What confirmation have we had that the Caskuda is suddenly going to be dropped, other than the miniature being discontinued? Is it not possible that it's being replaced by another miniature (especially as it's one of the older ones in the range?)
If it does go altogether it will be very sad! I personally really love the lobster miniature :(
Spoiler:
As for the hacking, lol @ 'Braint blast' and the Combined Army options - can see them being fun!
I really don't see the need to even discontinue them. If, as has been said, they sold very poorly, they're still selling. Just keep a very minor inventory for stores to stock.
In regards to scaling back HMG's, it's not like they needed resculpts. Exrah weapons appearance varied between 'fleshy tube' and 'hole in the palm'. Just change them to have Spitfires on the profile if that's what they were going to do, and the jobs done. no one would even notice on the model, because their guns don't look like anything else.
Discontinuing them and dropping their rules almost feels like spite towards a badly selling line, rather than trying to figure out how to fix them.
It is a shame. I always liked the models, not enough to buy any, but 75% of my Infinity purchases have occured in the last 2 months (Hello PanO, Nomads, Tohaa and Combined armies!).
PsychoticStorm wrote: There is also that little economics side about storage space occupied, needing to remake the moulds and manhours that could be used somewhere else.
That was my first thought, don't think there is anything shady going on, if I had to call the shots this would be my move too.
Also, as someone said earlier, Koni posted this information up in a thread for us which would be the most appropriate place to discuss it.
At this point, I'm just disappointed in the rest of the world for not buying more Exrah models. And I believe IJW when he says he sells one Caskuda every few years.
What I need to work out how many more of the bugs I need for Pulp City minions and super heroes, and then find out how many are still in circulation.
But, I've got a funny anecdote. CB makes the transparency images (the holos) available for download. That set of files doesn't have the Iskaller wings in them, and probably hasn't ever. But the Iskallers sell few enough that no one else complained on the forum or posted a "Thanks, I was looking for those" when I posted the Iskaller wings in the forum after asking for a copy of the file from CB.
You have mercs, and if you play Mero you have Aguacil hackers
An Alguacil? The Dane Cook of Hackers? That I can take a total of 1 of? Yeah, I am jumping for joy here.
All I hear is just buthurt cry over how Ariadna is forced to think, now we pay from 20 to 50 points for dude you can laugh at....I wish I could laugh at those werewolves or 15 cammo markers.
Being able to drop a repeater within 8" of my guys, which I can't ARO against, can be used to mark me whether I am in cover or in the open (but I need to be able to see in order to dodge against this marking), and then use to drop GML rounds on me (which previously I couldn't dodge, but now will likely get a -3 to dodge against) wasn't a dude who I was able to laugh at. Nor were remotes with Total Reaction, 360° visor's and a host of other special abilities. Like sensor which would have helped you greatly in the case of the camo markers you say you go up against. I'd rather go up against Camo than ODD or TO camo with the bag of tricks a lot of the other sectorials get.
I have no problems with other factions having hacking, or ODD, or any of the other host of abilities a lot of them have on hand via technology. But the payoff needs to be that the low tech faction is less vulnerable to hacking abilities, much the same as a high tech faction being less vulnerable to regular shooting at them if they have ODD.
As for Haqqislam, you've got nearly the best of both worlds. High WIP, hackers and good technology, access to MSV 2, Doctor's and Servant bots, with enough low tech to not be worried about losing your weapons in case you get hit by E/M, and enough different unit types to be even able to make a force within your sectorials that has no cube in case you're worried about the Sepsistor. I don't think you're missing out by not having Cameroneans and camo Autocannons. Deal with it
Fenriswulf wrote: I play Ariadna and I don't like them. I doubt I will be able to take an effective hacker for my force, yet I now will have to contend with hackers who can now attack my own guys without much recourse for me to take against them?
Lucky I play Merovingians, and I don't have many HI options to choose from, but it cheeses me off a bit that a force which is supposed to be basically unhackable (due to wearing Tesseum body armour) now is suddenly as vulnerable as factions whose dudes walk around in power armour suits.
I know it's likely to be part of a grander change to things, I just hope it doesn't make me want to tear my hair out because of it.
Pretty sure you'll still be ignoring the majority of hacking programs - but the difference is it will now be immune to the majority of hacks instead of your opponents expensive hacker being a waste of points and absolutely useless.
Being able to drop a repeater within 8" of my guys, which I can't ARO against, can be used to mark me whether I am in cover or in the open (but I need to be able to see in order to dodge against this marking), and then use to drop GML rounds on me (which previously I couldn't dodge, but now will likely get a -3 to dodge against) wasn't a dude who I was able to laugh at. Nor were remotes with Total Reaction, 360° visor's and a host of other special abilities. Like sensor which would have helped you greatly in the case of the camo markers you say you go up against.
To be fair, I could do all that already.
The stuff I like is the changes to the rolls for hacking. BTS now functioning as an armour save, and Reset now being an ARO skill, thats awesome. It's actually going to make hacking harder in some circumstances, but the good thing is that both players are going to be rolling for it, and you no longer have that requirement of a "defensive hacker" to counter stuff.
On that note: I'm going to guess that the new role of the defensive hacking device is going to be a series of programs that only function in ARO.
You have mercs, and if you play Mero you have Aguacil hackers
An Alguacil? The Dane Cook of Hackers? That I can take a total of 1 of? Yeah, I am jumping for joy here.
All I hear is just buthurt cry over how Ariadna is forced to think, now we pay from 20 to 50 points for dude you can laugh at....I wish I could laugh at those werewolves or 15 cammo markers.
Being able to drop a repeater within 8" of my guys, which I can't ARO against, can be used to mark me whether I am in cover or in the open (but I need to be able to see in order to dodge against this marking), and then use to drop GML rounds on me (which previously I couldn't dodge, but now will likely get a -3 to dodge against) wasn't a dude who I was able to laugh at. Nor were remotes with Total Reaction, 360° visor's and a host of other special abilities. Like sensor which would have helped you greatly in the case of the camo markers you say you go up against. I'd rather go up against Camo than ODD or TO camo with the bag of tricks a lot of the other sectorials get.
You knew what Ariadna's deficiencies were when you picked the faction.
You can always destroy deployed repeaters. I believe Carlos said many of the hacker protocols will let you make a F2F WIP role to reset vs hacking attacks; something you couldn't do to defend before.
With almost universal BTS of 0, I really don't think hackers will be the worst of your problems anyway...
E/M ammo will now separate your heavy lifting models from their cheerleader order pool.
Double Trouble ammo is particularly nasty & by the looks of it not overly uncommon.
Also those plasma rifles look very evil.
Really Ariadna guys... Welcome to Infinity. It's a cyberpunk setting, humanity has reached the stars, we've found vicious evil aliens out there & Norton's anti-virus isn't going to cut it anymore.
Listen to what he says about E/M ammo. He seems to imply that Hackers are the main source of "isolated status", but due to the existence of E/M ammo, Ariadna can also suffer that status.
As tone is hard to be conveyed via the medium of the written word, and especially hard on the internet, I am not raging in regards to these changes, nor am I proclaiming that the sky is falling. I am just concerned as to some of these changes and how I can possibly fight against them on the field.
If you're looking for frothing mouthed white rage and fury, you're looking in the wrong place.
Fenriswulf wrote: As tone is hard to be conveyed via the medium of the written word, and especially hard on the internet, I am not raging in regards to these changes, nor am I proclaiming that the sky is falling. I am just concerned as to some of these changes and how I can possibly fight against them on the field.
To be honest, I'm reasonably sure that you (and me, i do frenchies too) are not going to have to worry about, well, the majority of it. Our HI won't be hackable, and we won't really be required to stack our own hackers for defence, since we'll get the option to react to hacking attempts with Reset (or whatever else). I think any hacking that will be effective on our units will fall more into the annoyance category than anything else.
You have mercs, and if you play Mero you have Aguacil hackers
An Alguacil? The Dane Cook of Hackers? That I can take a total of 1 of? Yeah, I am jumping for joy here.
Maybe you wanted Interventor in your low-tech faction?....Wip 13 hacker isnt too great of a thing but you have way of protecting yourself and doing somthing with it, no one ever said it would be easy for ya.
All I hear is just buthurt cry over how Ariadna is forced to think, now we pay from 20 to 50 points for dude you can laugh at....I wish I could laugh at those werewolves or 15 cammo markers.
Being able to drop a repeater within 8" of my guys, which I can't ARO against, can be used to mark me whether I am in cover or in the open (but I need to be able to see in order to dodge against this marking), and then use to drop GML rounds on me (which previously I couldn't dodge, but now will likely get a -3 to dodge against) wasn't a dude who I was able to laugh at. Nor were remotes with Total Reaction, 360° visor's and a host of other special abilities. Like sensor which would have helped you greatly in the case of the camo markers you say you go up against. I'd rather go up against Camo than ODD or TO camo with the bag of tricks a lot of the other sectorials get.
I can do it now, in N2 ruleset....so your point was?
Really Ariadna guys... Welcome to Infinity. It's a cyberpunk setting, humanity has reached the stars, we've found vicious evil aliens out there & Norton's anti-virus isn't going to cut it anymore.
You previously said that Ariadna laughed at hackers. I gave you an example of something which hackers can do which can be quite devastating to their units (which I have experienced previously in games against higher tech factions). And yes, it can still be done here as well, so once again, hackers are not to be laughed at when played against Ariadna.
As for the rest, you thumbs up the idea of Ariadna needing to gear up to take on hackers etc, but earlier sarcastically asked if I wanted an Interventor. Which is it to be then?
I'd actually like better access to low tech E/M and jamming equipment more than needing to tote along a 22/0.5 hacker to each game on the off chance I might become dead very quickly from a hacker, repeater and GML. Let me have a more Ariadna way of dealing with things rather than having to poach a hacker from another faction to do this stuff with.
Fenriswulf wrote: As tone is hard to be conveyed via the medium of the written word, and especially hard on the internet, I am not raging in regards to these changes, nor am I proclaiming that the sky is falling. I am just concerned as to some of these changes and how I can possibly fight against them on the field.
It's why I'm waiting for profile updates. I think January was mentioned for Army builder update, unless we use a book, paper and pencil. I personally like the old school approach and a little bookkeeping.
Bladerunner2019 wrote: Really Ariadna guys... Welcome to Infinity. It's a cyberpunk setting, humanity has reached the stars, we've found vicious evil aliens out there & Norton's anti-virus isn't going to cut it anymore.
O'rly? So you are telling the first settlers to an alien planet that mankind can now get to other planets? You are telling the first faction to share their planet with alien life and the first to fight the Tohaa before even the arrival of the CA to the Sphere, that there are aliens? You sound like a teenager trying to lecture his grandpa. If fits, after all what we want is just you little fethers to get off our lawn.
Fenriswulf wrote: You previously said that Ariadna laughed at hackers. I gave you an example of something which hackers can do which can be quite devastating to their units (which I have experienced previously in games against higher tech factions). And yes, it can still be done here as well, so once again, hackers are not to be laughed at when played against Ariadna.
Ehhh...your all mighty GML combo is order consuming and it is not something that A is common B easy and eficient.
As for the rest, you thumbs up the idea of Ariadna needing to gear up to take on hackers etc, but earlier sarcastically asked if I wanted an Interventor. Which is it to be then?
It was your whining over "we Ariadna dont have hackers"....wait, you do.
I'd actually like better access to low tech E/M and jamming equipment more than needing to tote along a 22/0.5 hacker to each game on the off chance I might become dead very quickly from a hacker, repeater and GML. Let me have a more Ariadna way of dealing with things rather than having to poach a hacker from another faction to do this stuff with.
So you want to bark at incoming guided missile to hack it, more Ariadna way? That Aguacile hacker IS part of your forces, not useing him/her is your own decision. Corregidor have McMurrow...I dont like him so Im not useing him....but that dosnt give me right to ban it form Ariadna forces.
Now you can dodge them, is it not enough?
@Erasoketa
You missed his point, its a S-F setting and you want to kill aliens with a stick, where other use technology to do that. Fair to me....we have low-tech faction for it, but dont be so shocked when that technology is as efficient as your stick.
I wasn't complaining about the changes, I'm relatively new to Infinity (at least compared to GW) and this is my first edition change for the game. I'd rather wait, read, and adapt. I guess I'll have to learn hacking rules this time, at least defensive rules (Isobel McGregor).
BoW guys have uploaded 300p battle report video, but I'm work blocked and I can't either watch it or link embed it here.
This just in on their facebook page. Don't know what to make of it. To me it looks like a fluff progression regarding Tohaa... but I've heard that the story isn't gonna progress for the core rule change. Hmn. What do you guys make of it?
I wonder if that signals that Sepsitor will see a change as well? Certainly allows them to controls how powerful a profile one can wrest from the enemy. And unifying the possession mechanic would be another good place to streamline.
The game between Carlos and Cillian is pretty damn good. Some really flukey rolls on both of their behalf's, and I am looking forward to the next episode.
Ronin_eX wrote: I wonder if that signals that Sepsitor will see a change as well? Certainly allows them to controls how powerful a profile one can wrest from the enemy. And unifying the possession mechanic would be another good place to streamline.
I highly hope so.
As for Carlos...well you can see he like playing this game....thats why gods of dices favores him
Can happen. Same thing with TO Camo troops. I stopped using the Tuareg because I always forgot about it.
I've forgotten about a normal unit I held in reserve. I was holding my Nikaul back as reserve deployment, then after my opponent deployed, I completely forgot about him. I remembered at about turn 3, maybe end of turn 2. A KO'd unit was killed completely, and I put him on the sideboard only to see the Nikaul I had forgotten about.
This better be a massive plot twist and it needs to link back into existing material. If this is just confirming something that we already know I'm going to feel very let down.
Well, a plot twist or anything really story related would likely be published in an official book. If it's in N3, there's no point teasing it now. If it's not, it'll be in Acheron Falls, and teasing it now is a bit far out from release.
I'm guessing it's event or product related. Revealing an official Interplanetary tournament in the US would be a big deal.
Personally I'm still holding out hope for a larger scale 15mm game set to the Infinity universe, but I'm the eternal optimist.
I can't imagine it being anything rules related - we've heard that the rules team were working hammer and tongs right until N3 was going to print, I don't think would leave time for new games or an RPG as some people have been hypothesizing.
I reckon something background related, or new campaign announcement?
Another theory could be that this is another Art Book.
The two images that we've been shown are the splash covers for the Tohaa and Ariadna in Art Book One.
---
As for the Exrah and Caskuda, maybe they're shifting factions thus invalidating their CA profiles? Tohaa are into the bioengineering, and could accept the Exrah. Bakunin Nomads are sexual deviants and would probably be into giant bugs.
N3 will make the Yu Jing become the second crying faction of the game... because this Exrah genocide will make the Combined Army players the #1 crying faction now.
-"Oh, Exrah! Oh, Exrah!
We never bought any single model of you...
You were ugly as hell, like the Iskaller...
but Oh, Exrah! Oh, Exrah!
Your troop profiles were awesome
as well as your fluff...
We were all very impressed down here I can tell you..."
Could October 31 see dropships? The people are coming out of a helicopter in this picture so maybe the kickstarter/outright release will happen then. Sorry if I'm way off as I'm just getting into infinity, but have heard everyone clam outing for the ships for a long time.
The images are nothing new, though. They're straight out of art Book One. It seems unlikely that the art itself has any hints considering it was made so long ago.
Exrah produced goods haven't been selling well on the galactic market lately and their stocks have been in the dumps for a while now. It's only natural that their HR division would start layoffs. They just happened to be much broader than expected. They're also moving out of combat oriented fields and into consulting, so you won't be seeing any more Exrah on the battlefield.
Theophony wrote: Could October 31 see dropships? The people are coming out of a helicopter in this picture so maybe the kickstarter/outright release will happen then. Sorry if I'm way off as I'm just getting into infinity, but have heard everyone clam outing for the ships for a long time.
Corvus Belli won't be announcing Dropships. They've confirmed there's no rules for them in N3, and Antenocities Workshop is making them, and have confirmed they will be for scenery use only.
The new Maghariba looks amazing. While the Exrah news has bummed me out a bit, I really can't wait to see what they bring to the game with N3 and beyond.
I never liked the Exrah aesthetic but since this happened I've seen them in a whole new light. Incase I'm wrong about the Tohaa I might have to pick up a Caskuda.
Still, maybe it's wishful thinking or insanity but I've got a strong feeling that Tohaa engineering is the story here. It could be anything from confirmation that Tohaa are responsible for the Antipodes and the Exrah too. Or it could go as far to realign the Exrah to the Tohaa side and maybe even Ariadna at a push.
It IS a shame. Presumably the process was, a: are we happy with the quality if these sculpts? No, but they don't sell well enough to merit a resculpt, let's take the opportunity of a new edition to dump them.
To me they are unique enough sculpts that they don't stand out as being out of place amongst newer Infinity minis (like the Armored Cav mini does for instance). I don't see the harm in keeping them around, but obviously we're not privy to the production side of things. Maybe masters were damaged and resculpts would have been mandatory.
I believe a major influence on the decision to scrap the Exrah was actually their odd shapes and the difficulty it was to cast them. As in, they burned through the molds way faster than any other model in their line.
Ad in the fact that they did not sell well (lots of speculation here-not seen as up to standard, not in a sectoral, oddity of shape, whatever), and CB could not justify the cost-production of the Exrah.
They also did not seem to find a spot in the Infinity storyline either. Too alien perhaps to write for.
I think it would be an awesome change (fluffwise) to remove the Exrah from the CA and move them to Tohaa, or maybe even to mercenaries. As a hyper capitalist culture, maybe the Exrah decided it was more profitable to work with everyone, rather than just the EI. Plus, in game terms, it would add a clear-cut sectoral list to whatever faction they're changed to.
EDIT: If Acheron Falls is supposed to add a ton of sectorals, including full merc lists, it'd be the perfect chance to add them back. Maybe the Exrah aren't doomed to permanent deletion, just a massive overhaul that requires time.
I don't get the desire to see them moved to Tohaa. Besides, if they were proper captalists, they would be selling their wares to both sides of the conflict. I think if we were to see them moved from CA to another faction, it'll be to Mercs. Currently CA is the only faction that doesn't get Mercs. It makes sense to make the Exrah into a merc list that the CA can use.
Still, maybe it's wishful thinking or insanity but I've got a strong feeling that Tohaa engineering is the story here. It could be anything from confirmation that Tohaa are responsible for the Antipodes and the Exrah too. Or it could go as far to realign the Exrah to the Tohaa side and maybe even Ariadna at a push.
It was pretty much confirmed in Paradiso that the Tohaa were responsible for the Antipodes and the unique way the Antipodes repopulate.
I believe it may be the female Maakrep Tracker. Seems to have the same bulky backpiece with the shoulder protrusions on the back. Plus the ribbed belt-looking things on the arm.
Female:
Spoiler:
Male with a better view of the back:
Spoiler:
The female especially is confirmed to be part of the CA starter pack coming soon with the Umbra Legate et al:
The basic gist of what we are getting is that they are Tohaa who come from the planets the Combined Army conquered and that the Sygmaa are not fighting under Sepsitorization.
Regardless of whether they're doing it of their own free will or not, they're still Tohaa fighting under the CA. I'm hoping that when Acheron Falls hits we'll start seeing CA aligned human units as well.
Considering the starter set, the Sygmaa (Tohaa) units seem to be the more specialized, the Unidron Batroides (Chaksa-lookalikes) seem to be the line infantry grunts, and the Umbra seems to be the elite commander.
This may be just the starter set, though. It makes sense for the more specialized units to be Tohaa considering they're more intelligent than the Batroides.
So you say four hours after a teaser image gets posted.
Compared to the avalanche of Icestorm + N3 news & anticipating knowledge of the full N3 rules in December, the backside of an evil Tohaa is almost nothing
Casey's Law wrote: Still, maybe it's wishful thinking or insanity but I've got a strong feeling that Tohaa engineering is the story here. It could be anything from confirmation that Tohaa are responsible for the Antipodes and the Exrah too. Or it could go as far to realign the Exrah to the Tohaa side and maybe even Ariadna at a push.
It was pretty much confirmed in Paradiso that the Tohaa were responsible for the Antipodes and the unique way the Antipodes repopulate.
Yeh sorry that was really badly written, I was trying to include them in my Exrah theory because of the recent teaser but I was really trying to say that they'd go into more detail on it all. I'm pretty sure we actually messaged about it back when C: P came out.
Guildsman wrote:Maybe the Exrah aren't doomed to permanent deletion, just a massive overhaul that requires time.
At this stage I feel like that's the dream people have left. Heck, maybe this an outstanding piece of marketing for what they were expecting to bomb in the next update. Suddenly Exrah could actually make them money again...
I made the weirdest noise when I read that. Half a second of something between laughter and a seal barking. Probably the same noise the Caskuda made when it got squatted.
Guildsman wrote:Maybe the Exrah aren't doomed to permanent deletion, just a massive overhaul that requires time.
At this stage I feel like that's the dream people have left. Heck, maybe this an outstanding piece of marketing for what they were expecting to bomb in the next update. Suddenly Exrah could actually make them money again...
I want to believe but...hope, road to disappointment, etc.
Guildsman wrote:Maybe the Exrah aren't doomed to permanent deletion, just a massive overhaul that requires time.
At this stage I feel like that's the dream people have left. Heck, maybe this an outstanding piece of marketing for what they were expecting to bomb in the next update. Suddenly Exrah could actually make them money again...
I want to believe but...hope, road to disappointment, etc.
Has there been a new teaser image?
The one I posted was the most recent, but there is this image as well from the official boards.
Alpharius wrote: I kinda doubt the Marut has been a great seller too, but...
What relevance does this have?
The Caskuda profile being removed purely due to it being a poor seller is pure and utter speculation. You don't have to extrapolate that speculation even more and assume that everything ever is a poor seller and thus requires some retribution for your cockroach being removed.
For all we know the Caskuda profile is being completely changed or something and CB hasn't released the new profile yet. For all we know the bugs are being shifted over to Tohaa (bio-engineers) or Bakuin (loves the sexy-time with animals) or maybe even O-12 (capitalists?).
CB is being unusually quiet about the removal of the Caskuda, let's just wait instead of taking opportunities to jab into CB's decision-making. Aside from the abortion of an idea that was the $75 YuanYuan offer two years ago, CB really hasn't made an anti-consumer decision as of yet. They probably know about the backlash. They understand people's concerns. They're just being cryptic about it.
Can we please not derail every topic into something about cockroaches going extinct?
The Marut ( Lt. profile) was a staple of the ITS 2013 scene in Spain, and is part of the reason the Lt. is no longer a specialist in ITS 2014. I suspect it sold well enough.
At GenCon this year, CB guys spoke to a player called Claudius Sol about the Exrah. Here is the quote, "Talking to the guys... Well, Corvus has made one economically dependent decision ever. It concerns the Exrah. I'll trust you can draw the correct conclusion." and here is the link http://data-sphere.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2121&p=26138&hilit=exrah#p26138 it is on that page. Removal for selling poorly is not pure and utter speculation at all.
There will be an explanation soon enough. (48 days until the release date anyway)
I think CB deserves a jab into their decision making when they make it a habit to give muddy half truths for answers. Language barrier is no excuse. The speculation was rampant on the Exrah's fate because the powers that be refused to admit, openly and unambiguously, that they were going 'full squat' on the bugs. It took a discontinued list to make the plan plain. Gutier's deflection to further questions, after the squat!, only aggravates things further. Are they truly done? Say so! Are there designs at play for N3 and beyond? Say so! Trolling upset customers with wait and see tactics is juvenile.
Morats had an incredible facelift. It would be great to see the same happening with the Exrah. I guess that the new fluff will explain if they are gone as a race forever, or if redesigned models might come in the future. It doesn't seem likely...
The new Morats are fantastic, and Shasvastii has always had a good, unified 'look'.
I'm sad to see EXRAH exit, but hopefully CB have something good in store for CA fans in N3/Acheron Falls...
Sure, more Tohaa! Seriously though, I hope we see more races in the vanilla CA, like the Umbra. That guy is a major step in the right direction. Like I said before, I wouldn't ba adverse to seeing some non mutated humans working for the CA either. I do hope they'll give us a new ADTAG since the Caskuda is out.
Alpharius wrote: ...hopefully CB have something good in store for CA fans in N3/Acheron Falls...
Like that the Combined Army is a construct of Aleph, created to consolidate the human factions under a fabricated threat. Unfortunately for CA players, to progress the storyline further all their models are now scrap.
Just a fun bit of wishlisting here in terms of faction movements but nothing serious:
I would love to see a human sectorial join CA, something Yu Jing maybe.
CA getting around a 1:1 ratio of sectorials to human factions and evidence of more races.
Exrah joining the Tohaa.
Ariadna becoming an unaffiliated Mercenary hub who won't cooperate with Tohaa and work closely with the Nomads.
It would be nice to think the forthcoming event will herald any little bit of that but I'm not even entertaining it as a possibility.
But I am interested to know if anyone has any reasonable sounding theories for what it might be hiding on that website?
Maybe it'll turn out to be a video game? Or possibly Infinity is making enough money for them to start branching the brand out into other forms of media, like novels and comics. Or maybe they managed to get an anime studio to make an Infinity OVA.
I also HIGHLY doubt that the EXRAH minis were great sellers.
That is not a very large leap to take at all.
(Ha!)
Bostria said as much at GenCon 2013, that the Exrah sold very poorly, or words to that effect. And that the minis were very hard on molds-- which are quite expensive to produce.
Okay, this is wishlisting on my part but maybe Exrah would get their own faction?
I'd imagine it'll boost their popularity. There's a lot of bug-related animes and videogames out there that could serve as inspiration: all the Kamen Riders, the roaches on Terra Formars, even the zerg.
heartserenade wrote: Okay, this is wishlisting on my part but maybe Exrah would get their own faction?
I'd imagine it'll boost their popularity. There's a lot of bug-related animes and videogames out there that could serve as inspiration: all the Kamen Riders, the roaches on Terra Formars, even the zerg.
This was expressly denied. Poor sales, mold wear, blah blah. New, mold friendly sculpts would boost popularity, no doubt, but apparently it's not gonna happen.
Will those four models eventually become part of a Yu Jing support box? I'd imagine the female Tokusetsu would be available for a time before becoming boxed.
I do wish she had a facemask like the male and a different leg pose unlike the male.
Absolutionis wrote: Will those four models eventually become part of a Yu Jing support box? I'd imagine the female Tokusetsu would be available for a time before becoming boxed.
I do wish she had a facemask like the male and a different leg pose unlike the male.
And again quote from datasphere:
She will be part of a JSA-themed Support Pack, since the vanilla Yu Jing Support Pack can’t be used by any of Yu Jing’s sectorials. The ISS has access to the ALEPH Support Pack, and now, the JSA players get their own!
For those that already own the Tokusetsu Engineer and two Yaozao servant bots, the Doctor will be available as a blister pack for three months! So get her while she’s hot!
Barzam wrote: I like her too. Hopefully, unlike the male version she'll have the correct number of fingers.
What? I haven't noticed that before.
I hate you, now I'll have to get the new model as well
Nice enough mini. I wonder if all the support packs will eventually get a face lift. Haqq had one within the past year ( I think ? It was recent) and we have seen concept art for the Trauma-Doc. (The medi-kit gun has range now, so T-D is lethal, even at a distance. Scary stuff these days, being a lowly fusilier... Lol.)
Boonie hat Warcor does look better, but I like this one too. I think having a different paintjob would benefit him greatly. I would've liked to have seen a different pose though. My preference would've been to see him actually reporting, rather than running away from something.
I may have to get that doctor though. The more I look at her, the more I actually really like that design. Does anyone know if those are the same two remote drones from the vanilla support pack?
Barzam wrote: Does anyone know if those are the same two remote drones from the vanilla support pack?
Looks like it. They're just painted white.
Spoiler:
Those Zhanshi look old anyways. Makes sense to retire the Zhanshi for the more strictly Support-focused Tokusetsu. I don't play YuJing, but I didn't even know they had a Zhanshi Engineer option.
Some better pics of the new Warcor from the AGFB page, painted with Vallejo air colour. Annoyingly I can't get a zoom-in of the front of the black label on the helmet in the final photo to see what it says (looks like an oriental script?)
Barzam wrote: Does anyone know if those are the same two remote drones from the vanilla support pack?
Looks like it. They're just painted white.
Those Zhanshi look old anyways. Makes sense to retire the Zhanshi for the more strictly Support-focused Tokusetsu. I don't play YuJing, but I didn't even know they had a Zhanshi Engineer option.
The Imperial Service sectorial can't use tokusetsu. They use Aleph instead.
So we'll have both boxes for now... They're not technically zanshi profiles, so they're also dedicated specialists, but have the same stat line as zanshi.
Who knows what choices the 2 new Yu Jing sectorials will get. It will be interesting if the N3 army lists make any significant difference between these two units.
Pacific wrote: Some better pics of the new Warcor from the AGFB page, painted with Vallejo air colour. Annoyingly I can't get a zoom-in of the front of the black label on the helmet in the final photo to see what it says (looks like an oriental script?)
The label says "PRESS." It's actually black text on a white label.
Someone needs to photoshop that pic to have him either running from an explosion, or Scorponok from the first Michael Bay Transformers movie.
plastictrees wrote: Those are the only two minis on a flight base (I think) so I don't think they've had much reason to look outside the generic flight base options.
The Warcor is a nicely sculpted mini. The head does make a huge difference though, the exclusive mini is much more appealing.
Personally I do not use the lower base and instead stuck the plastic rod to a normal bade.
Ok that's uncanny - I actually have a custom Ariadna spec ops model (just for the lolz since it can't actually exist in the game) with SMG, 2x APCCW, Grenades and a drone which I figured could give her 360 vision as long as it was within her ZoC.
The dropship thing is still happening as far as we know, but we don't really have an ETA on that. I guess we will know more one Antenocitis have launched the KS for their range of buildings.
Pacific wrote: Some better pics of the new Warcor from the AGFB page, painted with Vallejo air colour. Annoyingly I can't get a zoom-in of the front of the black label on the helmet in the final photo to see what it says (looks like an oriental script?)
[
I can read it more easily on the top picture, it just says PRESS in black on a white background
It's literally just an alternative form of deployment for units. Perfect for scenarios/missions even though nothing official exists yet. I'd imagine that may change with the official CB-approved AW models coming out whenever. Worst case, you could just have a "GET TODA DROPPA!" objective mission.
ski2060 wrote: I think he's referring to the BACK of the model. There is another label on the back with what looks like Chinese or Japanese characters.
That's what I thought too but it looks like we are both wrong.
Pacific wrote: Annoyingly I can't get a zoom-in of the front of the black label on the helmet in the final photo to see what it says (looks like an oriental script?)
And I'm pretty sure all three labels say PRESS in black on a white background. The big question is, what happens when you press him?
Wow, yes that really does just say Press on his helmet doesn't it! In the zoomed in pic I think my mind was playing tricks on me and ascribing some form of oriental script to the letters..
Although now someone has pointed out, there is some other writing on his back (which I actually hadn't noticed before!)
Fenrir Kitsune wrote:Well, I remember chatter about dropships being part of the game. Something to do with Antenocitis?
Think the Antenociti Kickstarter for dropships is almost certainly on the way. They're now an official partner of CB and I would guess that it had been put on hold to get the furore for the N3 launch out of the way first.
You think they might be killed by ommission, as per the Squats? "What stunty abhumans? They have never existed.." kind of thing?
One thing I will say is that should that happen, one thing I will say about CB is that they will listen to fan feedback. We won't be given years of silence, followed by a condescending/sneering "you should all be buying better miniature ranges anyway", then years later a token story about them being wiped out by the EI to further their singularity project.
I think, like other reversals (the official forum springs to mind) if enough people mourn the death of the Exrah, and tell them about it, we will probably see them come back in some form at some point.
The socially mal-adjusted are unfortunately a feature of this hobby that we follow.
Remember exactly the same thing when the Squats got written out of 3rd edition 40k, I had someone actually say something similar to my face when I was bemoaning that the miniatures I had bought were now useless.
I think it's a reaction to what is perceived to be the over-reaction to their removal. If we weren't seeing multiple threads (moreso on the official forum than here) and all the banner sigs, then nobody would bother supporting it. So yeah, just typical internet mean-spiritedness.
Personally I don't care about the Exrah one way or the other, never really liked the models and have no designs on Combined Army. The removal of profiles is a possible big deal, but I think the recalcitrance of CB to discauss what's going on means it's worth waiting until N3 to find out.
I have all but the caskuda. I'm just going to use them as proxies for the morats or something. My friends wouldn't have a problem with that even in our tournaments.
Diverting attention from the Exrah candlelight vigil ...
this was a little disturbing to see on the Mayacast FB page recently.
I hope they keep the size creep out from here on out. Hopefully 3D rendering will allow that...
I don't want to see any hobby over a long period of time turn into GW, where everything is a $200 humongous 13" tall bloated bag of [MODE EDIT - No expletive filter workarounds please! - Alpharius]
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/The-Glottkin
It's something like a 7 year gap between releases here, but this offense is right on the line.
CB says they're staying true to their standards of quality & maintaining their focus on this miniatures game.
They've slipped a bit here.
Alpharius wrote: I think the Exrah's absence/dissapearance will be explained in N3, but they'll be gone nonetheless.
I don't get the rather meanspirited negative Internet-LULZ that some people seem to have going about though.
Over on the "Official Infinity Forum" there's quite a few "I'm glad they're gone!" types. I don't get that.
Don't like them? Don't buy them! (And clearly that happened! :p )
But to actually be happy when other people are upset?
Weird.
Well, can't speak for others but personally I'm glad the broken Vector is dead, even if our local Vector wasn't even able of hitting a Kuang Shi with a full burst of HMG the single idea of a superjumping MSV2 mimetic abomination with the smoke combo was horrble.
this was a little disturbing to see on the Mayacast FB page recently. I hope they keep the size creep out from here on out. Hopefully 3D rendering will allow that...
It's something like a 7 year gap between releases here, but this offense is right on the line.
CB says they're staying true to their standards of quality & maintaining their focus on this miniatures game. They've slipped a bit here.
They did the same thing for the Father Knight. It seems that they're playing a scale a little bit on models they want to stand out. They specifically stated the Father Knight was disproportionately large because he's the hero of Icestorm. They wanted him to be heroic.
Also, it's 3D printing that's easily letting them do this, rather than being a tool for them to keep it from happening. The ease of simply enlarging (and at times shrinking, like the female Bolts lady sized combi rifle) something in their 3D tool seems to be a big temptation.
@Bladerunner That keisotsu isn't a great comparison as it looks like a midget compared to most normal sized models. I'd be more worried how much bigger Sun Tzu is compared to a Shang Ji! I think most of the new digital sculpted stuff is on the massive side. But CB have never worried too much about making models the same size so i don' t see why they would start now.
Just picked up O:I from miniaturemarket.com, they got another shipment in with the limited CSU figure. Had to cancel my order from thewarstore.com as they have no idea when they are getting thei next order in. Models are already assembled, primed and started on the brigade.
It is a conscious design decision, based on aesthetics and manufacturing, hopefully this is finally the golden recipe, the 3D sculpting method will definitely help everything remain unified, but expect "character" models to be slightly bigger than rank and file (well 1mm bigger).
Painting aside, I find Angel really inspiring. I'm trying to walk the same path right now so I massively respect what he has done. Posts like this just make my heart swell for the guy. Hopefully I'll be writing something similar one day. Also there is a tidbit of info right at the end which I think is new.
A year ago I started to work in my personal project, my painting book. 24th October 2013 I decided the beginning of my new future, a new goal in my career. Well, I had the idea but would it be possible?... what do I need?
First of all, IDEA Yes, I had a lot of ideas on my head and I wanted a good book , a new approach, Infinity has a stunning universe, Gutier Lusquiños is a great writer so I read the Infinity background, it gave me inspiration, I wanted conversions, busts and new world.
Second point, FINANCING self financing or private financing, easy question, I decided to finance my book myself. I don't like Kickstarter, banks,etc.... this one is an easy way and I really prefer the effort. "working hard and you'll get rewards" these words were said to me for a good person years ago so I worked hard and I got to save money for my project.
Third place, TAX ADVICE If you someday makes a project, this point is very important. I have an amazing tax advice team, they said to me if this project was possible, if it was profitable,market study, advantages and disadvantages about this one,etc...... I really appreciate their help.
Fourth point, TEAM If you want to make a good project, you HAVE to HAVE the best team. The choice of team was so easy, on my head I knew who were those people so I talked to them and they said to me, yes Angel!, we can!, thanks so much guys
Fifth, COLLABORATORS when I had my book planned, I presented this one to Corvus Belli and Acrylicos Vallejo because I want to sell this book around the world and these two companies can do it. I work in CB since 2003 and each day I enjoy painting their models, possibly in some years CB will be the number one in the miniature's world. With Acrylicos Vallejo I collaborate since 2010 and I just can say they have the best paints, Game Air, Model Color, Brushes etc.... so good. I just have words of thanks, I really appreciate their confidence in this project.
And last, YOU This book was written for you You can learn how I paint Infinity models from A to Z, colors list, techniques, tricks so on......., I hope you like it.
In a few weeks I'll finish my book and the translators's team will start with the translation so I think that the book will be printed in the last week of December. Also I'm receiving many questions about this one but, keep calm guys,the day is closer and in a few months I'll publish all information about how you can get my painting book!
Seems like the release of a-z is pretty close to n3. Think I may have to wait until later to pick up his book. Shame because it's likley to come with a ltd ed model.
Thanks Kan I assumed printing in December meant Janurary release. Maybe I will get it on pre order then. I want it anyway and I can give the model to the misses.
December print could indeed work out to a few months depending on the size of the publisher and the size of the run. Or so is my understanding. Large first run, medium size publisher I reckon. Plus they'll have to get all those pre order mini's into the same storage for shipping.
If you're right that's going to be really rough and hard to get.
Surely though if the guys has spent all this time trying to build his career and reach the goal of self publishing a book of tutorials then he wouldn't randomly limit how many copies he can sell?
There is a practical limitation in self publishing, especially in first attempts and that is self funding.
5k copies sound not a lot to you, but for the person paying it it is a financial risk.
In your eyes it will sell, but when you pay for it especially as an individual it is a huge investment, my best wishes it will be a great hit and 5k will not last long, but for Angel it is a risk he is not that willing to take and I am glad he is such a grounded guy.
Wasn't Operation: Icestorm also initially limited to 5000 copies before getting another print run? It surpassed expectations, but it still didn't run out immediately.
I'd imagine a more niche book wouldn't sell so quickly especially considering it's being marketed towards elite painting enthusiasts rather than the newcomers/veterans that O:I was.
---
It's also noteworthy to know that the Joan of Arc mini is reportedly not strictly a separate sculpt, but a separate pose. All the other details and features will be on the normal-market product.
Absolutionis wrote: Wasn't Operation: Icestorm also initially limited to 5000 copies before getting another print run? It surpassed expectations, but it still didn't run out immediately.
I'd imagine a more niche book wouldn't sell so quickly especially considering it's being marketed towards elite painting enthusiasts rather than the newcomers/veterans that O:I was.
---
It's also noteworthy to know that the Joan of Arc mini is reportedly not strictly a separate sculpt, but a separate pose. All the other details and features will be on the normal-market product.
The difference was Icestorm was a Corvus Belli funded starter box for their only game. Of course they're going to order more copies to be run if it sells that fast.
Angels book is being entierly funded by himself. He is committing to 5000 copies. After that, it's entirely up to him.
Absolutionis wrote: Wasn't Operation: Icestorm also initially limited to 5000 copies before getting another print run? It surpassed expectations, but it still didn't run out immediately.
I'd imagine a more niche book wouldn't sell so quickly especially considering it's being marketed towards elite painting enthusiasts rather than the newcomers/veterans that O:I was.
---
It's also noteworthy to know that the Joan of Arc mini is reportedly not strictly a separate sculpt, but a separate pose. All the other details and features will be on the normal-market product.
The difference was Icestorm was a Corvus Belli funded starter box for their only game. Of course they're going to order more copies to be run if it sells that fast.
Angels book is being entierly funded by himself. He is committing to 5000 copies. After that, it's entirely up to him.
I'm simply stating that the 5000 copies of Angel's book won't sell out as quickly as the original print run of O:I
I've got my doubts there, enough that I'll be pre ordering it as soon as it's available.
Icestorm nearly doubling its print run in pre orders before the pre order phase was over shows there's a real market out there for Infinity products, and Angels book is all unique sculpts. I'm sure a lot of fans will enjoy that aspect of it.
PsychoticStorm wrote: There is a practical limitation in self publishing, especially in first attempts and that is self funding.
5k copies sound not a lot to you, but for the person paying it it is a financial risk.
In your eyes it will sell, but when you pay for it especially as an individual it is a huge investment, my best wishes it will be a great hit and 5k will not last long, but for Angel it is a risk he is not that willing to take and I am glad he is such a grounded guy.
What I was trying to say was that if he sells 5000 copies in a reasonable amount of time then I don't see why he would say, 'No that's enough, onto some other project and start again.' So, hypothetically, if 5000 copies vanish in pre-order then surely he will use the profit for another tentative and smaller run. I don't think any large number of people are going to be left wishing they could have got a copy before they sold out. I would like to see where he said this though:
-Loki- wrote: IIRC, it's actually limited to 5000 copies, not as a pre order run or initial run. It's 5000 only.
I'm very interested because, as I said before, I'm working on something within the same industries and would like to see why he would do this. It's definitely not my gameplan. I'm not saving this money to buy one run and then walk away and start another project. I'm not going to milk it dry either but if people want what you have I'd rather give them it than withhold it and limit my profit at the same time. Who wins in that situation? Not the consumer, the publisher or the business, that's for sure.
-"the sisters": I think it's something related to the Kum Bikers, maybe a box of female ones?
-Ninja: the cheap version will be 26 pts with Tactical Bow.
30 point basic ninjas.
new ITS playtested now
maybe vips playing a role in the new missions
"N3 steals power of the TAGs and gives to the fireteams"
He says that "in his personal opinion", aka not an oficial CB spokesperson but a player that has had a chance to try N3, Tags have lost power. If you pay attention to the examples he gives, it often talks about Tags getting entangled in melee. I think tha's what he's referring to here.
"Right now, with Infinity, I don't care about realism. We've already been through that, trying to recreate realistic battle through rules but now we are making the game be a game."
Edit: 20-21 min mark. Destroyable walls officially in. Dependent on the 'type' of building, ie military building with tougher walls etc. Cannot see through destroyed wall section.
Prior to ITS it was a strong option to rush your opponent with more elite model. I can understand why they're making such changes, as it was rather frustrating to face aggressive TAG as a beginner. However I somehow managed to move on, once more objective centric scenarios became more established way of play, TAG simply became almost void entry for some of us. Such is life.
T.A.G.s either had already 'lost their power' or never really had it to begin with.
If true, this is sad to see - losing even more of their 'power' is a solution to a problem that didn't actually exist.
I agree:
TAG are more fun than competitive, the only ITS winner with TAG that i've seen was the PanO double TAG list with HGL and cutter kill list,
the first one will be as effectif, but the second is already dead with the nerf of the HMG, I dont see the use for the cutter in N3 right now,
maybe they will drop the cost, but it's not likely
CB hate PanO and just what to ruin them, I'm glad i've started playing Nomads
I play infinity for the TAG not fireteam, fireteam are not fun at all imo, 40k is a better squad game
T.A.G.s either had already 'lost their power' or never really had it to begin with.
If true, this is sad to see - losing even more of their 'power' is a solution to a problem that didn't actually exist.
I agree:
TAG are more fun than competitive, the only ITS winner with TAG that i've seen was the PanO double TAG list with HGL and cutter kill list,
the first one will be as effectif, but the second is already dead with the nerf of the HMG, I dont see the use for the cutter in N3 right now,
maybe they will drop the cost, but it's not likely
CB hate PanO and just what to ruin them, I'm glad i've started playing Nomads
I play infinity for the TAG not fireteam, fireteam are not fun at all imo, 40k is a better squad game
Many will say that CB loves PanO because of their 'faction BS' buff, but everyone knows that CB really loves Nomads!
As for T.A.G.s, well, we'll have to wait until N3 launches to be sure, but the initial signs aren't looking good.
But so far things indicate TAGs have not lost power, but got their role defined, if one continues to rely on TAGs been the get go all rounder great unit, yes TAGs will never be that again.
But so far things indicate TAGs have not lost power, but got their role defined, if one continues to rely on TAGs been the get go all rounder great unit, yes TAGs will never be that again.
The intention is obviously to curb the ability of TAGs to rush the opposing deployment zone and spike the ball. I'm fine with this for all those high BS shooty TAGs, but it is worrisome how they're going to treat TAGs built for CC.
But really... TAGs can single handedly win & lose a game.
Example: I saw my Salamandra take a flamethrower shot & burn to death.
Well there goes 1/3 of my points to a single hit.
Yeah, I had an opponents Avatar cut through all my guys, and drop pie plates on the rest with its HGL from across the board. I didn't have a chance (didn't know ODD could be countered with fire for a start, that would have helped).
I like that they'll be toned down a bit. I don't want them to be too awesome, but still functional and useful for the game.
-"the sisters": I think it's something related to the Kum Bikers, maybe a box of female ones?
Rumor is that they are 'twins'. Make of that what you will.
It would be nice to see TAGs get a better role than just 'Rambo',which is how many people seem to want to play them. Oh, and to actually see the Tikbalang and new Mag Guard available sooner rather than later.
-"the sisters": I think it's something related to the Kum Bikers, maybe a box of female ones?
Rumor is that they are 'twins'. Make of that what you will.
It would be nice to see TAGs get a better role than just 'Rambo',which is how many people seem to want to play them. Oh, and to actually see the Tikbalang and new Mag Guard available sooner rather than later.
You got my atention sir with those Twins
Well, I think there should be some "rambo" tags as well as those more "in-line" like Gekos, but TAGs would benefit from re-purposing as hackers did.
I'm okay with the ragefist. The Jannisary looks badass.
Regarding TAGs, I'm fine with them becoming more midline support units, as that's how I always envisioned them. Huge robot that its back taking cover behind a building, making sure no one in their right mind approaches via his route. This is, after all, a spec ops infantry game. A huge stomping robot is cool, but shouldn't be the focus.
Why does Corvus Belli keep working with Blue Table Painting? What does CB get out of that relationship? All they are doing is legitimizing the shadiest 'established' painting company operating today.
I don't want to hijack the N&R thread, but I feel like CB may not be aware of BTPs reputation as they deal mostly in North America.
I would genuinely be interested in seeing you posting that up as a thread. I would be inclined to read such a thread very closely and likely comment at some point.
Janissary does look damn good though. All this fist clenching is starting to feel a little power ballady thought.
plastictrees wrote: Why does Corvus Belli keep working with Blue Table Painting? What does CB get out of that relationship? All they are doing is legitimizing the shadiest 'established' painting company operating today.
I don't want to hijack the N&R thread, but I feel like CB may not be aware of BTPs reputation as they deal mostly in North America.
It was one of their earlier relationships. That and Battlefoam.
Caused a lot of controversy on the official forums when CB suddenly started a policy that you're not allowed to discuss non-partners' products on the forums.
I'm happy with CB's relationships nowadays being polyamorous with MAS and Plast Struct and others rather than the abusive Battlefoams and Blue Table relationships that caused little more than heartbreak and abortions.
I'm happy with Battlefoams Infinity bags, but I can definitely see, with the game gaining popularity and no other foam companies stepping up, that their contract must have had exclusivity in it.
That said, it's not like Battlefoam are doing anything unique, just making smaller bags with various sized cutouts and the Infinity logo. Selling a 'skirmish' sized bag for '25mm sci fi with robots' and appropriately sized cutouts certainly wouldn't breach any trademarks or copyrights.
Blue Table Painting isn't doing anything unique either. They just have a unique partnership with Corvus Belli, their own section on the CB forums, and special privilege that no other painting companies may be discussed on the forums. Battlefoams are similar.
Absolutionis wrote: Blue Table Painting isn't doing anything unique either. They just have a unique partnership with Corvus Belli, their own section on the CB forums, and special privilege that no other painting companies may be discussed on the forums. Battlefoams are similar.
Except Battlefoam had their "sneak previews" removed after the whole Romeo fiasco.
BTP is well-known for delivering shoddy products and yet CB keeps giving them previews.
Why does Corvus Belli keep working with Blue Table Painting? What does CB get out of that relationship?
Tens of thousands of views of their products on the biggest professional painting service youtube channel that there is?
The source still matters. They needed North American exposure in the past , hence the battle foam and BTP connections. Now they get coverage from multiple sources that aren't sleaze bag con men.
If you look close they've also got that claw halfway back on the instep or whatever. The 'thumb'.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I'm not sure that I like either of the human... is it human forms? I'm not really up to speed on Ariadna... but yeah the humans aren't bad but I don't much like them. The werewolves are cool beans though.
Yeah the humans aren't the best part of this group, for sure. I didn't see the 'thumb' till you mentioned it, very cool.
With the look of these new miniatures and the antipodes, I would really like a resculpt of Margot and Duroc - the Equip Mirage-5 team. It's not likely to happen any time soon, but the look of these new guys leaves their miniatures for dead I'm afraid.
Duroc is still decent in my mind. I picture him as the step from old-generation dog soldier to the new generation. And then the new McMurrough being the step after that of course.
But, yeah, the human forms lack a lot for me. They're too Catachan for me.
drazz wrote: But, yeah, the human forms lack a lot for me. They're too Catachan for me.
I have the same issue. CB's sculpts used to be so well-posed and have subtle anatomy. The ridiculous bodybuilder physiques one every single trooper are disappointing from a range that used to be so special for -not- indulging the GW "everyone is superhuman" he-man aesthetic. Yes, I know Dog-Soldiers are supposed to be big even as humans, but it's -eveything- now.
And the poses... ugh. Ragefists are the dumbest thing ever, and really hard to repose/resculpt since the arms are usually posed inwards.
I loved CB's many crouching poses: the crouching ninja hacker and sniper are what got me into the game!
Let's try to give them feedback, especially when we see them in person, telling them that that very unique and wonderful part of their range is what they did best, and to please retain it even as they move into 3D sculpts. Is their 3D guy among the folks who come to the States or UK often? If any of you ever get a sit-down with him, it would be rad to get some words in his ear (or her, I just assumed it's a guy).
Yeah, I prefer that look compared to McMurrough and Duroc I have to say. I am going to see about converting Varghar up as Duroc for my dudes (the style is almost exactly copied by CB) instead, as he looks more feral and wolf-like than Duroc by a long shot.
drazz wrote: But, yeah, the human forms lack a lot for me. They're too Catachan for me.
I have the same issue. CB's sculpts used to be so well-posed and have subtle anatomy. The ridiculous bodybuilder physiques one every single trooper are disappointing from a range that used to be so special for -not- indulging the GW "everyone is superhuman" he-man aesthetic. Yes, I know Dog-Soldiers are supposed to be big even as humans, but it's -eveything- now.
And the poses... ugh. Ragefists are the dumbest thing ever, and really hard to repose/resculpt since the arms are usually posed inwards.
I loved CB's many crouching poses: the crouching ninja hacker and sniper are what got me into the game!
Let's try to give them feedback, especially when we see them in person, telling them that that very unique and wonderful part of their range is what they did best, and to please retain it even as they move into 3D sculpts. Is their 3D guy among the folks who come to the States or UK often? If any of you ever get a sit-down with him, it would be rad to get some words in his ear (or her, I just assumed it's a guy).
^^ What he said ^^
Their progress & popularity better not make them lazy. Their best sculpts have always been crouching dynamic models. The stalking sneaky zero, the djanbazan sniper, the asawira with rifle & sword & so on...
Unfortunately they're moving toward boxed sets. Almost all those cool poses come in blister packs.
I think big-bulky muscles and ragefists are perissible for these Dog-Faces. They're literally werewolves and pretty much the physically strongest of the Antipode family tree.
HI with ragefists is also maybe permissible because it seems each faction is getting one with their iconic vanilla HI. The recent Knights of Santiago were nice HI in dynamic poses. The Haqqi Mutts and Odalisques were shared-body boxed sets that had drastically nice-looking poses.
It's fine that vanilla HI have vanilla poses. It's fine that the physically strongest human-ish model has large muscles.
CB don't even have the excuse that its a boxset for the poses as they are all individual sculpts, so they could have done anything with them (within reason). Instead of making them look like they are about to break into a chorus of YMCA!
squidhills wrote: Can those of us poor, unfortunate, work-blocked souls get a picture, if one is available?
See it?
Thank you! Those look great! Yet another reason for me to pull the trigger on starting an Infinity army (I already have a few models just for painting).
Those look absolutely fantastic. Wolves especially, think those are probably some of the finest werewolf-type miniatures I have ever seen.
And I honestly can't believe anyone is complaining about the Haqq HI because 'ragefist', it's an absolutely awesome miniature. I have a couple of the older style sculpts, love them, and still think the new ones are an improvement. You can imagine him standing like Arnie in Commando swivelling on his heel and letting loose with that HMG
Pacific wrote: Those look absolutely fantastic. Wolves especially, think those are probably some of the finest werewolf-type miniatures I have ever seen.
And I honestly can't believe anyone is complaining about the Haqq HI because 'ragefist', it's an absolutely awesome miniature. I have a couple of the older style sculpts, love them, and still think the new ones are an improvement. You can imagine him standing like Arnie in Commando swivelling on his heel and letting loose with that HMG
Totally agree.
The 'ragefist' complaining is getting ridiculous. I think that the 3rd edition of TTGs activates some sort of latent nerd whine gene.
I am wondering how the current AP rifle Jannisary will scale up with the new one. I'm assuming he's significantly slighter.
Pacific wrote: Those look absolutely fantastic. Wolves especially, think those are probably some of the finest werewolf-type miniatures I have ever seen.
And I honestly can't believe anyone is complaining about the Haqq HI because 'ragefist', it's an absolutely awesome miniature. I have a couple of the older style sculpts, love them, and still think the new ones are an improvement. You can imagine him standing like Arnie in Commando swivelling on his heel and letting loose with that HMG
Totally agree.
The 'ragefist' complaining is getting ridiculous. I think that the 3rd edition of TTGs activates some sort of latent nerd whine gene.
I am wondering how the current AP rifle Jannisary will scale up with the new one. I'm assuming he's significantly slighter.
Let me clarify. The new models are great. CB has embraced 3D rendering & are using it to make great detailed minis.
However, they've lost some of the dynamism we used to see. The ragefist is a tool of the sculptor who doesn't know what to do with a free hand & can't think of anything better.
The janissary could be feeding the ammo belt.
The Icestorm female fusilier could be looking at a com pad.
The mobile brigada could be prepping a new flamer canister.
However, that's got nothing to do with 3D sculpting and more to do with the sculpter simply not knowing what to do with the other hand. 3D sculpting is simply a tool, just like the tools they sometimes still use to shape putty.
The loss of dynamism in multiple model boxes is due to trying to fit so many weapon options on two bodies. You can see it even on models in those boxes that were sculpted by hand. The Druze aren't particularly dynamic. But then you see some 3D sculpted boxes that are quite dynamic, like the new Daturazi (though the beefcakiness is pretty polarising).
Same with individual models. There's static models where the digital sculptor has problems with the pose, like not knowing what to do with the Jannisaries other hand (I'd say this is more to do with the ammo belt being restricting the pose), then you have Tarik Mansuri who is the polar opposite of statically posed.
The dynamism of the models has nothing to do with 3D sculpting and everything to do with the sculptors inspiration when doing the sculpt. It's not like there were never static traditionally sculpted models before. The model that got me into the game is the definition of statically posed - the Hawwa sniper.
I'm not interested in the others, I'm not really fussed by the yu-jing, haqqislam or tohaa factions anyway but even without that these minis aren't doing anything for me.
the janissary could have potentialy could have interested me if he was in more of a military pose rather than an action hero pose.
As a sculptor I have dabbled a bit in 3d sculpting using Z-brush and although it wasn't my preference or taste, it can be a huge time saver as your able to save and load previous "tools" or sculpts, even pieces then use them later over and over.
It also has an auto symmetry function where everything you sculpt is mirrored on the other side. In other words I need only sculpt 50% of a model like say the right side and it applies it to the other side. Again while this saves tons of time, it really can have a strange effect on the finished product if not careful.
As people we actually are incredibly asymmetrical down our medial axis and you can google before and after images where they have doen studies on attraction and mirrored human faces to be "perfect" and it's bizarre how unnatural and unsettling and inhuman it can be a we are actually accustomed to the imperfection.
To me even though all models are fake I still prefer models with that human character. I am not bashing 3d sculpting, I think its amazing, but some of the short cuts it creates can have flat results despite how smooth and crisp it can be. It's not always the poses. If you look at the human dog faces you can see how their entire physique is mirrored even veins and it makes them seem more wax then jumping to life. It can be avoided by the sculptor by turning those features off but it always seems fishy to me until it's in your hand as your looking at a 3d image on a 2d surface for hours.
I think it's just down to Tohaa being the smallest faction at the moment. If any faction is going to get another profile before the new book, it might as well be the smallest, right?
The Tohaa have received 3 new troop profiles that are not in any book yet just this year: Nikoul, Kotail and we are still waiting for those Rasail mentioned in an event.
BobbaFett wrote: The Tohaa have received 3 new troop profiles that are not in any book yet just this year: Nikoul, Kotail and we are still waiting for those Rasail mentioned in an event.
Because N3 is not including the Tohaa and it has been said repeatedly that these are Acheron Falls preview units for the Tohaa.
Casey's Law wrote: What actually is Acheron Falls going to be? Do we know much at all? Could it include a rewrite of HS and CP?
Sorry I missed quite a lot on my year long break, think I'm still catching up in places.
It's going to continue the storyline as to not obsolete HS and C. However, due to Infinity 3rdEd, it may actually contain rules for Aleph and Tohaa that were not included in the N3 main book.
Spoiler:
As for the actual book, it's going to be a full-fledged expansion book along the lines of Human Sphere. Campaign Paradiso was half-and-half in new units and new campaign rules.
Storyline-wise, the Acheron Gate is the wormhole gate that the Combined Army uses to access the Human Sphere. It will, presumably, fall. We don't know if this means the Combined Army or Humanity will be dealt a massive blow.
Acheron Falls is supposed to include new Sectorials for:
-Combined Army(Evolved Intelligence)
-Yu Jing(Invincible Army and their Svalarheima Sectorial)
-PanOceania(Svalarheima and Varuna)
-Nomads(Tunguska and possibly Black Hand)
-Ariadna(USAriadna and the Kazak sectorial)
-Haqqislam(Caliphate and one other whose name constantly eludes me)
-Tohaa are supposed to be getting a "Colonial Force" Sectorial based around the pre-New Model Army(read: what is currently in the game) forces of the Tohaa
-Mercenary armies are supposed to be getting their new rules set with the emphasis on them being Sectorials. Currently we know of the "White Stars"(Druze and the other "dirty" mercs like Scarface, Senor Massacre, McMurrough, etc) and "Beyhan Resources Limited"(a Haqqislamite PMC with an outstanding reputation. Owns Kaplan Tactical Services). Supposedly there is a third which has ties to the Nomads and Black Hand.
-ALEPH is the only one where things are a bit wonky. Initially we have been told that the Vedic(read: Devas, Nagas, Dasyus, etc) Sectorial has been on track for Acheron Falls but now there are reports that it will not make AF and instead will be coming out later.
Time will tell.
Fantastic, thanks both of you for those informative and detailed posts. Very interesting stuff as I knew lots of little bits of that but you've put it into the bigger picture for me.
The Svalrheima Yu Jing is called Huang Di, the other Haqqi sectorial I believe is the Al Medinar Caliphate, with their genetic laboratories and stuff, Captain Haqqislam (alias Tarik Mansuri) and Khawarijis, Magharibas and I heard some rumors about Aviccena also being there as a Merc, I really have my hopes settled up for the Druze society sectorial, the minis look cool but I've never had a reason to buy them.
EDIT: Okay, I want a prize, I read Caliphate as Khanate, twice
The Khanate, it seems will be heavily mechanized as the Halqa will be a part of it, as well. I still have hopes for another non-humanoid TAG for them. Some kind of Maghariba-lite would be awesome.
You know, how cool would that Janissary have looked if the ammo belt was looped over is left arm. Like this
Yeah I know, a Rambo image. Still. Good idea for a conversion...
Haqq will not get another TAG. Mags is it. Haqq will get more bioengineered super-soldiers ( The Mukhtair for example). I just hope they aren't over-sized freaks like what they did with Tarik. Sorry to dash your hopes.
Red Harvest wrote: You know, how cool would that Janissary have looked if the ammo belt was looped over is left arm. Like this
Yeah I know, a Rambo image. Still. Good idea for a conversion...
Haqq will not get another TAG. Mags is it. Haqq will get more bioengineered super-soldiers ( The Mukhtair for example). I just hope they aren't over-sized freaks like what they did with Tarik. Sorry to dash your hopes.
Let me clarify. The new models are great. CB has embraced 3D rendering & are using it to make great detailed minis.
However, they've lost some of the dynamism we used to see. The ragefist is a tool of the sculptor who doesn't know what to do with a free hand & can't think of anything better.
The janissary could be feeding the ammo belt.
The Icestorm female fusilier could be looking at a com pad.
The mobile brigada could be prepping a new flamer canister.
^What he said.^
Red Corsair wrote: As a sculptor I have dabbled a bit in 3d sculpting using Z-brush and although it wasn't my preference or taste, it can be a huge time saver as your able to save and load previous "tools" or sculpts, even pieces then use them later over and over.
It also has an auto symmetry function where everything you sculpt is mirrored on the other side. In other words I need only sculpt 50% of a model like say the right side and it applies it to the other side. Again while this saves tons of time, it really can have a strange effect on the finished product if not careful.
As people we actually are incredibly asymmetrical down our medial axis and you can google before and after images where they have doen studies on attraction and mirrored human faces to be "perfect" and it's bizarre how unnatural and unsettling and inhuman it can be a we are actually accustomed to the imperfection.
To me even though all models are fake I still prefer models with that human character. I am not bashing 3d sculpting, I think its amazing, but some of the short cuts it creates can have flat results despite how smooth and crisp it can be. It's not always the poses. If you look at the human dog faces you can see how their entire physique is mirrored even veins and it makes them seem more wax then jumping to life. It can be avoided by the sculptor by turning those features off but it always seems fishy to me until it's in your hand as your looking at a 3d image on a 2d surface for hours.
^And what he said.^
The problem we're dealing with is a bit of the "uncanny valley" effect. The 3D tools are both encouraging posing shortcuts that lead to not-terribly-inspiring poses and anatomy like the ragefist pose and the supermuscles on grunts, not just eilte superhumans. Then there's the fact that the 3D sculpts are perhaps a bit more symmetrical than we are used to.
Some more-dynamic posing and a bit of messing with the mirrored sculpts to make them less symmetrical will get us past this. As a CB fan, I hope (and think based on past performance) that they will do this soon. I see this as a learning-curve era that, with some gentle fan feedback, CB can get past no problemo.
So don't confuse constructive criticism with whining, guys. We love CB's work too, and just want to see the line return to the uniqueness and quality that made Infinity such a visual stunner in the first place.
Red Harvest wrote: You know, how cool would that Janissary have looked if the ammo belt was looped over is left arm. Like this
Yeah I know, a Rambo image. Still. Good idea for a conversion...
Haqq will not get another TAG. Mags is it. Haqq will get more bioengineered super-soldiers ( The Mukhtair for example). I just hope they aren't over-sized freaks like what they did with Tarik. Sorry to dash your hopes.
The problem with this is, while a very cool pose, that represents a stupendously finicky sculpt.
Dynamic poses, crouching poses, two-handed weapon holds, all of these can be more interesting, but at the same time, they obscure parts of the model (especially the model's torso) and make them less amenable to customization. Very dynamic poses convey story and character... but these are, for the most part, generic figures. You don't necessarily want each figure, especially when they are... grunts, I suppose, to have too much character, or they start to become an army of individuals rather then a unified force.
Again, there are pluses and minuses, but I think that may explain some of the "generic" quality to the occasional pose.
The only concern I have recently is that the 'additional' guy outside a boxed set (Spitfire Kaplan, Spitfire Riot Grrl etc.) has been largely indistinguishable from the boxed set models in terms of pose.
That would seem to be an opportunity to add some variety with little downside that they just aren't taking advantage of right now.
I wouldn't even say 'largely'. Looking at Myrmidons, Druze, Odalisques, Sekban, Muyibs, Briscards and Haramaki, and their '+1's' are all posed differently enough to be distinguished.
Myrmidon is mostly due to the arms, but he looks pretty different. Druze, none of them in the box are in a firing pose. Odalisque is vastly different. Muyib is similar to the LGL guy but still different enough to recognise, Sekbans legs are similar, but he has the cool 'awesome guys don't look at explosions' thing going on. Briscard and Haramaki boxes have no one shouldering weapons ready to fire like their extra.
Again, it simply comes down to sculptors inspiration when doing the additional model.
Red Corsair wrote: As people we actually are incredibly asymmetrical down our medial axis and you can google before and after images where they have doen studies on attraction and mirrored human faces to be "perfect" and it's bizarre how unnatural and unsettling and inhuman it can be a we are actually accustomed to the imperfection.
There are so many problems with those 'symmetrical face' photoshop jobs though. I think the reason they appear so inhuman is really because they are poorly constructed, not because symmetry is weird.
What happens is they take a photo of someone facing the camera, but the photos aren't really good enough in the first place. If the person is facing a fraction of a degree to one side, or isn't holding their head perfectly straight then it creates a cleft, which is a sign of a genetic defect that other people are going to be hugely sensitive to. Then there is the problem of the subjects not having symmetrical faces to begin with. It's not as simple as just mirroring the face. Often people will have quite good proportions and symmetry per feature (eyes, mouth) but the centre point of those features don't always line up perfectly. Most people's jaw doesn't sit perfectly straight, or their head is slightly skewed, and plenty of people have wonky noses. These types of defects aren't that noticeable, because they tend to be environmental rather than genetic. But when the mirror image is created suddenly a wonky nose becomes a deformed sinus cavity, an angled jaw becomes a cleft lip. Often the eyes are then placed too close or to far apart to compensate, and seem to have a squint. Even lighting, and neck width can be a factor.
All these things will set alarm bells ringing in the heads of other people viewing the picture, because they are indicators of serious genetic flaws. Not what our brain likes to see when we are eyeballing a face trying to judge the health of a potential mate. That is why the natural faces are often the best.
I think you would find that a person who really did have a perfectly symmetrical face, crafted by nature with all the right proportions would actually be very beautiful, oddly charming, and nothing like the photoshop monstrosities you see in those experiments.
Also, good use of the tools takes care of those issues.
Zbrush has some features, like smart symmetry, where you can actually make asymmetrical changes to one side of a model, and still make overall changes to the mostly symmetrical model.
And at this scale, tiny miniatures, the minor asymmetry that he's talking about doesn't really matter.
You can also add extra parts that aren't assymmetric and keep them as separate parts while working on the parts that are symmetric.
There's honestly no artistic why you can't replace all sculpting with digital sculpting, it's just another tool.
There is the extra step of having to get an expensive high resolution print of the finished 3D model, but at that cost is an easy one to pay for all the other benefits you get from going digital.
I suppose commenting briefly on new instances of Ragefist as they appear will be OK, but any significantly longer discussions on the Origins and Impact of Ragefist should probably be in a dedicated thread down in the Infinity General sub-forum.
The problem with this is, while a very cool pose, that represents a stupendously finicky sculpt.
Dynamic poses, crouching poses, two-handed weapon holds, all of these can be more interesting, but at the same time, they obscure parts of the model (especially the model's torso) and make them less amenable to customization. Very dynamic poses convey story and character... but these are, for the most part, generic figures. You don't necessarily want each figure, especially when they are... grunts, I suppose, to have too much character, or they start to become an army of individuals rather then a unified force.
Again, there are pluses and minuses, but I think that may explain some of the "generic" quality to the occasional pose.
You can customize poses on those slim metal minis?? how? I have 3 broken arms allready by trying to alter them a bit.
Besides dynamic poses > parts to show of my awesome painting skils( I guess one Fistator is on for army)
You don't necessarily want each figure, especially when they are... grunts, I suppose, to have too much character, or they start to become an army of individuals rather then a unified force.
Thats the nomad you mentioned....and yes I want them cuz of that.
New Ragefisting Janissary is up & he has a greatly expanded description on the right side.
Whoa now, was this always in the background?
The Delivered are children of infidels captured by slave traders in their razzias. What slavers cannot sell in the private market, they sell to Haqqislam, who takes them in to save their lives and raise them into courageous warriors of the Faith.
The Delivered are children of infidels captured by slave traders in their razzias. What slavers cannot sell in the private market, they sell to Haqqislam, who takes them in to save their lives and raise them into courageous warriors of the Faith.
Yup, it just looks like a re-written version of their fluff from the books.
Oh sure, it's just that I was under the impression that the Haq background presented a more... refined, shall we say, version of Islam. I just assumed that they would edit out things like the prevalence of slavery.
To be fair, the historical and Infinity Janissaries were considered an honorary status in themselves. Plus, the description states that the Haqqislamites do not support slavery and may not deal in slaves. The slaves that become liberated from their captors go on to become brainwashed into Janissaries.
On the other hand, it's about time that the QK got a 'darker' side. They always seemed too goody-goody and everyone seemingly loves them. Now the Janissaries have become the Magister Knights of the faction... except less murderous.
They employ Ghazi Muttawi'ah, Hassassins and Khawarijis (all of them based on real not infidel friendly pretty dangerous guys), not to mention that Ghulams were originally slave soldiers, Azra'il wear the name of the angel of death and there are plenty of questionable things that haqqislam does, they may be more refined but they have a quite heavy shadow posed upon them, by the way, I want to see mamelukes, because reasons.
PsychoticStorm wrote: So them going out and buying child slaves to save them from their grim fate is a bad thing?
It's the continuation that is rather disturbing. I'm certain parents would be delighted to hear their child is safe, however the background makes no reference of the established protocol. I'm also rather touchy when it comes to enforcing your own will over another, especially on a more vulnerable person.
Ottoman Turks were not Arabs. Janissaries were Ottoman. Equating the two is like saying the Japanese and Chinese are the same.
Being that I mentioned neither Arabs nor Turks*, I find your objection... puzzling. Being that I was bringing up the Islamic tradition of slavery (and Jannissaries are explicitly non-Moslems inslaved by Moslems), the point remains one of surprise.
Surprise, that is, that of all the things to retain in the "New Islam", slavery and the dhimmi make the cut.
Given that the female models in Haq show that gender apartheid has been jettisoned, these things struck me as odd. I'm not saying the background should be other then it is, I'm merely surprised by it.
*Anticipating a further objection, the link to Arab slave trade is used because a) I was in a hurry, and b) said slave trade was unquestionably Islamic.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
PsychoticStorm wrote: So them going out and buying child slaves to save them from their grim fate is a bad thing?
Is it a bad thing? Perhaps not. Is it as good a thing as using your power to stamp out an ancient evil? Certainly not.
Again, the background is what it is, it's merely that I was under the impression this was a rather more... modernized version of Islam. After all, if the background made reference to rape camps that made trade in non-Moslems, that would be entirely in keeping with history, but still be surprising.
Edit: You know what, this is probably not really even vaguely news/rumors, so I'll stop the conversation here. After a read of the background, I may open a thread on this in the lovely new Infinity Subforum. Unless someone beats me to it.
I use two of them on a regular basis, and those dudes are SOLID for 14-point grunts. With V:Courage armywide, the whole JSA grunt lineup suddenly looks pretty darned stellar.
And I believe IJW when he says he sells one Caskuda every few years.
Thanks!
