Name: Launch of HSMusic.wiki! Date: December 12, 2020 ID: hsmusicwiki Body: Welcome to all visitors, new and returning! We're proud to announce the launch of https://HSMusic.wiki, the new home of the Homestuck Music Wiki! If you've visited the wiki before, you've probably already noticed plenty of changes. I'll cover a few of the changes in this news entry, and talk about the future direction of the wiki too - there's been a shift over the last few updates I'd love to shed some light on. :)
First off: I'd like to personally thank [[artist:nuclear]], [[artist:foreverflummoxed]], and Niklink for their help putting this update together; I worked with all three through its development, and it wouldn't be as complete or cohesive an update without their feedback and encouragement. Extra thanks to nata for tech help as we moved the site from GitHub Pages to an independently hosted server and domain, and to everyone we contacted for being so welcoming to share their music on the wiki! If you've been following the changelog for the last several updates, you might've noticed an interesting assortment of albums coming to the wiki: Clark Powell's [[album:labyrinths-heart]], Casual Sunday's [[album:shortcuts]], and Kal-la-kal-la's [[album:exceptis-excipiendis]], for example. What do these albums have in common? Well, none of them are quite Homestuck albums; across all three, only the track [[track:requiem-labyrinths-heart]] could be considered an outright Homestuck track! However, each album was created by recognizable artists within the sphere of Homestuck music. Could this pattern be significant? During the development of those updates (recompose, refine and autumnal polish haul in particular), it was more of an experimental idea - but with the launch of the new hsmusic.wiki domain, I figured now is as good a time as any to really embrace that new direction: HSMusic is expanding its focus to feature, side-by-side with Homestuck-specific releases, albums created by artists who've found a home as part of the Homestuck music scene! This is in keeping in line with the basic guide of the wiki from the start: celebration. Since the start, we've been celebrating the music we love - through archival, presentation, and discovery. With the former two being polished and perfected over the the year since initial release, I figure it's time to revisit and prioritize that third one: discovery! So, just as half a year ago, the scope of the wiki is expanding once again. For the forseeable future, in addition to the usual site updates and tweaks part of every major update, you'll be finding new albums shared on the wiki regularly! I'd strongly encourage you to check out their personal sites, and of course, purchase the albums you particularly enjoy, if you're able - every artist appreciates support for their creations! On that note, I've opened a Liberapay if you'd like to throw a dollar or two my way as tips for my work on the wiki - I'm immensely thankful, of course, but no expectations either! We have enough to keep the site running as-is regardless. :)
So, without further ado, some update highlights: - A totally redesigned homepage! It's considerably denser than before - but I'm hoping I've managed to reach that peculiar paradox of it being more usable as a landing page as well. - Five new albums, plus some goodies: - A bunch of stylistic changes and tweaks across the site, all in the hopes of making a more usable and coherent design - or in less pretentious jargon, I'm trying to make things look better. :) Besides remaking the homepage from scratch: - Dozens of data changes, the majority of which are from feedback from users of the site: As always, complete update details can be found on the changelog! Have fun exploring the site - and of course, any feedback or comments are welcome, and can be sent our way via the usual channels. :) ~ Quasar Nebula (PS: Working with everyone on this update has been a joy, so once again, a tremendous thank-you to everyone who offered feedback, resources, discussion and support over the course of development! Tangentially, with permission from Niklink, here's a transcript of our emails together - just for a look into what collaborating on the wiki is like, and to give Niklink's wonderful commentary the light of day.)