diff --git a/src/env.js b/src/env.js
index fec5f67..3d9a20c 100644
--- a/src/env.js
+++ b/src/env.js
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ export const env = createEnv({
    * `NEXT_PUBLIC_`.
    */
   client: {
-    // NEXT_PUBLIC_CLIENTVAR: z.string(),
+    NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: z.string(),
   },
 
   /**
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ export const env = createEnv({
     NODE_ENV: process.env.NODE_ENV,
     CRON_SECRET: process.env.CRON_SECRET,
     WEBHOOK_QUERY_SECRET: process.env.WEBHOOK_QUERY_SECRET,
+    NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL,
   },
   /**
    * Run `build` or `dev` with `SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION` to skip env validation. This is especially
diff --git a/src/server/api/routers/player-state.ts b/src/server/api/routers/player-state.ts
index 25e7dbc..74d67e0 100644
--- a/src/server/api/routers/player-state.ts
+++ b/src/server/api/routers/player-state.ts
@@ -30,21 +30,26 @@ export const playerStateRouter = createTRPCRouter({
       })
     )
     .subscription(async function* ({ input, ctx, signal }) {
-      const iterator = createEventIterator<PlayerState>(
-        globalEmitter,
-        `state-change:${input.userId}`,
-        { signal: signal }
-      )
+      console.log('subscription started for user:', input.userId)
 
-      // get initial state
-      const initialState = await redis.get(PLAYER_STATE_KEY(input.userId))
-      if (initialState) {
-        yield tracked('initial', JSON.parse(initialState) as PlayerState)
-      }
+      try {
+        const iterator = createEventIterator<PlayerState>(
+          globalEmitter,
+          `state-change:${input.userId}`,
+          { signal: signal }
+        )
 
-      // listen for updates
-      for await (const [state] of iterator) {
-        yield tracked(Date.now().toString(), state)
+        console.log('iterator created')
+
+        for await (const [state] of iterator) {
+          console.log('emitting state:', state)
+          yield tracked(Date.now().toString(), state)
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error('subscription error:', error)
+        throw error
+      } finally {
+        console.log('subscription ended for user:', input.userId)
       }
     }),
 })
diff --git a/src/trpc/react.tsx b/src/trpc/react.tsx
index 8aa199a..3de03ad 100644
--- a/src/trpc/react.tsx
+++ b/src/trpc/react.tsx
@@ -87,7 +87,12 @@ export function TRPCReactProvider(props: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
 }
 
 function getBaseUrl() {
-  if (typeof window !== 'undefined') return window.location.origin
-  if (process.env.VERCEL_URL) return `https://${process.env.VERCEL_URL}`
-  return `http://localhost:${process.env.PORT ?? 3000}`
+  const url =
+    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL ||
+    (typeof window !== 'undefined'
+      ? window.location.origin
+      : `http://localhost:${process.env.PORT ?? 3000}`)
+
+  console.log('using base url:', url)
+  return url
 }