There’s an Aztec city building game called Tlatoani. It’s in early access, but has enough meat on the bone that it’s one of my goto games.
Out of curiosity I checked Steam DB for active player numbers. I have discovered at any given point I am 10% to 25% of the given player base BY MYSELF. I am 1 of 4 people playing this game right now in the world. With the prevalence of the internet I always assume whatever weird bullshit you’re into there’s at least a thousand people talking about it; making memes outsiders could never comprehend. It’s actually novel to fly under the radar for once.
What do you do that doesn’t have a community associated with it?
I like to rescue dogs. I just rescued one last week that I’m taking to get groomed. He’s sleeping in his crate right now. It’s not ideal, as I live in a small house with two cats, three people, and two dogs. But holy shit is it rewarding. Most of the time they just scamper away, although blessedly it’s usually to their home. Every once in a while you get a friend for a while, and someone else gets a friend for life. Dogs are lovely animals, and they exist as they do because of humans. It is our duty to take care of them.
This little guy needs to be housetrained and neutered but then he’s off to live a life on the open road as my trucker friend’s road companion. Or at least that’s the plan!
Idk how to attach pictures on this app so you’ll have to imagine a very sweet Yorkshire terrier who only has a few dreads left to snip! When I found him he had a dread that was legit like two feet long. Poor baby.
I don’t know anyone else who likes horror films.
I’m still on Second Life, which is a virtual world social platform. It has ~45,000 given active people on it, which is a piss squirt compared to other online platforms like MMOs and MMORPGs. But, nobody I know are into it save for about 5 people at least.
And I still somehow am bothering with Gaia Online which has even less users, from 1,500 ~ 4,400 on a good day and only know 2 friends on there.
… Half of the rhythm games I play I’ve either never run into anyone else or like 1-2 random kids playing them. I’ve legitimately never met another person playing CHRONO CIRCLE, and only 3-5 year olds playing DANCE aROUND. Could just be an issue with Round 1 exclusive games though… also new arcade games are typically not that popular outside of Japan
On unrelated note, a slight flex… Backpack Hero is an inventory management roguelike that has been in early access for a while & was regarded pretty highly. When the game first came out of early access, I remember 100%ing the game in like 2-3 days, and Steam achievements suggest that 0.0% others have had the end-game achievements. I still think about that sometimes… (They do have a community now I think)
I’m really, really into what I can only call technological bootstrapping. Like, we started out on this planet with nothing, and then built everything. How did that happen? Primitive tech is another name but the emphasis is usually on the very first stages.
That itself has gotten me into obscure things like metrology, greenwood working and small-scale semiconductor fabrication.
That’s cool! Can you recommend any resources on this? I’ve thought a lot about this sort of thing. I’m guessing semiconductor fabrication requires a lot of complex upstream tasks and isn’t the sort of thing that’s feasible at home. Would love to be wrong!
“The Book”, is a book that uses illustrations to explain how to recreate civilization. Dunno if it is good. That said, you can also try “How Things Work”, which explains the workings of many inventions, with many wooly mammoths interspersed throughout.
I try to curate zines from around the world into local exhibitions, do hand translating alongside if need be, imitate the original paper best I can.
It’s kinda fun lol. That and kinda similarly, but I love♡ spending time on online software radio sites, just listening into different channels like I was there myself.
I might just join you in that game, it looks cool.
I’ve been playing starbound again and feels like the game has been abandoned for the last 10 years, but steam db says there’s still about ~800 players so that’s not so bad.
“space music” – I played Mass Effect 1 long ago and got hooked on the idea of musicians trying (and often failing) to make music for futuristic settings. This is like Star Trek episodes that reference classical music but some person has to predict what classical music will sound like in 2300. So they go with with future retro stuff and it just tickles me. So I seek out these sorts of experimental musical pre-trend predictions cause they’re often hilarious.
I really like this one MUD. I’m super casual. I guess about 200 people play. Which in the grand scheme of things is almost no one.
200 is a lot of people for a mud. The only one I know of that’s that big is aardwolf. Which do you play?
I play aardwolf. :)
My favorite thing in the whole world is dropping LSD, and listening to obscure music or watching weird shit…
Dude I can’t find ANYONE to hang out with me… I wave that flag in every social situation I find myself in. I really thought there would be more people into it.
Well, that or I’m completely unbearable to hang out with. If that’s the case I just wish people would tell me.
Watch Scavengers Reign and Common Side Effects - they’re absolutely terrific tv shows that should be right up your allley.
You should try a festival. You’ll find something fun to do and plenty of people go alone.
I am big into old obscure media, love ubuweb, but I would still hesitate to join a kind of unknown person for an activity like that. It’s just a big plunge.
I mean that’s a giant leap for any new friend. Lsd isnt so common that the average person has experience with it. So how to have a good trip and trip safely is a necessary starting point. It’s also a multi hour to days long thing. Thats a heck of a lot of time for most People to spend not working, no family obligations, and no other needs/wants. Basically its a rare population who’s willing to trip and of those willing it’d probably be a once a year thing at best. That said of people willing to trip I would think the music and videos would be about par.
Keep waving that flag. If we were at the same baptism reception I’d drop acid with you.
I like learning writing systems, but I only know 4 of them, and two of them just for playing original Pokemon games in Japanese.
I curate about 90 cartoons and almost as many indie animation channels to create a weekly block of Saturday morning cartoon programming for my wife and kid.
I edit it together in kdenlive from files on my media server, and we stream it to my mini projector each weekend. Been going over a year now, only missing weeks when we’re traveling. I would love to be able to share it with a wider audience, but I’m still not sure how, given it’s all pirated.
I’m addicted to buying crappy antique and vintage shotguns and restoring them. Have so many now I can hardly justify another. I know, I’m ruining the antique value by stripping the metal and wood, but they’re ~$150 items, not exactly rare.
Look at this $119 ($160 by the time I get it home) piece of crap!
https://www.guns.com/used-guns/p/companhia-brasileira-de-cartuchos-151?i=571883
Never even heard of that brand, let alone the model. Bet I could make it dance and sing for a week’s worth of evenings. It’s a single-shot, can’t be too fucked up. Probably.
This is the first thing I’ve seen here that feels like it meets the OP’s ask. What a cool hobby!
That’s pretty neat! Can you describe the restoration process more?
It’s a piece by piece thing. First I strip the wood down, assuming that’s needed or wanted. Hella work, many blisters, stain as appropriate. Wish I had pics, but one 60s ERA (Brazilian make) single-shot was stained in what I call Confederate Blue, sort of a blue/gray mix. Girlfriend’s eyes popped when she saw it. “You told me about it, but I didn’t imagine this!” I’d take a pic, but it’s in the shed at camp. :( The single-shot hanging over my door is from the 60s or 70s, deep red, silver metal, nickle sling swivels, $20 buffalo-leather sling from eBay. Took that pic just for you OP!
That last one took over 2-months! Broke a piece fucking with it. Ordered. Waited. Tried again. Lost a spring. Ordered. Waited. Found the original spring, now have two. Refinished the wood after the first clear coat peeled off, dumb mistake, took a week of sanding, staining, drying, coating. Just about my favorite. Long barrel for full force and accuracy, tight pattern, kicks like god’s own mule. Too broke to buy more low-power shells, stuck with the monsters another gun required, bruisers, not fun. But still fun. :)
Back up. First I make sure everything is mechanically safe and sound, actually works, no “oops”, and not interested in “wall hangers”. Parts are an adventure, but Numrich gun parts has loads of old parts for cheap, diagrams for reference. “WTF is this part even called?!” Need a weird spring or piece of metal? They got it. LOL, I’ve used a ball-point pen spring!
Once it’s mechanically sound and the wood is done, time for accessories! That usually means a matching strap and some way to affix shells, maybe a sight or a new bead on the end. I like the “grab and go” way of the gun. Got a solid source for leather wraps if anyone cares, Polish outfit on eBay. I will scream to the heavens about their quality, service and pricing. Got about 6 of those, want more, too broke. When they say “20-gauge”, it ain’t a loose 12-gauge that sorta fits. Left-handed merchandise as well! :)
Not many pics, but here’s a single-shot 20-gauge I gave a dear friend for (FINALLY) graduating high school. He’s now happily married and moving up in the US Air Force! Got to hold it again at his house warming party. Gods I miss that one, want another to fix up.
This one’s new, not exciting, but I wanted a cheap, light, 12-gauge for hiking. Sawed off (legally!), stained, upside down flag nailed on. But ain’t my AR cool!
Not my work, except for adding the shell carrier and rough grip, but very much my style. 1900s (?), double-barreled, side-by-side, 12-gauge, sawed off (legally!). They stripped the blueing (blackening) off all the metal, chopped it, sanded and stained, wonderful. Can’t use modern loads, and both barrels trip at once if cocked, still fun as hell.
Wish I had more pics! Got a 90s Remington, made in Russia. You read that right. A tiny 410 with the most beautiful wood furniture I own. When my FFL handed me the box, and he usually doesn’t comment much on my purchases, “Wait till you see the wood grain.” It shines like amber in the sun.
Anyway, I better go pay attention to my wife, but your triggered my trap card! Be glad to say more!
EDIT: Stumbled on a pic! Confederate Blue shotgun on top. The colors really pop IRL! Next one is a Revelations brand from 70s/80s Western Auto Stores, first thing I ever gunsmithed, got me on this road. It’s a common Remington 500, simply rebranded. Yes, you could buy guns in auto parts stores in the day, no ID. Two Turkish POSes. First one works fine, second one’s going in the swamp. Next up is a Remington 1895, same year as the make, didn’t do much of anything to that one but clean up the wood. And the aforementioned “red”. Love that thing.
And no joke, the bug blaster on the bottom works. It’s a salt shotgun for flies. It works.
EDIT2: Found the Russian 410! Looks better in the sunlight, but you might get the idea.
That’s so cool! I’m not at all into guns, but I love seeing other people’s expertise and the before and after of trashed to treasure, would be amazing to see.
I’ve not done much before and after, and so wish I had. Turned some real junkers into art. My kinda art anyway.
Here’s my comment on the shotguns.
Thermodynamics, specifically refrigeration cycles.
Its probably my autism showing but the fact that we can just move funny fluid around and make heat move is absolutely fascinating. I can spend a lot of time making theoretical refrigeration cycles with different fluids, thermoelectrics, heat capacities, repurposing car junkyard AC systems, etc.
Millions of people do it for work, sure. I doubt any of them are “into it”.
What’s your favorite refrigerant
Now that’s a proper special interest 🤌
I bet you also enjoy Technology Connections.
:)
Ohh yeah! Though I do wonder: Why limit themselves to the guy who is evangelizing (and rightly so!) when he could also hang out with crazy swamp guy HyperspacePirate who not only thinks of the crazy cycles but actually builds some as well?
I tried to find an in-person calligraphy meetup around my area and mind you, I live in one of the bigger metro areas in the country. Couldn’t find squat. Don’t know if my Google Fu was weak or I just don’t know what to actually look up but there’s nothing specifically for calligraphy as far as I can tell. Also, I don’t count online spaces.
I’ve actually met a few people who are into calligraphy but they don’t strike me as the “meet-up” type of people.
If only you were an Arab or Chinese. I don’t think calligraphy ever had mass appeal the same way in the West.
