Brace yourself folks, this article is taking a brief break from the topic of Tau, and is going to be a sort of self-assessment - state of the union style.
First off, I wanted to thank everyone who's been visiting my little corner of the internet, from the Italians, to the Australians, Germans, Americans and everyone in between, never has the world felt so small. You've all validated the effort I've put into this a hundred fold, and while I'm not saying I'm always right, not even close, I haven't felt more enthusiastic about a project in ... well, possibly forever. That's one of the reasons I wanted to write this, to share a little bit of what it's meant for me, and to share where I plan on going with this.
It was about two months ago now, that I cut the proverbial ribbon, and got bloggy. Since then, I've discovered that, while writing has always been a passion of mine, I particularly enjoy the editorial style I get to approach this form of media with. It flows far easier than the prose I used to credit myself with as having a hand for. But I'm finding that certain aspects of my original mission statement have become a bit impractical. Most notably my desire to principally discuss rumors - honestly folks, there just aren't enough rumors out there to keep me satisfied. No, I've realized that in the not so distant future, it'll be the observational articles I write, the ones that approach the Tau from a conceptual stand point, such as the piece I did on the authors of GW, that will become the bread and butter of what goes up here. It's not that I dislike discussing rumors, but rather that I'll simply have run out of rumors to discuss.
Of course, as we get closer to the Tau's still shadowy release date, the rumor mill will begin to turn faster, and we'll have more content to explore - content I fully intend to cover. And to that end, I intend to approach how I handle rumors differently as well. Currently, and largely due to the year and a half back log of rumors I wasn't around to discuss, I approach individual aspects of otherwise large, multi-topic posts. As new subject matter surfaces, I'm going to shift my focus into examining whole posts. I'm making the change for a variety of reasons, but the abridged version is this; discussing the entire post gives me a chance to address the validity of the poster as well as the post, and will hopefully deliver a more fair and accurate assessment. Since these forum threads and news posts are typically enclosed worlds, not meant to interact with one another, I think it'll make things less confusing for you guys to get it all in one shot. Additionally, I'll continue to draw observations about potential interactions with other likely or synergistic rumors wherever possible and appropriate. Going forward, I'm hoping this new format will help keep the big picture in perspective, now all we need are some fresh rumors... yep... anytime now.
Eventually, the new codex will come out, and then I'll really be in a pickle! At that point, I suspect the conversation will turn to one of tactics, and opinions - perhaps the rumor spotlight shifting to our opponents, and how we might handle them. But why don't we cross this bridge when we get to it?
As for the appearance of USS, I'm looking into some unique designs to help spruce up the place. As it stands I'm using a modified palette of a standard Blogger template. I wanted to go with a classic propaganda theme, showing off the silhouette of some iconic Tau units, maybe moving towards or away from a Tau emblem - Barracudas flying over columns of Hammerheads and Fire Warriors - that sort of thing. The layout as is, is perfect as far as I'm concerned, utilitarian perhaps, but everything I need. If there is something you guys would like to see, just let me know - the subscription box, believe it or not, was an early suggestion by one of my first readers - a simple thing my initial ignorance had dismissed as mostly clutter.
Under Strange Stars doesn't exist as my only sojourn into 40k media though. In fact, Roll to Win is a YouTube battle-report show I was part of long before starting down this more traditional median. After an extensive hiatus, we're back to producing content, and we have some pretty interesting designs on where we want to take the show. It's an ongoing process, and our imaginations often exceed our budget (which consists of whatever we can scrap together really!), but in time and with the continued support of an already fantastic audience, we all feel it's going to turn into something special, something we can be proud of. Actually, you can find a link to Roll to Win right here on the blog - it's been there since day one, and isn't going anywhere! So check us out, and watch us grow as we find our way past this humble beginning.
I wanted to end with a couple of heart felt thank-yous. The first goes out to the Advanced Tau Tactica community. These guys are without a doubt, the definitive source on the Tau, and without them, I don't think this blog would exist. Their members continue to be a source not only of inspiration, but of information, and have actively supported me as I've done my research, and encouraged me every step of the way. I'd thank you all individually, but I think a more fitting tribute to the Tau, is that I thank the whole, and be grateful that I have place within it.
I also wanted to thank my friends - the same guys you'll see on Roll to Win. I know you guys are reading this, because I've probably crammed it down your eye-holes enough times to make you want to have an opinion handy on whatever I've written about recently. You guys literally bought me my first models, and it's no understatement to say that this, and everything that follows... is entirely your fault, and I claim no responsibility. To Nick, Simon, and Adam - and all our extended family, table-top gamers or not, I say thank you for your time and support, you guys are the best.
My final thank-you goes out to Games Workshop themselves. We don't always see eye to eye, and our relationship might even be considered turbulent at times - but the fact remains, this is your game, and without your continued efforts it would disappear like so many good things before it. There's nothing I can say to you that Matthew of Mini War Gaming doesn't say in his open letter to you.
That's it folks, good on you if you managed to down the whole thing. As always, and especially this time, thanks for reading!
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