that 1 catch is the most useful thing anyone has told me about this game. you found the exact shape of the problem: with a flat 0.5s at second zero, nothing you do feels connected to the dot, so a first run is guessing.
I took your ramp. v7 is live on the page now: the lag starts at 0.2s and stretches to 0.5s by second seven, and the corner shows the live number so you can watch it grow.
I measured it before shipping, with a bot that does the dumb human thing and chases the light where it is now. Fixed 0.5s: nothing until second 6. Ramped: 3 catches in the first two seconds. Same bot, same dumb strategy, different first impression.
if you have another 20 seconds in you: does the first catch feel earned now, or does it still feel like luck? that is the only question I care about.