Behind the Scenes: 2023 in Review - Shadow's Thoughts

  

In our Behind the Scenes article series we lift the curtain and show you what goes on for Titan Owners Club in the background.  However, it's the end of the year, and the tradition we've been doing since 2018 continues!  

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are NOT implied to be the opinions of the entire TOC staff and are the personal thoughts laid out by Shadow.

Yep, I'm off the chains again and a free-roaming Princeps getting into trouble.  "I" instead of "we" this time around. Please remember that a lot of times you'll see "we" because the staff are close-knit and work together really well, often knowing what projects the others are working on, meaning that "I" moments really are me laying out my thoughts.   

Going to talk about how the year went, a little bit on what the future holds, and then of course my personal wishlist.  

We went feet first, we cast our eyes up, we took a shot at reaching The Nine, we've been brave, and this year we are stronger together. [Someone stop Shadow from making the Bungie references!!!!!!!!!!!].

2023 in Review

This year was absolutely HUGE!  Like, think that in New York accent where they say it more like "yuuge" and then multiply that by about a million.  Events that hit the double digits, NOVA Open, a ton of Titans being registered....ya.  And guess what, we cracked the 900 Titan mark!  We could well hit our 10th Centurion in 2024.  It was a full year:

• Double digit events that also saw us at NOVA Open and WarhammerFest!
• Continued adding to the Global Battlefield and did a few refreshes.
• Continued to work on the global Facebook page.
• Realigned the US Branch to operate in a more streamlined manner.
• New Canadian Branch.
• Did a ton of reviews for Games Workshop this year, beyond just Adeptus Titanicus.
• Did reviews for LEGIONS IMPERIALIS!!!!!

Think we were busy?

NOVA Open saw Princeps of all ages attend and two Floorhammer events for the U.S. Branch.

2023 - the Future

It's felt good to be doing our normal.  It's felt REALLY good to have so many events going on and to watch the Club flourish.  And even though I normally have the go big or go home mentality, this is where right now we stay the course.  

Don't get me wrong, it's still go big or go home, but we aren't trying to overreach right now.  This is a good thing because we're stable and happy where we are.  So, with that in mind....2024?  

• Keep the events going.
• UK, US, and Canada Branches all have irons in the fire.
• Keep reviewing Adeptus Titanicus, Legions Imperialis, and any of the other stuff GW sends our way.
• LI28 anyone?
• Reboot Adeptus Titanicast.
• That's a failing on our end and the podcast needs to come back stronger.
• Get some more Adeptus Titanicus content up there while also restoring Titan Tactica and Literature Reviews.
• More NOVA Open in 2024 (we're already onboard through at least 2025) and more events at Warhammer World and beyond.
• Maybe the US Open with luck.

The Wishlist

The time-honored tradition for hobby blogs is still here!  The wishlist for next year.  Just a reminder, I have no insider knowledge, and this is just hopeful idiocy.

• Please return our void shields in 10th Edition 40k.  Titans feel better now, but I'd like my classic void shields, please.
• Expanded 40k/30k weapon options for the 28mm Titans.
• FIRE ZE URUS CLAWS!
• Plus, c'mon, we have them in AT/LI
• Bring back the Lucie!.
• Xenos Titan love.
• Emperor Class Titans in AT/LI
• A Titan book or two.

This is where we part ways until the comments section.  Was 2023 a good year for the Club in your book?  Do you want to share YOUR wishlist?  This is where we re-bind my chains like Fenrir but you don't lose an arm like Tyr.  Tell us your thoughts, hit up the comment section.  

Behind the Scenes - 2022 in Review - Shadow's Thoughts

 

In our Behind the Scenes article series we lift the curtain and show you what goes on for Titan Owners Club in the background.  However, it's the end of the year, and the tradition we've been doing since 2018 continues!  

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are NOT implied to be the opinions of the entire TOC staff and are the personal thoughts laid out by Shadow.

Unshackled thoughts again, so "I" instead of "we" this time around.  For the uninitiated with why that's so important it's because a lot of times you'll see "we" because the staff are close-knit and work together really well, often knowing what projects the others are working on.   

Going to talk about how the year went, a little bit on what the future holds, and then of course my personal wishlist.  We've gone from feet first, to eyes up, to reaching The Nine, and now we're being brave. [Another Bungie reference!!!!!].

2022 in Review

It was more or less normalcy in full swing!!!!  There were a lot of events, so much so we aren't even breaking them down like normal.  We're still dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but that hasn't put a damper on anything of yet.  We not only hit the 700 Titan mark, we blew through it and have already exceeded 800.  With that said, 2022 was pretty full:

• Three (3) events in the UK and six (6) events in the US.
• This does not count GW US's Tanksgiving Mega-Battle that we ran for them as this was a GW event.
• Continued adding to the Global Battlefield and did a few refreshes.
• Continued to work on the global Facebook page.
• Received new Mid-North and Southeast Regional Coordinators for the US side.
• Continued, expanded, and did a few upgrades to the Adeptus Titanicast Podcast series.
• Includes new shows.
• Did a ton of reviews for Games Workshop this year, beyond just Adeptus Titanicus.

Think we were busy?

2023 - the Future

How do you follow up a successful return to normal?  Keep doing more normal!  This is probably going to seem like a light list, but it's mostly because we have something that's working really well and we're enjoying the stability.  So, what does 2023 hold?  

• Keep the events going.
• The UK Branch has a few on tap and the US Branch is up to full strength again, meaning you should see a lot. (Next UK one is Beachhead 2023 in Bournemouth in Feb).
• Unfortunately, we will not be returning for Cross-City Clash (the Tanksgiving Mega-Battle) next year.
• Keep reviewing Adeptus Titanicus and any of the other stuff GW sends our way.
• Continue Adeptus Titanicast.
• Get some more Adeptus Titanicus content up there while also restoring Titan Tactica and Literature Reviews.
• NOVA!  That's right, we're doing NOVA Open in 2023.
• We're doing both the National and an upscaled (read 28mm) version of Adeptus Titanicus.

The Wishlist

The time-honored tradition for hobby blogs is still here!  The wishlist for next year.  Just a reminder, I have no insider knowledge, and this is just hopeful idiocy.

• 10th Edition 40k that wipes the slate clean, please.  
• Not touching this can of worms too hard, but I'd rather get rid of the bulk and bloat that's reminiscent of late 7th, so it's time for a refresh via a new edition.
• Updated void shields as part of 10th, including a stratagem to reignite downed shields. 
• Expanded 40k/30k weapon options for the Warhound, please.
• The return of the Lucius Warhound, be it plastic or resin.
• Xenos Titan love.
• Warmaster Titan in 28mm.  😁😁😁😁😁😁

This is where we part ways until the comments section.  What do you guys think?  Was 2022 a good year for you in TOC?  What is your wishlist?  Your thoughts?  You know what to do, hit up the comments section.

Behind the Scenes - 2020 in Review, Shadow Thought Too Much

In our Behind the Scenes article series we lift the curtain and show you what goes on for Titan Owners Club in the background. We let you in on the future, open ourselves up to questions, reveal statistics and plans, and more. The blog tradition begun in 2018 is back, this time with Shadow musing on a rough yet oddly successful year.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are NOT implied to be the opinions of the entire TOC staff and are the personal thoughts laid out by Shadow.

Yep, you're getting my unbound thoughts again, meaning you'll actually see "I" instead of "we" or "TOC" this go around.  For those of you unfamiliar with why that's so important it's because a lot of times you'll see those words because the staff are close-knit and work together really well.  That has definitely been true this year as we navigated a pandemic and shuttered events (more on that later), but also brought up new ways of doing things to deal with what we lost out on.  

But it's the end of the year, and I enjoy engaging in this blogging world tradition for the hobby.  Like usual, I'll touch on some things for TOC next year that I'm hoping to work on (on a personal level) while also wanting to hear back from you.  Last year we went feet first, this year it's eyes up [I CAN hear you groaning as I make another Bungie-based reference].

2020 in Review

It's so tempting to just say we aren't going to talk about this year.  Short of living under a rock you know why the year on the whole has been absolutely insane in the world for a variety of reasons.  So, I'll grab the bull by the horns, put it in the pen, then move on.

How do you get a global pandemic and stay busy?  If you can figure that out, please let me know; but somehow that's exactly what happened to us.  The glorious thing about the Club is that our stuff is handled in digital format so we were busy with articles, reviews, and new Titans.  We lost our events though [STUPID COVID!!!!] but that will only be a temporary thing and I'm hopeful that 2021 will see us back in the mix and rolling dice.  

I'd say that there was a lot in the background this year but there honestly isn't anything new to talk about.  We let you guys see behind the curtain more than usual this year because of how often we were communicating due to the pandemic and expressing how we felt about the situation.  So, no rabbits to pull out of a hit this year.  What did 2020 give us?

• Seven (7) cancelled events because it wasn't safe to hold them without making people very sick. [Done talking about it now]
• Continued adding to the Global Battlefield and did a few refreshes.
• We'll update them when we have major shifts to show off.
• 500 Titan Celebration!!!!!
• Continued to work on the global Facebook page.
• Announced a new US Branch Chairman
• Started the Adeptus Titanicast Podcast series.

"But Shadow, this isn't much at all.  How can you say you were busy?"  

First up, we didn't just hit 500 Titans, we're already at 595.  We've been posting every other day for the ENTIRE year.  I have been very busy working on these posts and coordinating with a lot of our staff who has also been very busy.  Secondly, Princeps Siph [big shoutout to him] even brought you a Tale of TOC Princeps. Lastly, we worked on Titanicus reviews again.

I'm going to be honest though, the Club's biggest achievements lay in what the membership did during the massive downtime we all had.  I wanted to give you guys a quick snapshot of the meaningful moments that our members experienced this year:

• "Having the Missus finish 2 Warhounds and Buy a Warlord was pretty great! She is going to do a Vulcanum Bauble too soon."
• "Finished my first Warhound. That was pretty neat."
• "My biggest achievement this year was adding 4 Titans to my Legio. Starting the year with the Warlord which I got just before the world turned upside down! It was my go to lockdown project that kept me sane while stuck inside shielding for those months! I added a rescue Warhound, then the Warbringer that I'm finally pushing towards completion, then a new Reaver which had some casting issues and has been an ongoing problem since October, finally sorted out with Forgeworld, I got a full replacement last Sunday so starting next year with a Reaver build gives me something to look forwards to! It's been a heck of a tough year but at least productive if I can find a positive in it."
• "Getting my very first Warhound and Reaver Titan and rebuilding them from the sad states I got them in."

2021- the Future

NOPE!!!!  Not going there.  

Very very brief and fairly small this time around.  I learned my lesson.

• We want our events back if it's safe to do so.  
• We don't know how many we'll get and I trust the US staff to do what is right and safest while the UK staff does the same over on their end.
• I want us to keep registering Titans and being a supportive community.

Simple, easy, achievable during this time.

The Wishlist

The time-honored tradition for hobby blogs returns!  The wishlist for next year.  Just a reminder, I have no insider knowledge and this is just hopeful idiocy.

1. I'm happy with the direction the took Titans in 9th edition 40k; that said, I do want to see void shields FAQ'd and beefed up a wee bit more.
2. I want a stratagem that lets you reignite downed void shields!!!!!
3. I said it before, but new weapon options for the Warhound?  A guy can dream.  Ursus Claws!!!   Got them in Titanicus so it would be wicked to have them in HH and 40k.
4. A complete update of the Reaver Titan.  She's old and could use it.  Still championing it and I know some of you want the Warhound redone too.
5. The return of the Lucius Warhound, be it plastic or resin.  Lucies are too awesome to be gone.
6. Xenos Titan love.
7. Some normal......please?

Yes, I know, I talk a lot.  I'm passionate and that's what the end-of-year article is about.  That said, I'm apologizing again.  What do you guys think?  You know what to do: the comments box is below.  Shutting up now.  :)