↑↑↓↓←→←→ B A START: The Konami Code for Dynamic Publishing at Scale

Last week spelled deprecation for folder mapping. This week, two developers showed us what rises from its ashes.

Between them, Eric Van Geem and Lars Auffarth published 13,000 pages dynamically. No manual authoring. No static builds. Just pure, automated content delivery at scale through Edge Delivery's new BYOM and content overlay capabilities.

The cabinet hums with electricity. Neon pixels spell out "CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER" as two champions materialize on screen. This isn't Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. It's the Edge Delivery Services arena, where developers battle the final boss: dynamic publishing at massive scale.

CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER

[PLAYER 1] THE AZURE ARCHITECT
Name: Eric Van Geem
Class: Cloud Infrastructure Warrior
Power Level: 10,000 profile pages
Home Stage: Azure Data Centers
Special Move: Cosmos DB Trigger Combo

[PLAYER 2] THE APP BUILDER MAGE
Name: Lars Auffarth
Class: Serverless Sorcerer
Power Level: 3,000 product pages
Affiliation: Adobe Alliance
Ultimate Attack: Edge Worker Price Strike

Round 1: The Azure Architect's Combo

Eric opens with a devastating infrastructure combo. His Azure Cosmos DB stores 10,000 fighter profiles, each one waiting to enter the arena. The combo sequence: Cosmos DB Change Feed → Azure Function Trigger → Service Bus Queue → Timer Function → Helix Admin API → Vercel Overlay Server. When a profile updates in the database, his automated pipeline springs to life, throttling requests to respect API limits while maintaining relentless pressure on the content delivery boss.

His secret weapon? A Node.js Express server deployed on Vercel that acts as the overlay endpoint. When Edge Delivery requests /people/marty-mcfly, Eric's server fetches the data, merges it with a template, and returns pixel-perfect HTML. No manual intervention. No content duplication. Just pure, automated publishing fury.

Round 2: The App Builder Mage's Spellcast

Lars counters with native Adobe magic. His App Builder actions orchestrate a symphony of serverless functions. The spell components: Commerce API Webhook → App Builder Orchestrator → BYOM Renderer → Edge Worker Price Injection. Three thousand product pages dance to his command, each one updating automatically when backend data shifts.

His finishing move deploys edge workers that inject live pricing after page load—a technique so advanced it bends the rules of static delivery. While Eric's approach handles everything at publish time, Lars splits the attack: static content from BYOM, dynamic pricing from the edge. The boss never sees it coming.

Co-op Mode Unlocked: Convergent Evolution

Here's where the game gets interesting. Despite choosing different characters and tech stacks, both players discovered the same hidden mechanics. They mastered the template pattern, using HTML templates with placeholder replacement to transform data into pages. They both configured content overlays in Edge Delivery's config, unlocking the secret passage to dynamic publishing. They learned the 404 wisdom—returning proper 404s for missing content instead of taking soft 404 boss damage. They respected the semantic block architecture, generating Edge Delivery-compatible markup that flows through the same rendering pipeline. And perhaps most importantly, they achieved total automation, eliminating manual publishing entirely.

They're not competing. They're playing co-op mode against the same boss: the tyranny of manual content management at scale.

Loading Screen Tip: Master Your Own Moveset

But every fighter has unique abilities. Eric's Azure style gives him a self-hosted overlay server for maximum control. He can show visual proof of his victories with live sitemap.xml and query-index.json files. His architecture stays simpler for non-Adobe environments, with direct database integration patterns that any cloud warrior can understand.

Lars's App Builder technique plays differently. He wields zero infrastructure management through true serverless power. Native Adobe authentication and identity flow through his combos naturally. His event-driven orchestration creates richer attack patterns, while his split rendering strategy divides static and dynamic content like a master tactician.

Here's the secret: don't just memorize their button combos. Study how Eric leveraged his Azure expertise. Notice how Lars maximized Adobe's native capabilities. The best architects don't carbon copy moves—they understand the underlying mechanics and craft their own fighting style. Maybe you're a Google Cloud Platform warrior with Cloud Functions and Firestore ready to strike. Perhaps you're a Cloudflare champion with edge compute mastery. Your unique strengths are your special moves.

The Hidden Connection: Last Week's Update

These championship rounds wouldn't be possible without last week's game update by Farhan. When folder mapping got deprecated, it opened the door for Content Overlays and BYOM to become the new meta. These tools delivered what folder mapping promised but couldn't achieve: true dynamic publishing with proper SEO, hard 404s, and unlimited scale.

Game Over? Not Even Close

Thirteen thousand pages published. Two completely different approaches. One incredible community.

Eric showed us that BYOM works brilliantly with any cloud infrastructure. Lars proved that Adobe's own tools can orchestrate publishing symphonies. They built real systems that handle real scale, and shared every detail so you can too.

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Ready to study their techniques? Eric's full walkthrough includes Azure setup, Vercel deployment, and live examples. Lars's strategy guide covers App Builder patterns, edge worker integration, and enterprise scaling.

Want to create your own combo moves? The BYOM documentation is your training ground.

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