next.js frontend on Vercel with custom domain (hero-exchange.live)
- •8 microservices on Railway with internal hostname routing
- •PostgreSQL (Auctions, Users, Gamification) and MongoDB (Bids, Search) on Railway
- •GitHub Actions CI/CD with per-service Dockerised builds and automated deployments
Evolution
Evolved from FlogIt (2023): Rebranded from car auctions to hero marketplace, added GamificationService with virtual currency, integrated Gold balance checking into BiddingService, added Python bot service for demo traffic, comprehensive test coverage, and Angular admin console.
Gallery
Marketplace grid showing hero collection, live auctions with rarity filters and leaderboard
Auction bidding modal with hero details, bid history, and place bid form
Hero detail modal showing stats, rarity, and ownership history
Mystery box modal for daily summon achievement rewards
Hero summoned result showing new hero added to collection
Deployment architecture: Production (Vercel Edge + Railway Gateway) and Local Development (Angular CLI Proxy) flows
Entity Relationship Diagram showing UserProgress, HeldBid, Auction, and Hero database schema
Railway dashboard showing all microservices online: Gateway, Auction, Bidding, Search, Notification, Identity, Bot-service with MongoDB and PostgreSQL
Vercel deployment dashboard for Hero Exchange frontend at hero-exchange.live