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?

  • Tuukka R@piefed.eeEnglish
    38·
    2 months ago

    Well… I’m using an instance that has 10 active users according to https://piefed.fediverse.observer/list :)

    I wanted to move from Lemmy to PieFed, because its development is faster than that of Lemmy’s and because its maintainers have values I have nothing against and because I want to help a cool project grow.

    And then I had a bunch of criteria that I wanted my instance to fulfill, and piefed.ee was the only PieFed instance that fulfilled all of my wishes. So, now I’m apparently one out of ten :)

  • pruwyben@discuss.tchncs.de
    85·
    2 months ago

    Earlier this year I tried out a Steam demo of a game called “That Time I Found a Box” and got hooked on it. It’s a very unique card game where you create and enhance the cards as you play. I played it for days and eventually beat the demo - the devs told me I was the first person to beat it.

    The full version just came out on Steam - I’d recommend taking a look. It’s a bit janky and not for everybody, but it does something unique that really clicked for me.

  • zlatiah@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 months ago

    … 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)

    • metallic_substance@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 months ago

      I was in the top 1% for Beatles listeners a few years back. That was shocking, but it was a deep-dive I did over like 6 months, so I guess it makes sense. Still, given their popularity it really surprised me an made me question Spotify’s metrics

  • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    2 months ago

    I still love Garry’s Mod animations. Basically using stop-motion-style tools to make low-effort animations with familiar characters on Source engine maps.

    They don’t fit the YouTube algorithm now though; creators can’t just put up a new animation every few weeks. It was at its best when the whole community was just posting stuff in leapfrog formation, rather than competing for their audience every day.

  • thatradomguy@lemmy.world
    11·
    2 months ago

    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.

  • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    211·
    2 months ago

    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.

      • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7·
        2 months ago

        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.

    • LavaPlanet@sh.itjust.works
      6·
      2 months ago

      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.

  • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
    8·
    2 months ago

    I make games that are a mix of physical and digital mediums. I found some other people doing similar stuff but nothing exactly the same. A lot of escape room creators use similar technologies though so I find myself talking to those people a lot.

  • lemmy_outta_here@lemmy.world
    6·
    2 months ago

    I know there are others out there, but I sometimes feel like I am the only person under 50 who loves opera. I have 2 streaming services that I mostly use for watching opera.

    I honestly feel like many people would like opera if they gave it a chance. Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cross between Lord of the Rings and The Avengers, but without the 30-min CGI fights (no disrespect to those who like fight scenes, but i get bored). My son and I love Mozart’s The Magic Flute; my wife’s favourite is Bizet’s Carmen.

    • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      I have a more particular niche, where I like comedy-horror and grossout-horror; flicks that can effectively embrace the tropes of B movie horror.

      Drag me to Hell is one that I enjoyed. The protagonist is pretty resilient in spite of the over-the-top effects of the curse.

      Ironically; I really DON’T like depictions of misery. Somehow my favorite form of action follows the vein of Wile E Coyote getting squished by an anvil; everyone laughs and the appeal is more in the shock unexpectedness than the raw emotional pain that horror often reveals in.

      • Edgarallenpwn@midwest.socialEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        I just watched Drag me to Hell for the first time in a decade with my wife and siblings in law a week ago. I forgot how funny and over the top it was. I ended up being the only one who finished it.

        I got them to watch it by saying it was from the director who did the evil dead. I forgot to say the originals, not the remakes lol

    • 1hitsong@lemmy.ml
      3·
      2 months ago

      Hi 👋

      I’m 1hitsong. Now you know me.

      What are your favorite horror movies?

      Some of my favs are Nightmare on Elm Street, Trick r Treat, Shaun of the Dead, Evil Dead.

      • daggermoon@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 months ago

        Hello, My favorites are Session 9, The Mothman Prophecies, Paranormal Activity, and White Noise. I’m more into psychological and supernatural horror. Session 9 is a masterpiece if you haven’t seen it. I would highly recommended it.

    • burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de
      2·
      2 months ago

      Dude, I just want the internet group of people who like horror films to somehow materialize in my life. Like, I want to throw popcorn at bad ones while giggling and clutch the arm of my seat neighbor during the good ones.

      …like, I know they’re out there. Hollywood companies don’t repeatedly make horror films because of hollywood accounting every time.

  • Fyrnyx@kbin.melroy.org
    19·
    2 months ago

    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.

    • spittingimage@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 months ago

      Every so often I go through a phase:

      1. “Second Life was fun. Why did I stop using it?”

      2. Recreate account, log in.

      3. Watch FPS drop to a fraction with a lot of zeroes at the start of it as all the adverts struggle to load.

      4. “Oh, yeah. That was why.”

    • burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de
      2·
      2 months ago

      I was just thinking about second life the other day when someone brought up meta and its push for the ‘metaverse.’ I still remember the old pranks of making it rain dildos in someone’s area, or enclosing their head in a box.

    • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
      1·
      2 months ago

      Oh man, Second Life! I remember being absolutely wowed by it even though I never made an account. Its heyday was very much before I’d be able or brave enough to use real money in a virtual social game like that. (That wasn’t WoW lol)

      I always fondly remember the lovable antics of the legendary troll: Esteban Winsmore!

      Gaia Online reminds me a lot of Ragnarok, visually. That’s cool it’s still around! I remember hopping around F2P MMOs like crazy just trying to find something me and my long distance partner could interact together and vibe with. There were a lot of oddball ones that are shockingly still around!

  • YeahIgotskills2@lemmy.world
    122·
    2 months ago

    I’m not into gaming. I think I’m the only adult male I know of comparable age that isn’t. I don’t really know why. I think it’s a mental block. I was big into 16-bit Atari/Amiga games in the early 90s. Then I just hit like 16/17 and got into music and drinking to fit in. The gaming scene at the time (pre-internet) was social kryptonite, and I lived in rural Scotland so I left it all behind.

    Oddly, I returned to general computing in my early 20s as the internet was blowing up and now work in the IT sector.

    But still not a gamer, which ironically is quite isolating.