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Kilkrazy wrote:
Necessity is the mother of invention.

Tell that to Necrontyr, who arguably had more reason to discover faster-than-light technology but were still totally incapable of it. And aside from Warp Drives, were presumably more technologically advanced than the Tau.

Necrontyr took millions of years to develope all their tech. So, I'm sure the Tau will get it done this week.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Necrontyr took millions of years to develope all their tech. So, I'm sure the Tau will get it done this week.

This week? Didn't you mean by the end of the day....

Yes, you see each codex shows them making incremental steps forward in the area of warp travel. This proves they are focusing their attention on something completely different.

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:
Necessity is the mother of invention.

Tell that to Necrontyr, who arguably had more reason to discover faster-than-light technology but were still totally incapable of it. And aside from Warp Drives, were presumably more technologically advanced than the Tau.

The Necrontyr didn't have any examples to inspire them.

I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

Kilkrazy wrote:

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:
Necessity is the mother of invention.

Tell that to Necrontyr, who arguably had more reason to discover faster-than-light technology but were still totally incapable of it. And aside from Warp Drives, were presumably more technologically advanced than the Tau.

The Necrontyr didn't have any examples to inspire them.

Neither do Tau as Necron technology is uncapturable or whatever. They see it, but without any basis on how the magic tech works they would be just as far as if they hadn't seen it.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

What do you think their current method is?

nomotog wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

What do you think their current method is?

Postal service. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/313793.page

Brother Coa wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Necrontyr took millions of years to develope all their tech. So, I'm sure the Tau will get it done this week.

This week? Didn't you mean by the end of the day....

Oh come on, now people can't even take a joke?
I am so sad

Depends on what faction it is against.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Depends on what faction it is against.

Are you saying that KK is using her mod position to make me don't say certain things?

KamikazeCanuck wrote:

nomotog wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

What do you think their current method is?

Postal service. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/313793.page

Try live televsion!

Shadowsun destroyed Farsights marble statue with every Firewarrior in the empire watching. Tau communication is ace and capable of being flexible enough to wage coordinated attacks on different targets at once. So good, that Shadowsun was able to keep her fleet closely intact and pinpoint precise and went on to wipe a splinter fleet without losing one vessel. A technique of rapid communication we saw repeated when she launched the 3rd expansion... playing hell with Imperial defenses as she probed several worlds before collapsing on one. On a dozen different headings her fleet made brutal, quick hit and run attacks.

The only time I hear of pony express is in regards to the Nid invasion, in which I can totally see how comms could be blocked out. Even against Necrons the Tau knew almost instantly they were under attack from Crons and ordered all nearby planets to be evacuated.

BeefCakeSoup wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:

nomotog wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

What do you think their current method is?

Postal service. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/313793.page

Try live televsion!

Shadowsun destroyed Farsights marble statue with every Firewarrior in the empire watching. Tau communication is ace and capable of being flexible enough to wage coordinated attacks on different targets at once. So good, that Shadowsun was able to keep her fleet closely intact and pinpoint precise and went on to wipe a splinter fleet without losing one vessel. A technique of rapid communication we saw repeated when she launched the 3rd expansion... playing hell with Imperial defenses as she probed several worlds before collapsing on one. On a dozen different headings her fleet made brutal, quick hit and run attacks.

The only time I hear of pony express is in regards to the Nid invasion, in which I can totally see how comms could be blocked out. Even against Necrons the Tau knew almost instantly they were under attack from Crons and ordered all nearby planets to be evacuated.

This communication works now, what we're saying is what happens when they get bigger and have to communicate at a level close to the IOM

Nicholas wrote:

BeefCakeSoup wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:

nomotog wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

What do you think their current method is?

Postal service. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/313793.page

Try live televsion!

Shadowsun destroyed Farsights marble statue with every Firewarrior in the empire watching. Tau communication is ace and capable of being flexible enough to wage coordinated attacks on different targets at once. So good, that Shadowsun was able to keep her fleet closely intact and pinpoint precise and went on to wipe a splinter fleet without losing one vessel. A technique of rapid communication we saw repeated when she launched the 3rd expansion... playing hell with Imperial defenses as she probed several worlds before collapsing on one. On a dozen different headings her fleet made brutal, quick hit and run attacks.

The only time I hear of pony express is in regards to the Nid invasion, in which I can totally see how comms could be blocked out. Even against Necrons the Tau knew almost instantly they were under attack from Crons and ordered all nearby planets to be evacuated.

This communication works now, what we're saying is what happens when they get bigger and have to communicate at a level close to the IOM

If a spec on the galactic map can create what they can, imagine what a few trillion Tau could come up with. It's very likely that they would literally push technology to a possible apex.

BeefCakeSoup wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:

nomotog wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

What do you think their current method is?

Postal service. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/313793.page

Try live televsion!

Shadowsun destroyed Farsights marble statue with every Firewarrior in the empire watching. Tau communication is ace and capable of being flexible enough to wage coordinated attacks on different targets at once. So good, that Shadowsun was able to keep her fleet closely intact and pinpoint precise and went on to wipe a splinter fleet without losing one vessel. A technique of rapid communication we saw repeated when she launched the 3rd expansion... playing hell with Imperial defenses as she probed several worlds before collapsing on one. On a dozen different headings her fleet made brutal, quick hit and run attacks.

The only time I hear of pony express is in regards to the Nid invasion, in which I can totally see how comms could be blocked out. Even against Necrons the Tau knew almost instantly they were under attack from Crons and ordered all nearby planets to be evacuated.

Indeed. The Tau Empire is small enough that word travels fast. The Imperium is stretched across many light years, and relies heavily on astropathic choirs. On top of that, it takes a long time for news to reach the Departmento Munitorum. Vraks and Taros are good examples of the Imperium's slow response to to emergencies in distant sectors.

BeefCakeSoup wrote:

Nicholas wrote:

BeefCakeSoup wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:

nomotog wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

What do you think their current method is?

Postal service. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/313793.page

Try live televsion!

Shadowsun destroyed Farsights marble statue with every Firewarrior in the empire watching. Tau communication is ace and capable of being flexible enough to wage coordinated attacks on different targets at once. So good, that Shadowsun was able to keep her fleet closely intact and pinpoint precise and went on to wipe a splinter fleet without losing one vessel. A technique of rapid communication we saw repeated when she launched the 3rd expansion... playing hell with Imperial defenses as she probed several worlds before collapsing on one. On a dozen different headings her fleet made brutal, quick hit and run attacks.

The only time I hear of pony express is in regards to the Nid invasion, in which I can totally see how comms could be blocked out. Even against Necrons the Tau knew almost instantly they were under attack from Crons and ordered all nearby planets to be evacuated.

This communication works now, what we're saying is what happens when they get bigger and have to communicate at a level close to the IOM

If a spec on the galactic map can create what they can, imagine what a few trillion Tau could come up with. It's very likely that they would literally push technology to a possible apex.

Not as much if they can't communicate.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:

nomotog wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:I guess so.

The biggest thing holding back Tau expansion isn't their warp speed. If they're slow they're slow, whatever. The biggest problem they are going to face soon is empire wide communication. An empire beyond their current size cannot be administrated and protected with their current method. It's too ineffective.

What do you think their current method is?

Postal service. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/313793.page

Thanks for that link. That thread was a good read. I always figured that they used their waypoint stations are relay stations with routing software like we have today. So a tau wants to send a message to his friend on another planet. The message would be packeted up and sent by way of computer.

Beauty of the Tau is that not every innovation lies on their shoulders. They could easily assimilate a race to problem solve for them. While Tau are easily some of the brightest minds out there, they don't have an affinity for the warp. However, they could easily absorb a psyker race into their ranks.

Bingo, problem solved!

Mr Morden wrote:The Tau have had conflicts with pretty much all the major players. Like everyone else - the Tau are fighting on multiple fronts but in a small area so can focuss their defences better.

The Necrons "saved" a Tau world only to devour the population

Hey Mat Ward: THAT is how you have Necrons and anyone "team up."

Or "Caves of Ice" starring Ciaphas Cain.

BeefCakeSoup wrote:Beauty of the Tau is that not every innovation lies on their shoulders. They could easily assimilate a race to problem solve for them. While Tau are easily some of the brightest minds out there, they don't have an affinity for the warp. However, they could easily absorb a psyker race into their ranks.

Bingo, problem solved!

Problem just begun. Soon as you let in the psykers you have to deal with all the problems of Chaos.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Problem just begun. Soon as you let in the psykers you have to deal with all the problems of Chaos.

Just like in the Age of Strife. I think that Tau recruiting alien psykers into their ranks would = doom to their race. As Tau don't have nothing against Daemons, unlike the Imperium.

Nagashek wrote:

Mr Morden wrote:The Tau have had conflicts with pretty much all the major players. Like everyone else - the Tau are fighting on multiple fronts but in a small area so can focuss their defences better.

The Necrons "saved" a Tau world only to devour the population

Hey Mat Ward: THAT is how you have Necrons and anyone "team up."

Or "Caves of Ice" starring Ciaphas Cain.

You're aware that even before Ward, the Necrons 'teamed up' with the Imperium yeah?

Necrons gated in on several worlds in the Cadian sector during the 13th Black Crusade. They did not engage Imperial forces, unless Imperial forces got in their way.

BeefCakeSoup wrote:Beauty of the Tau is that not every innovation lies on their shoulders. They could easily assimilate a race to problem solve for them. While Tau are easily some of the brightest minds out there, they don't have an affinity for the warp. However, they could easily absorb a psyker race into their ranks.

Bingo, problem solved!

It would solve some problems, then make more. Tau's greatest hope is to eventually get non warp FTL right now stay small, advance more, until the Imperium is too weak to deal with them.

Kanluwen wrote:

Nagashek wrote:

Mr Morden wrote:The Tau have had conflicts with pretty much all the major players. Like everyone else - the Tau are fighting on multiple fronts but in a small area so can focuss their defences better.

The Necrons "saved" a Tau world only to devour the population

Hey Mat Ward: THAT is how you have Necrons and anyone "team up."

Or "Caves of Ice" starring Ciaphas Cain.

You're aware that even before Ward, the Necrons 'teamed up' with the Imperium yeah?

Necrons gated in on several worlds in the Cadian sector during the 13th Black Crusade. They did not engage Imperial forces, unless Imperial forces got in their way.

True, but before Mat Ward, they never acknowledged their food and made a sort of seperate piece with them where both sides honored and respected their erstwhile foes or found killing them "distasteful."

The sum total of words exchanged between the species, if any, pretty much boiled down to


I never have been able to figure out why people had a problem with the Tau in the Grimdark 40k universe. I think their inclusion is all the more perfect for the universe. They're young, they're dynamic, they're UTTERLY EFFING CLUELESS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE OF HORRORS they so foolishly think is their birthright. The Tau is like so many co-eds camping at Crystal Lake. They drink, they smoke dope, they investigate strange noises at night. We as the audience know of the horrors that the galaxy holds, but these schmucks just blunder forward. Let them remain guilless and pure: the joy is watching them realize the true nature of the galaxy and wrestle with their own ideology in the face of that, not making them just "blue guys with moar skullz and dakka."

Nagashek wrote:

I never have been able to figure out why people had a problem with the Tau in the Grimdark 40k universe. I think their inclusion is all the more perfect for the universe. They're young, they're dynamic, they're UTTERLY EFFING CLUELESS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE OF HORRORS they so foolishly think is their birthright. The Tau is like so many co-eds camping at Crystal Lake. They drink, they smoke dope, they investigate strange noises at night. We as the audience know of the horrors that the galaxy holds, but these schmucks just blunder forward. Let them remain guilless and pure: the joy is watching them realize the true nature of the galaxy and wrestle with their own ideology in the face of that, not making them just "blue guys with moar skullz and dakka."

It's not the Tau, it's their fans ( some of them ). Because they took that young and well balanced race and put it on huge/awesome/totally cool position over everyone else. Next thing: Tau can now kill Chaos gods and rape Titans with millions upon billions of Railguns. And they are advancing so fast that even we ( real Humans ) are to stupid in comparison to them.

In fluff ( real fluff not fan made Tau ), they are quite well balanced. They have tech but they are limited to their 100 planets and have FTL drive that is so slow it's like comparing 1933 Ford with Bugatti Veyron in terms of speed. And they can take almost any enemy, except great hordes. But they never fought full Tyranid invasion or big Ork WARRGHHHH!!!!, nor they have saw true Necron uprising or true Imperial war might. They are quite fragile when it comes to this things, but they live in Ultramar witch is quite peaceful place in the galaxy. And since Imperium have no interest in them they are good, for now.

The tau have already assimilated a psyker race into their empire, the nomadic nicassar. There are no known occurances of daemonic posession among them so they either have developed defences against
the more unfriendly denizens of the warp or the nicassar keep such incidents secret.
What people fail to understand is that the Imperium of Man is ultimately not a centralised state but deeply feudal in nature with obligations in the entire galaxy which do not allow to concentrate significant forces in one area unless the situation is truly dire ( and therefore the losses that come with abandoning/weakening other fronts are considered to be acceptable ). It is this inherent weakness, which allows minor xenos races and piratical orkempire to survive ( in some cases even relatively large empires of the archenemy, as the loss of the Sabath sector shows ) and not necessarily some perceived imperial disinterest.

It's not the Tau, it's their fans ( some of them ). Because they took that young and well balanced race and put it on huge/awesome/totally cool position over everyone else. Next thing: Tau can now kill Chaos gods and rape Titans with millions upon billions of Railguns. And they are advancing so fast that even we ( real Humans ) are to stupid in comparison to them.

On the other hand we have imperial hardcorefanboys who can't seem to accept that the corrupt imperium of man could ever be ( in some aspects ) inferior to some filthy xenos race. No matter that the dogmatic martian brotherhood stunts allmost all technological progress, no matter that they are kept in the clutches of a deeply corrupt church which keeps them in perpetual ignorance, all in the name of some uncaring god emperor ( who wanted to create an Imperium based on knowledge and understanding and not on superstition and fear ). No, a xenos race cannot be balanced at all unless the oh so great Imperium of Man is superior to them in all possible aspects, because one is filthy xeno ( or gods beware, chaos aligned) and the other is human, and therefore always right and pure and super.

KingDeath wrote:

On the other hand we have imperial hardcorefanboys who can't seem to accept that the corrupt imperium of man could ever be ( in some aspects ) inferior to some filthy xenos race. No matter that the dogmatic martian brotherhood stunts allmost all technological progress, no matter that they are kept in the clutches of a deeply corrupt church which keeps them in perpetual ignorance, all in the name of some uncaring god emperor ( who wanted to create an Imperium based on knowledge and understanding and not on superstition and fear ). No, a xenos race cannot be balanced at all unless the oh so great Imperium of Man is superior to them in all possible aspects, because one is filthy xeno ( or gods beware, chaos aligned) and the other is human, and therefore always right and pure and super.

You know, I'm not sure if I really believe it, or if I'm just playing along... either way, the Imperium of Man is totally superior. If for no other reason than they're the ones in charge, the ones everyone compares others to. Besides, they're human. Who are we to go against our own brethren?

KingDeath wrote:The tau have already assimilated a psyker race into their empire, the nomadic nicassar. There are no known occurances of daemonic posession among them so they either have developed defences against
the more unfriendly denizens of the warp or the nicassar keep such incidents secret.
What people fail to understand is that the Imperium of Man is ultimately not a centralised state but deeply feudal in nature with obligations in the entire galaxy which do not allow to concentrate significant forces in one area unless the situation is truly dire ( and therefore the losses that come with abandoning/weakening other fronts are considered to be acceptable ). It is this inherent weakness, which allows minor xenos races and piratical orkempire to survive ( in some cases even relatively large empires of the archenemy, as the loss of the Sabath sector shows ) and not necessarily some perceived imperial disinterest.

It's not the Tau, it's their fans ( some of them ). Because they took that young and well balanced race and put it on huge/awesome/totally cool position over everyone else. Next thing: Tau can now kill Chaos gods and rape Titans with millions upon billions of Railguns. And they are advancing so fast that even we ( real Humans ) are to stupid in comparison to them.

On the other hand we have imperial hardcorefanboys who can't seem to accept that the corrupt imperium of man could ever be ( in some aspects ) inferior to some filthy xenos race. No matter that the dogmatic martian brotherhood stunts allmost all technological progress, no matter that they are kept in the clutches of a deeply corrupt church which keeps them in perpetual ignorance, all in the name of some uncaring god emperor ( who wanted to create an Imperium based on knowledge and understanding and not on superstition and fear ). No, a xenos race cannot be balanced at all unless the oh so great Imperium of Man is superior to them in all possible aspects, because one is filthy xeno ( or gods beware, chaos aligned) and the other is human, and therefore always right and pure and super.

Are we not admitting that both Eldar and Necrons are superior to the IOM in tech. As of now the IOM IS the biggest Empire in the 40K fluff. Eldar were better then failed, Necrons were better and could be better but they are sleeping, if ork's could ever unify IOM is in huge trouble, chaos isn't an Empire it's a force that affects everyone and want no form of social order, and if Tau keep growing then they will be a big problem, and their is no doubt the Imperium is in trouble. But as of now they are the most successful race in 40K.

KingDeath wrote:
On the other hand we have imperial hardcorefanboys who can't seem to accept that the corrupt imperium of man could ever be ( in some aspects ) inferior to some filthy xenos race. No matter that the dogmatic martian brotherhood stunts allmost all technological progress, no matter that they are kept in the clutches of a deeply corrupt church which keeps them in perpetual ignorance, all in the name of some uncaring god emperor ( who wanted to create an Imperium based on knowledge and understanding and not on superstition and fear ). No, a xenos race cannot be balanced at all unless the oh so great Imperium of Man is superior to them in all possible aspects, because one is filthy xeno ( or gods beware, chaos aligned) and the other is human, and therefore always right and pure and super.

That's not the point. I know all these things are true, even so Imperium is quite powerful entity in the galaxy ( read codex: the most powerful political entity in the galaxy ). I never said that Imperium is so powerful that can defeat Chaos Gods, nor that it can exterminate Orks nor that can defeat everyone at the same time. But Imperiun can exterminate Tau if they want to - and that's a fact. And they are not pure, nor did I said that. I only implemented that Imperium is necessary for continued Human survival as without it galaxy would be like Earth today with who knows how many Human empires. And they would all fall one by one.

An I am with the Imperium because I am with my race ( unlike some people here, traitors ).