Prop Usage Analytics Dashboard

Engineered a production-grade data pipeline system to analyze prop spawning patterns across high-traffic GMod servers, processing over 24,000 spawn events daily. The solution combined real-time event capture, automated data processing, and interactive web analytics to enable data-driven server optimization decisions.

Implemented a three-tier architecture: (1) Lua event hooks for non-blocking real-time data capture without impacting game performance, (2) Python ETL processes for data normalization, base model filtering, and categorization logic, and (3) a modern Next.js dashboard with client-side JSON processing for instant analytics without server dependencies.

The system reduced manual content curation overhead by 70% through automated usage classification and interactive data exploration tools. Key technical challenges included optimizing database write performance for high-frequency inserts, implementing efficient client-side data processing for large datasets, and designing responsive visualizations that scale across different screen sizes and data volumes.

• Architected non-blocking Lua event hooks that capture spawn data without affecting server performance (< 1ms overhead per event).
• Designed MySQL schema with optimized indexing strategies to handle 1000+ writes per hour across multiple server instances.
• Built Python ETL pipeline for data normalization, duplicate filtering, and automated categorization of 10,000+ unique model paths.
• Developed TypeScript-based React dashboard with efficient state management for rendering large datasets (500+ items) without performance degradation.
• Implemented interactive data visualizations using Recharts with real-time filtering, sorting, and export capabilities.
• Created responsive UI architecture using Tailwind CSS and Radix UI components, ensuring consistent UX across desktop and mobile devices.
• Deployed client-side JSON processing solution that eliminated server API dependencies and enabled instant analytics generation.
• Delivered actionable insights that guided removal of 40% unused workshop content, improving server load times by 25%.

Overview Dashboard

The main dashboard provides a summary of all collected prop spawn data, including total props spawned, number of unique models, and available categories. Users can upload their server's JSON log to generate interactive analytics instantly.

Usage by Category

Displays categorized usage statistics across all props, highlighting which asset types are most frequently used within the server. This visualization helps identify high-demand prop categories and underutilized content.

Top Spawned Models

Ranks the most frequently spawned models, providing insight into which specific assets dominate player activity. Useful for balancing optimization and pruning redundant models from the workshop collection.

Usage Distribution

Breaks down all props into usage tiers, from unused models to those spawned over a hundred times. This chart reveals overall content diversity and helps maintain efficient asset pools.

Data Table

A searchable, sortable table listing every model path with its category, spawn count, and usage level. Enables detailed review and export of raw analytics data.