"Live" data architecture

[bapairaew]

The current architecture relies mostly on static data which is only updated once a day. It is done this way because of two main reasons: limit workload on data sources side (Official FPL and Understat), and limit workload on Open FPL side since ultimately it aims to be lifetime free-to-use so minimising all costs possible would make Open FPL more sustainable in long term.

This, however, comes with a few unfavourable experience as users would have to wait until next update to get the latest data.

Lack of live data has a major impact on Team Planner feature since the user would not be able to get their latest team after the deadline has passed which usually happens hours before scheduled data updates. Another minor impact includes - player points data would not be updated until the next data sync.

There is a quick workaround by increasing the frequency of the data sync but that will not only increase unnecessary workload to sources but also could end up very expensive of our side since there is limit of both GitHub actions and Vercel deployment we can do without blowing the budget. Also there is a doubt that how much improvement this would be since there is a chance that the users have to wait until the next data sync which could be minutes, hours, or whatever our new sync frequency is.

Not only "Live" data architecture should fix the issues above but also would unlock features like Live Ranking, Live Score, Live Dashboard which should be very useful and enticing features to the users as it will help them enjoy the live game more.