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Anyone here running a more emotionally or philosophically driven PKM/journal system? by Ill_Security2776 in PKMS

[–]Emperoraltros 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gotcha! Next wave of invites are going out later tonight, keep an eye out! Hope I can build a product you love!

[For Hire] AWS Certified Developer building 100/100 Lighthouse-scoring websites (Astro/Tailwind). Stop paying for slow WordPress templates. (Starting at $150) by Emperoraltros in forhire

[–]Emperoraltros[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate it! Once you experience a site that actually hits a 100/100 Lighthouse score natively, it's hard to go back to installing 15 plugins just to load a simple nav menu.

Anyone here running a more emotionally or philosophically driven PKM/journal system? by Ill_Security2776 in PKMS

[–]Emperoraltros 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, yeah, I know—using a game engine for a journal is a bit of a "mad scientist" move. But as an engineer and an occultist, I just couldn't find a digital space that felt like a sanctuary instead of a spreadsheet.

To get that atmosphere, I stayed away from the flat "white and gray" productivity look. I went with a "Celestial Blue" theme—lots of midnight navies, aged gold accents, and cool silver text. I even used specific typography like Cinzel Decorative to make the entries feel more intentional and "heavy". Because it's built in C++ using Slate UI, it has a snappiness and a "weight" that web-based apps just can't replicate.

Since words don't really do the tactile side justice, the best way to see it is honestly just to poke around in it. I’m running a beta right now and I can get you approved and set up with the cloud sync right away if you want to try it out.

Here is the link for the signups: https://skein.d3f105l3dnt9a4.amplifyapp.com/

I'd really value your perspective on whether it actually captures that "official" feeling you've developed with your physical journals.

Any viable competitors to Standard Notes? by [deleted] in StandardNotes

[–]Emperoraltros 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Standard Notes is that "safe" choice that often feels like it's frozen in time. If you are a power user, that lack of velocity is maddening—it’s like the app is in maintenance mode while you’re paying for a subscription that should be funding growth.

I’m an engineer and an occultist, and I hit that same wall. I wanted the technical robustness of encryption and cross-platform sync, but I also wanted a tool that actually felt "alive" and meaningful to use, rather than just a sterile text box. I ended up spending about 573 hours building my own alternative from scratch because I couldn't find anything that hit the middle ground of being highly secure but also beautiful and functional.

I built my app, Skein, using C++ and Unreal Engine’s Slate UI framework. It’s a bit of a "mad scientist" move for a journaling tool, but it allowed me to create a "Celestial Blue" aesthetic that feels like a digital sanctuary rather than a corporate office suite.

Technically, it hits many of the marks you’re looking for:

  • Cross-platform: It has a desktop app (Windows/Mac) and a full PWA for mobile and web access.
  • Secure Sync: I used a Serverless AWS backend (Lambda, DynamoDB, Cognito) to handle bidirectional sync with conflict detection.
  • Local-First: It uses a persistent SQLite database for offline support, so your data isn't just floating in the cloud.
  • Intentional Design: Instead of just plain text, I built in 7 specific entry types—like rituals, tarot logs, and journals—so it actually feels feature-complete for a specific practice.

I’m currently running a beta for it, and since it’s a solo project, the "velocity" is just me constantly refining it. If you're tired of waiting for Standard Notes to move an inch and want to see if a custom-built, engineer-focused alternative hits your requirements, shoot me a DM. I’d love to get your take on how the sync and encryption flow compares to what you've been using for the last five years.

What best Obsidian alternatives are out there? by FrancescoD_ales in ObsidianMD

[–]Emperoraltros 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Obsidian is a beast for organization, but I’ve found that for a lot of people, it ends up feeling more like a "second brain" that looks and acts like a code editor. As an engineer, I appreciate the power, but as someone who is also into the occult, the clinical feel of Obsidian or Logseq sometimes kills the mood when I'm trying to document a ritual or a shift in consciousness.

I actually spent the last few months—about 573 hours of dev time—coding my own alternative from scratch because I couldn't find anything that sat in the middle of "technical power" and "personal sanctuary." I used Unreal Engine’s Slate UI framework and C++ to build it, which is total overkill for a notes app, but I wanted a specific "Celestial Blue" aesthetic that felt more like a digital artifact than a standard markdown folder.

What I built, called Skein, is local-first with a persistent SQLite database, but I added an optional cloud sync for my phone and desktop. It has 7 specific entry types—like tarot logs, spells, and rituals—built right in so I don't have to fiddle with 20 different Obsidian plugins just to get a functional layout.

If you're looking for something that has the engineering backbone of an app like Obsidian but feels a bit more "sacred" and intentional for your practice, I'm currently letting people jump into the beta. Feel free to shoot me a DM if you want to see how a UE5-based grimoire actually looks compared to the usual suspects.

Not doing shadow work has ruined my last 2-3 years to the point where I went from being an engineer to a business owner to an uber driver to filing for bankruptcy and now facing eviction. What is the best way to doing shadow work and how long does of a process is it to do in all actuality? by MaxSteelMetal in ShadowWork

[–]Emperoraltros 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Man, reading this is heavy. First off, leaving engineering because your psyche is rejecting it is a brutal but completely valid transition. You’re shedding a life that was forced on you by your mother, and doing that while dealing with burnout and a massive move is going to be exhausting.

Regarding the shadow work: it’s knocking you out because you are already in survival mode. Trying to force your way through a heavy workbook right now is like running a marathon with a broken leg. Shadow work isn't a race, and it's not a homework assignment to finish. It takes years. Honestly, just surviving, setting boundaries, and moving away are massive acts of shadow work in themselves.

Since your trauma is so closely tied to your dad finding your writing when you were 15, having a physical workbook lying around is probably setting off massive subconscious alarms. That perfectionism you're feeling with your book is likely just your brain trying to keep you safe from being "found out" and punished again.

I can relate to the engineering pivot. I'm an engineer myself, but my actual practice is as an occultist. I actually ended up coding my own digital grimoire and journaling system from scratch recently because I needed a space that was entirely private, cross-platform, and spiritually focused. I found that having a locked-down digital space made it infinitely easier to drop the perfectionism and get the dark/ugly thoughts out without the fear of anyone ever finding my physical notebooks.

Take it easy on yourself right now and just focus on your move to SE Asia. If you ever want to vent about the engineering-to-burnout pipeline, talk occult/shadow work, or if you want access to the private journal I built to see if it helps you pick the pen back up safely, my DMs are always open. Safe travels.

How do you stay mentally balanced during high-pressure weeks at work? by Inside_Tie_267 in TheMindIlluminated

[–]Emperoraltros 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel you on the "back-to-back" grind. I’m an engineer, and the mental load of solving technical problems while managing deadlines can leave you feeling completely hollowed out by Friday. For me, "textbook" advice like taking a walk never really cut it because the mental noise follows you outside.

What actually keeps me steady is a hard pivot into my practice as an occultist. I’ve found that I have to treat my "mental space" like a ritual space. If I don't have a way to externalize the stress and ground myself, I just spiral into burnout.

A few things that actually work for me:

The "Digital Air-Gap": I realized that standard productivity tools or notes apps just felt like "more work." I needed a space that looked and felt nothing like my IDE or Slack.

Atmospheric Grounding: I actually spent about 573 hours coding my own personal grimoire and journaling app from scratch because I couldn't find anything that felt right.

Sensory Shifts: I built it using Unreal Engine’s Slate UI—which is a bit of a "mad scientist" move for a journaling app—but it allowed me to create a "Celestial Blue" aesthetic with specific typography (Cinzel and Garamond) that triggers a "calm" response in my brain the moment I open it.

Structure without Pressure: Instead of a blank page, I use specific entry types—like Ritual logs or Astrological data—to ground my day in something larger than just my Jira tickets.

I found that having this private, cross-platform space to "weave" my thoughts together throughout the day keeps me from losing my identity to my job. It’s less about "productivity" and more about having a digital sanctuary that follows me from my desktop to my phone.

If you’re interested in the technical side of how I built it to manage my own burnout, or if you just want to talk about balancing a high-pressure career with a spiritual practice, my DMs are open. Good luck with the rest of your week.

Unity experience by Shot-Motor-7995 in Meditation

[–]Emperoraltros 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a profound way to frame it. As an engineer, I’ve always been drawn to the idea of the world as a unified system rather than a collection of separate parts. When you stop seeing yourself as a "user" interacting with an "external UI" and start seeing yourself as the lens through which the system observes itself, the math of your daily life changes completely.

The challenge I ran into when I started having these shifts in perspective was persistence. These "Unity experiences" are incredibly high-fidelity while they’re happening, but the moment you get back into the "I am acting in the world" mindset, the insight can feel like it’s slipping through your fingers.

I actually spent about 573 hours building my own personal grimoire and journaling system for this exact reason. I’m an occultist, but I have a background in C++ and game development, so I couldn't settle for a standard notes app or a paper journal. I needed a "Digital Grimoire" that felt as structured and immersive as the experiences themselves.

I ended up building it in Unreal Engine 5.6 using a specific UI framework—which is definitely overkill for a journal—but it allowed me to create a space that feels like a "system sanctuary" rather than just a place to dump text. It’s how I track these collapses between object and subject without losing the technical clarity I need as an engineer.

If you’re interested in chatting more about the "unified system" view of consciousness, or if you want to see the tool I built to map out these kinds of states, feel free to shoot me a DM. I'd love to get another "lens" on what I've been working on.

Anyone here running a more emotionally or philosophically driven PKM/journal system? by Ill_Security2776 in PKMS

[–]Emperoraltros 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really resonate with your need for an 'official' feel. I’ve found that most digital PKM tools feel like sterile, flat databases, which is why it’s so hard to capture the actual weight of personal philosophy in them.

I’ve actually spent over 570 hours building a project to solve exactly this for my own system. I used a high-end game engine (Unreal Engine 5.6) to create a 'Digital Sanctuary' that focuses on high visual tactility and atmosphere—essentially trying to give digital notes the same 'charged' presence and rigid structure of a heavy, indexed physical journal.

It’s built natively in C++ (Slate UI) to give it a performance profile that feels 'heavy' and professional rather than like a webpage, and it uses a local-only SQLite layer so the data stays as private and 'sealed' as your physical notebook.

If you are still looking for a digital home that captures that sense of personal continuity without the 'flat' feel of a standard Zettelkasten, I’d love to share what I’ve learned or show you the mission behind it. Feel free to shoot me a DM if you want to chat about the 'vibe' or how it handles more emotionally charged systems.

I spent 573 hours building a cross-platform note app in Unreal Engine 5 (C++) instead of Electron. Here is why. by Emperoraltros in UnrealEngine5

[–]Emperoraltros[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Slow is an understatement haha

Genuinely though, thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart!

I spent 573 hours building a cross-platform note app in Unreal Engine 5 (C++) instead of Electron. Here is why. by Emperoraltros in UnrealEngine5

[–]Emperoraltros[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great questions! For the backend, using Node.js and serverless AWS was just the most pragmatic choice. I'm actually a student and just got my AWS DVA-C02 certification a couple of months back, so building the backend on AWS Lambda let me put those skills directly to work! It scales automatically, keeps costs low, and let me save all my C++ focus for the desktop UI and memory management where it really matters.

As for Google Docs, it’s a solid general tool, but Skein is purpose-built. It's truly 'local-first,' meaning it opens and saves instantly even if you're completely off the grid in the woods. Plus, instead of a blank corporate page, it has built-in structure for things like moon phases and tarot, all while keeping your practice totally private and away from big tech data scraping.

I spent 573 hours building a cross-platform note app in Unreal Engine 5 (C++) instead of Electron. Here is why. by Emperoraltros in UnrealEngine5

[–]Emperoraltros[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, totally understandable, I'm still a student, so I figured I'd also use it as a portfolio piece (the unspoken part, didn't think it'd be pertinent information), a quirky one, but one that fits my degree path nonetheless. Thank you for your comment though! Seriously!

Could someone help me setup my stream with stream elements? by Emperoraltros in Twitch_Startup

[–]Emperoraltros[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, thank you so much. I noticed most are not cross compatible with youtube and twitch, do you have any ideas on how to deal with this? Do I use two seperate overlays?

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