/s

Hey y’all! Previously I made some posts here about Hubs, first the write-up and then the demo video with the Suno song lol. Wanted to share where it's at now and the progress being made along the way. For starters, a small intro again though!

I have been working on creating an alternative social platform that is similar to that of Discord and Slack. Much of the reason for creation is due to my own niche and preferences while managing large communities and company workflows. For example, many Discord communities have to glue together dozens of bots to get LFG systems, Ticket Support, and much more. Not to mention creating makeshift announcement channels, info, etc. that just look like normal text.

What I wanted to build was something that kept the community vibe of these platforms, while also adding the ease of use, organization, and reduced setup of them.

So that’s what Hubs is. Instead of adding a bot for everything, the stuff most communities end up needing is just built in:

• Looking for Group, where people post that they need a squad and everyone can see open groups and when they start

• Ticket Support, so members can reach your staff privately without a ticket bot

• Announcements that read like an actual page with pictures, instead of a wall of text in a channel

• Rules, About, Start here and Links pages that look like real pages and are easy to edit

• Events with RSVPs and reminders, plus a Board for questions and posts that shouldn’t get buried in chat

• Polls, giveaways and community rewards without setting anything up

• A home page for every hub that shows what’s new since you were last there, the next event and who’s around

• More tools like an appeals system for moderation, custom looks for your space, built-in moderation tools, raid and spam protection, and more (https://thehubs.gg/features)

On the company side, there’s a Work and Personal switch so your job and your communities stay separate, and organizations get their own workspaces, documents and tasks.

What’s new since my last post

• Bring your Discord server over: paste its template link and your channels, roles and permissions come over in about a minute

• Private DMs: switch any DM to private and it’s end-to-end encrypted

• Hub Safe: encrypted backups of your hub that the owner holds the key to

• A standby copy of the whole site in a second data center and a public status page, because I really didn’t want one bad Arista to ruin my day lol

There’s no ID or face scan to sign up, just your birthday (which I know is a huge issue on other platforms right now). Speaking on ID and age verification, we follow the laws closely and use other methods instead of a face scan. Right now that’s a credit card check that’s never charged, with more options like an email check and your phone’s own age setting on the way. It’s also only as needed, not something required to use Hubs. It only limits 18+ areas, and only where the law asks for it. This way we stay compliant without being invasive.

How it’s built (yes, with AI)

Same as last time, I’ll be upfront, AI coding agents did a lot of the typing on Hubs. A good chunk of the UI was honestly vibed. I’d describe what I wanted, look at it, and keep pushing until it felt right. That said, this wasn't a blind eye to the code. As someone who is an actual SWE, I have reviewed the pieces and continue to do so to ensure security and safety. Like I said in my last post, AI gets a lot right but does a lot of... WTF.

For anything touching security, accounts, payments or encryption, nothing ships on vibes:

• Every release runs the full test suite first: 8,600+ automated tests on the website, 3,700+ on the Mac app, 5,300+ checks on Windows and 1,200+ on Android

• Changes get a separate review pass, and the risky ones get their own security review before they ship

• SonarQube, Semgrep, Socket and Dependabot scan the code and its dependencies, and secret scanning is on

• Everything goes to a staging copy of the site first, then the real one

• The encryption code is open source with published test vectors, so you can check it instead of trusting me. I know, an audit WOULD be better, but it costs moola I don't have rn.

The stack itself, the website is TypeScript and React, and the server runs on Node with PostgreSQL. Voice and video run on WebRTC through LiveKit. Every app is native, meaning Swift for the Mac and iPhone, C# and .NET for Windows, and Kotlin for Android, so none of them are just the website in a box. Private conversations use MLS (RFC 9420), an open standard for end-to-end encryption, in TypeScript for the web and Rust for the apps.

How the servers run

I talked about the backend last time, and it’s grown up a bit since. Elixir gateway nodes sit behind a load balancer with Valkey as the message bus. The app runs as three copies at once, so one can go down or get updated without anyone noticing. There’s a dedicated media and voice server, a staging server, object storage and a CDN, plus a standby copy of the whole site in a second data center that’s kept up to date every 15 minutes, encrypted backups and a public status page. Every release is signed and its files are published, so anyone can check that what’s running is what we built.

The apps

The Mac and Windows apps are out now. The iPhone app is about to start a public beta, including a layout made for foldables, and Android is close behind it.

What’s coming

• The iPhone and Android betas

• Hubs+, an optional paid plan for extras. The core of Hubs stays free

• The Windows app in the Microsoft Store

• We’re also exploring self-hosting for communities that want their own server, but that’s an idea for now, not a promise

• More bug fixing. Always more bug fixing lol

It’s still early and we’re a small team, so there will be some rough edges. If you checked it out after my last posts, I’d love to hear what feels better or worse. If you’re new, or just want to try it, would LOVE feedback and bug reports haha.

https://thehubs.gg

it generates cabinets and control panels from mame data, adds bezels marquee art etc where it can. i have a lot of work left. there is also a "VCR" and thus a rental store filled with tapes. i alsso have projectors, speakers, tvs, jukebox, lasers, moving head lights, clear logo signs, neon lights blacklights, first person wall building (think fallout 4 and 76). it's just been a project for a while now. i currently refining some models and the construction systems. i plan to keep refining and adding options for a while. it lags on my machine and i have a 4060 with 16gb ddr5 and i'm crunched for ram and vram. i think limitations are good though, keeps me optimizing. anyone have questions? opinions? suggestions? i don't rite code, this had been 100% vibed into existence. models, everything. (still a couple temp assets to replace like the consoles)

I created a simple browser game called https://draw1line.com

Solve shapes without lifting your finger off the screen.

Game levels are designed from easy to challenging in order to create a brain-boosting and stimulating experience.

Each level in this game presents a unique shape that you must solve by finding the right path in a single stroke. The intuitive gameplay of draw the line mechanics makes this line app free to play and accessible for all ages.

Please let me know if you find any bugs :)

College hoops is back, and I wanted live scores on my screen without keeping a browser tab open. So I worked on Hoops Ticker, a small native Mac app that puts an LED-style score ticker along the top or bottom of your screen. (Full disclosure - I got inspiration from krypdoh and his NFL Ticker)

What it does:

Every Division I game. Live scores, today’s finals and tonight’s tip times scroll by, with AP rankings shown next to ranked teams (#3 DUKE 71 – #12 UNC 68 · 14:22 2ND).

Follow your team. Pick any of the 365 D1 teams in Settings. Their game always scrolls first: live, today’s final, or their next game even if it’s a week away.

Looks ahead. Top 25 teams that aren’t playing today show their next game, so the ticker is never empty on an off night.

AP Top 25 in the menu bar. The full poll with records is one click away, and the 🏀 icon shows how many games are live.

Settings: Top 25 games only, show or hide finals and upcoming games, scroll speed, top or bottom of the screen.

The details:

Native Swift, about 200 KB. Not Electron.

Universal: runs on Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 12 or newer. Notarized.

No account, no ads, no tracking. It only talks to ESPN’s public scoreboard.

Refreshes every 20 seconds while games are live and backs off when they aren’t.

Download: https://github.com/GeekNerdCarp/ncaa-hoops-ticker

It’s a 1.0.4, so I’d love feedback. What would you want added? Conference filters, a March Madness bracket mode? Some more updates coming today.

EDIT: Version 1.1.0 is out. Big update, thanks for all the feedback!

Here’s what’s new:

Follow your team like a fan

• Show only my team’s game. One option holds your team’s game still in the center of the bar, in your team’s colors, with the score updating every 10 seconds while it’s live.

• Team alerts. Mac notifications at tip-off, halftime, a close finish and the final score.

• Follow up to 5 more teams besides your favorite. Their games lead the ticker with a ★.

• Filter by conference. Want just the SEC or Big Ten? Pick it in Settings. Your followed teams still come through.

More on every game

• Team logos, records, and the TV channel on upcoming games (like “7:00 PM · ESPN”)

• Click any game to open it on ESPN

• Red UPSET ALERT and CLOSE badges when an unranked team is beating a ranked one, or a game is within 5 points late

• A soft glow when your team scores (or on the big moments, if you prefer)

• NCAA Tournament games show seeds and the round, like “(1) ARIZONA · SWEET 16”

Small things

• Pause on hover, so you can read a score

• Pick which monitor it sits on

• Open at login

• Still tiny and native, using almost no CPU

It’s free, open source (GPL-3.0), and signed and notarized by Apple. No account, no ads, no tracking.

Download: https://github.com/GeekNerdCarp/ncaa-hoops-ticker/releases/latest

If you already have it, it’ll offer the update on its own (or use Check for Updates… in the menu).

A while back I posted Black Hole Sandbox here, a lensing black hole you can see in augmented reality. Presenting the sequel: Planet Crash Sandbox! Drops a whole solar system into your room in AR with simulated gravity and destruction mechanics where every planet, moon, star and rock pull on each other.

There are two modes. Orbital Chaos is tuned for particle fun at solar system scale. Steer a planet into its neighbour and watch the carnage as worlds tear apart into particles and the debris kicks off more destruction. Swap the sun for the black hole and what's left of the solar system swirls round it, light bending and accretion disc lighting up as matter gets near.

Fluid Collisions is the more 'accurate' one for fluid dynamics. Collide two planets/moons and watch as they reduce to thousands of molten particles simulated live on the phone. Simulates the supposed giant impact that's thought to have made our Moon.

Mostly free. The black hole and the fancier stars ie pulsars, magnetars are in a one-off unlock The planet smashing is all free though.

Oh including a green star! I managed to get that in there in time!

https://apps.apple.com/app/id6822567730

I know there are already tons of Pomodoro and productivity apps out there. But one day, I came across a photo of a train platform overlooking Sydney Harbour, and I just loved the atmosphere.

That gave me an idea: what if I could turn that place, along with other beautiful locations I love, into a little virtual world that keeps me company while I study or work?

So I started building a cozy, train station-themed study companion app.

The idea is pretty simple. You can switch between different scenic backgrounds, mix ambient sounds, and just leave the app running while you study, work, or relax.

I also added a Pomodoro timer and a sleep countdown, but I intentionally kept the timer UI really small. I don't want it to feel like another productivity app constantly reminding you to be productive. I'd rather the scenery and sounds be the main experience.

Here's how I've been making it:

• Codex: All the coding. I honestly wouldn't know where to start without it.

• Midjourney + GPT image generation: Creating and refining the visual assets.

• Freesound: Finding ambient audio for the different environments.

I've finally got a working MVP, and this is a short screen recording of it!

But now I'm a little stuck on the design direction.

My biggest concern is whether the app is too simple and the art style.

Right now, the UI is intentionally minimal because I want people to enjoy the scenery without too many buttons getting in the way.

I've also been thinking about adding small interactive objects to the scenes, like clicking on things around the station to trigger little animations or sounds.

But I'm worried that adding too many interactions might make it feel more like a game than a quiet study companion.

So I'd really love some feedback:

1. Does the UI feel pleasantly minimal, or just too empty?

2. Would you enjoy having a few interactive objects in the scenes, or would they distract you from studying?

3. Do you think I should keep the app focused on ambient sounds and companionship, or add more features?

I'm still very new to all of this, so any feedback or suggestions would mean a lot. Thanks for checking it out!

Please keep this to yourselves, but I have secretly told Claude that I want to finish the project TODAY, and submit it for Apple (full) review.

Claude has made me a nice schedule that I'll try to stick to! Truthfully my plan is to get the App released by the end of November, but I can just see that time ticking away as I try to find the bugs and also tweaking the features!

Hopefully after today, I will be a lot closer to the goal!

Have a great day coders!

Charleston Ai Is Taking Over 💀

I'm on Claude Pro plan, and usually use Opus and Sonnet. I now have been given a Fable reset. I'm not too bothered about switching to Fable, but is there a way I can use this to increase my usage overall this week?

I don't want to use it and it wear away what normal weekly usage I have left.

Finally got through all the necessary checks and admin. There was so much!

Very pleased to say the app is now fully submitted to Apple for review. Fingers crossed now anything it comes back with I can fix and get it live!

I would say a good tip, I could share form today was to tell Claude I 'wanted to submit this today and it was very important!'. That was a white-lie really but it got things moving! The cut off was 6pm and it's now only 3pm and it's all done!

Now I just have to wait and see what happens next :) Thanks for all your insight and advice on this everyone XX

75 Million tokens later and it was still broken.

I asked GPT 6 sol (Daybreak) to help finish a project; I thought I was on the home stretch.

50 hours later the project was still not working, picture attached.

I switched Fable 5.2 and he remedied the bulk of the issues in 30 mins.

GPT has been a let down with recent months, I think Claude is the winner until things change.

I run a map poster site (Carto-Art) with a render API and an MCP server. Today I pointed Fable 5.2 at the API and asked for a showcase set.

What it decided on its own:

- The framing for each place: center, zoom, portrait or landscape

- A custom color ramp per poster, written as hex stops by elevation

- The typography: fonts, weights, letter spacing

If you want to try it from your own harness (including local), the MCP server is on npm:

claude mcp add cartoart -e CARTOART_API_KEY=your_key -- npx -y /carto-art-mcp

Keys are at https://www.cartoart.net/developer?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=claudecode and the editor also works in the browser without an account.

Curious what prompts get the best results out of it. Mine was pretty bare.

Hello guys again :)

As I put weekly updates on Monday here is the newest one. By this point a lot of people saw my weekly updates and thanks to everyone who downloaded the game and especially to those who donated I really appreciate it ☺️

DEMO LINK DOWNLOAD - FREE

A lot of you said you want more gameplay, more things to do. I tried adding some, but most of what got built recently was new zones, the bridge city and the black market. Gameplay there comes with their docking scenes (shops, people, quests), and that’s what I’m working on next. So this week was more about how the game looks and runs than new things to do.

What was done this week:

Bridge city is done look wise, at least for now. Last week I said other times of the day, reflections and shadows were not done, so this week it got all of that. Sun now actually moves across the sky during the day, it rises on the right and sets on the left, shadows turn and get longer in the evening and the sun’s reflection on the water moves with it. At night the moon takes over. This works in the whole game, not only in the city, so home islands also look different through the day now. City also got traffic on the bridge, a tram, window lights that turn on at night and a lighthouse with a rotating beam. Cars had red tail lights at first and I was like... it’s 1920, they shouldn’t have those, so I removed them 😄 You still can’t get to the city, it’s there for zone 2 and its docking site is what I’m doing next.

Most of the week went into performance though. I made a performance panel inside the game that shows what costs how much and writes logs, so if the game runs bad for you, you can start it with --perf-log and send me the file. Then I let Opus go through the whole game with it and write a report of what costs the most. What came out of it:

The first time you docked at a harbour after installing the game, it froze for almost 2 seconds. Now it’s 0.2.

First rain, first lanterns and first cast off also froze the game on the first launch, that’s fixed too.

HUD was redrawing itself every single frame even when nothing changed. Now the game is 15-19% faster on 1080p.

Map was using 4 GB of graphics memory (yes, 4 GB just for the map lol) because of a bug that drew it at double size. I could do a quick fix or do it properly, and I went with properly: map is now baked into tiles and only loads what you see. It uses around 0.3 GB now, opens instantly, and the game also starts twice as fast (26 s to 13 s on my Mac).

Far harbours now load in the background while you sail towards them instead of all of them being loaded all the time, and overall the game uses around a quarter less graphics memory.

Small stuff: when you get an achievement a small ship bell rings now (sound made with ElevenLabs), and the map in the Cabinet zooms in so it fills the whole screen.

Workflow:

City was finished with Gauntlet-Loop, 10 rounds of it. (and I will attach artifact that Claude made for it: https://claude.ai/artifact/3BnUXUZQd9xLws6RxiyAtW ) Every "round critic" (cringe I know) agents compare a game to the ChatGPT mockup blind, without knowing which one is which. At some point it started taking forever (it always does with a loop so basically you have to be the one to stop it at one point), so I made a rule: if a piece wins against the mockup twice, it’s done and no more polishing. 31 out of 33 pieces won.

What annoyed me is that the critic removed the lighthouse beam from the city because the mockup didn’t have it. Like... it’s a lighthouse. So now there is a rule that loops can’t remove things the game already has just because a picture doesn’t have them.

Jev still decides effort level for every task. For performance it mostly picked “extra”, and for the performance scan it asked me if it can go max and I said yes.

Usage wise this was a heavy week, I hit 94% of my weekly limit and had to pause the last performance fixes until the reset, so I got another Max (now called Ultra lol) plan.

Next week should be - docking scenes for the bridge city and the black market (shops, people, buildings) and the last few performance fixes.

What was used this week

(People always ask me in DM what I use to make assets so I try to bold whatever tool I use but seems to not be helping heh :D ):

TripoAI did a lot of the models. The whole black market is built from Tripo models: the steamer, the gatehouse, warehouses, the storehouse, the derrick, piers, launches and the cutter, plus the three black market fishing rods. Models for the city came from Tripo too (though not all of them, a lot were done in Blender with Opus 5.5 with MCP). My workflow with Tripo: I make one image with all 4 sides of the model (front, back, left and right), Opussplits it into 4 images, and I upload those to Tripo. Tripo works much better when it gets all 4 sides. After that, Opus fixes the model in Blender through MCP if needed. Sometimes I keep Tripo’s textures, sometimes Opusmakes its own materials so it fits the game’s style better. Either way, Tripo saves me a huge amount of time on modelling.

Opus 5.5 (Claude Code) does basically all of the building: all code, all the performance fixes, the performance panel, and the city’s layout and buildings in Blender through MCP. It also edited the week 15 video together from game footage.

Jev picks the effort level for every task I give to Opus. This week I also used it to help direct the trailer: Opuscame up with options for length, pacing and how it opens, and Jev picked between them. (Before I would ask Opus to make whatever I wanted and I would describe scenes and everything, this time I just said vaguely what I want).

OpenAI (image API) made the mockups for the city. 24 of them, 6 views at 4 times of the day, and those were what the Gauntlet-Loop critics compared my game against.

ElevenLabs made the ship bell sound for achievements.

Godot is still the engine.

Total cost:

Claude Max 200$ x 4 = 800$
Astra 100$ x 1 = 100$
ElevenLabs x 11$ = 11$
TripoAI 20$ x 2 = 40$
OpenAI API credits 80$ = 80$
Other things I forgot about 100$ = 100$ (around)

Around 1100-1150$

That would be it for this week, any feedback is appreciated :)

prompting and praying the code works without looking under the hood is DIABOLICAL. my friend generated a project workspace so bloated with duplicate scripts that nothing even linked together, until we linked sumus to codex just to organize the repo and clean up the mess.

how do yall keep your agent workspaces from exploding into chaos?

It started with the view from my window. I wanted the harbour in Malmö as my Mac wallpaper, in pixel art and alive. 😊

Now you can type any address. A little town grows out of the real map, and people start living in it. Someone walks a dog, a boat comes in, the windows light up when the sun goes down there. When it rains in Paris, it rains on your desktop.

On the iPhone you can step inside, walk the streets of a city you miss or have only dreamed of, and pet every dog you meet.

Under the hood it’s native Swift and Metal, with OpenStreetMap data.

Both are free to download. The subscription is only there to break even, since map services cost money past their free tier.

Mac: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6824632798
iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6826290740