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So judging by their description, they are basically the U.S.A. of the future?

Actually the USA and the EU collapsed under their debt and Australia, India, New Zealand, and the Phillipines bought them out and formed Pan O.

The only proper Future USA is the US Ariadnans.

European Union survived, however with its own problems it was unable to assume any major role at that time. PanOceania shouldn't be quite the USA of future, it's based on Western ideas but I think those should differ from nation to nation. Indians in particular are interesting element in PanO, given what I've been hearing about them and with the leading role it would be curious element in the mixture. I don't recall the background going into specifics, neither what was the final fate of US.

While their government and overall philosophy is very similar to the US, the huge amount of countries comprising Pan-O makes it far more culturally diverse. Latin american culture seems to be the most pervasive throughout Pan-O, though other high population nations contribute a fair amount as well.
The final fate of the US is never mentioned in the fluff, its unclear whether they were incorporated into Pan-O or not (its also unclear exactly which European nations are part of Pan-O as well).

 vodo40k wrote:
While their government and overall philosophy is very similar to the US, the huge amount of countries comprising Pan-O makes it far more culturally diverse. Latin american culture seems to be the most pervasive throughout Pan-O, though other high population nations contribute a fair amount as well.
The final fate of the US is never mentioned in the fluff, its unclear whether they were incorporated into Pan-O or not (its also unclear exactly which European nations are part of Pan-O as well).

Well, Gutier said, and I quote "Poland, like Spain and most of Europe is part of PanOceania".

 vodo40k wrote:
While their government and overall philosophy is very similar to the US, the huge amount of countries comprising Pan-O makes it far more culturally diverse. Latin american culture seems to be the most pervasive throughout Pan-O, though other high population nations contribute a fair amount as well.
The final fate of the US is never mentioned in the fluff, its unclear whether they were incorporated into Pan-O or not (its also unclear exactly which European nations are part of Pan-O as well).

will this information ever be made available?!

when i first garnered interest in infinity, it was ariadna that stood out to me, mostly due to the american and scottish influence, however now that i've had time to explore the other armies, i'd have to say that ariadna would now be my last choice.

The impression I get is that if you want the 'US' recognised units then Ariadna are going to be your choice, with their Minutemen and the like. But, I think they are probably something more like the 'frontiersmen' of early colonial America, with tough people living tough lives on Paradiso.

What could be regarded as a 'Western' ideal - of personal freedoms (or at least the perception of), freedom of faith and political viewpoints etc. has found its way into Pan Oceania. Even though, from what we have read the US of the future doesn't occupy a prominent position within this (I don't think we know yet what has happened to them and why they have lost their position as world authority?). As a counterpoint to this Yu Jing are much more authoritarian, have a history of Imperial conquest (Japan etc.) and actually in some ways occupy a relationship with Pan O that is similar to that experienced by China and the US. i.e. with the former as a rapidly expanding super-power, and a challenger to the latter's dominance.

Then behind this you have the spectre of Aleph; that enables modern life within the Human Sphere to be possible through its control of all elements of the civilisation, but at the same time through its own complexity and power has created a mistrust which ties neatly into that fear that we have of machines and AI someday gaining dominance over us.

Personally I really like the idea of Haqqislam, whereby the creed has moved away from fundamentalism and back towards the scientifically enlightened Islam of the Saladin era.

So, there are certainly a lot of parallels I think there with current (and past) world politics, but the names have switched around a bit. Certainly, if you read the rule books there is a lot to get your teeth into and a lot of sub-plots. Hopefully we will get to read even more about it when the next edition rulebook comes out!

 vodo40k wrote:
The final fate of the US is never mentioned in the fluff, its unclear whether they were incorporated into Pan-O or not (its also unclear exactly which European nations are part of Pan-O as well).

There are quite a few clues in the Haqqislam fluff.

We know that the Haqqislam movement started at the end of the 21st century. They then, after reaching some level of political and economic power, wished to form their own nation.
No nation on Earth would actually give them their own corner, so they decided, as PanO and YuJing had already done, to search for a wormhole - in the process, picking up the remnants of NASA, part of an apparently still existent USA (who, as the PanO fluff said, had largely been abandoned by their EU allies).

So, evidence is that the USA still existed as a separate nation at least as long as about the early 22nd century, albeit ravaged by an economic collapse.
Where is it now? Well, Haqq fluff continues to say that there's been efforts to accommodate American Caucasians on Bourak - melanin alteration and the like to allow them to better tolerate the proportionally closer sun.

Ariadna fluff says most of Ariadna's founding nations are part of PanO (hence why PanO tried to claim ownership of Dawn) which, taking a reasonable definition of most, leaves the question of which one of these four nations are not part of PanO... or at least wasn't when Dawn was rediscovered less than a decade ago.

I'd probably bet that the US is the likely candidate, but I'd also say it may be that it's because the US has dissolved - maybe states individually becoming part of PanO, or the USA just not existing to really take control of.

I hadn't heard that about Haqqislam taking in NASA. Is that from one of the rulebooks? I'd figured that the US, or at least the majority of it got absorbed with PanO. Of the Ariadna nations not belonging to PanO, I'm kind of thinking that it's probably Russia that didn't join up. Joining a western style organization like that doesn't really fit their style. I could see Russia actually going in with Yu Jing or even staying unincorporated.

For some reason, I'd figured that Australia and New Zealand were actually some of the top nations within PanO. I'd be curious to not only see which nations actually make up PanO, but where their demographics have been distributed to.

 Barzam wrote:
I hadn't heard that about Haqqislam taking in NASA. Is that from one of the rulebooks? I'd figured that the US, or at least the majority of it got absorbed with PanO. Of the Ariadna nations not belonging to PanO, I'm kind of thinking that it's probably Russia that didn't join up. Joining a western style organization like that doesn't really fit their style. I could see Russia actually going in with Yu Jing or even staying unincorporated.

For some reason, I'd figured that Australia and New Zealand were actually some of the top nations within PanO. I'd be curious to not only see which nations actually make up PanO, but where their demographics have been distributed to.

I belive the fluff about NASA is in the first book, but been awhile. The U.S.A. was not a government when PanO formed they/we failed years before. So it be kind of hard to be part of PanO or any government at all. The most would be like NASA, leftovers picked up if the had something to offer.

Every government on Dawn wants the other governement to step the hell off. They only joined the Paradiso campaign becouse the O-12 said they would back them for independent government and control of their world Dawn.

I do love that bit of fluff to explain why the guys with no spaceships, only concerned about their little planet are on the planet that's the main warzone: They're actually the only non-imperial power legitimate enough for the Space UN to trust!

As for USA and PanO, I figured the US was some 3rd world craphole not technically in any of the major 3 nations. Various 3rd would countries still exist, as evidenced by Scarface's fluff about how he was a merc pilot, piloting obsolete crap usually sold to 3rd world militaries and thugs.

PanO is driven by a "corporate council" of sorts, with various lobby groups. It's not the "US" in that sense, as that concept of "nation states" is gone the way of the dodo.

It's also home to the new, improved and reformed Vatican X.

so the catholic church absorbed all other christian denominations? why? how did the catholic church get so much power in the future? do popes wear power armor?

so its safe to say that the christmas islands (US) was absorbed into PanO?

The Church holds the right to grant the resurrection. Having a cube to store your personality is only a start, you still need to have an appropriate number on your banking account and given the all clear (hopefully I'm not mixing things here).

The Church has that authority and is one of few institutions in PanO that grants it. It did create the power play on religious scene and the Church was suddenly overwhelmed with various converts. Furthermore it puts out certain contracts, Paradiso front for instance, where the faithful could potentially be given the right to resurrect someone else, close family member or partner who recently departed.

The lobbies are complex beings, think of Samsung and Apple (or Ford and General Motors) joined together under same voting roof to gain more political power to push both of their interests. They still compete on the market and the bigger one having more influence in house, however together they simply accomplish more. It's a field of intrigue and it makes my mind race what CB exactly envisioned, potentially you could have minor and bigger companies with various deals competing for the higher spot in the same lobby.

 Knight wrote:
The Church holds the right to grant the resurrection. Having a cube to store your personality is only a start, you still need to have an appropriate number on your banking account and given the all clear (hopefully I'm not mixing things here).

The Church has that authority and is one of few institutions in PanO that grants it. It did create the power play on religious scene and the Church was suddenly overwhelmed with various converts. Furthermore it puts out certain contracts, Paradiso front for instance, where the faithful could potentially be given the right to resurrect someone else, close family member or partner who recently departed.

The lobbies are complex beings, think of Samsung and Apple (or Ford and General Motors) joined together under same voting roof to gain more political power to push both of their interests. They still compete on the market and the bigger one having more influence in house, however together they simply accomplish more. It's a field of intrigue and it makes my mind race what CB exactly envisioned, potentially you could have minor and bigger companies with various deals competing for the higher spot in the same lobby.

i wouldn't mind CB releasing some lore only books.

Sounds a lot like what was going on in Dan Simmons' excellent "Hyperion" series.

Someone asked Carlos during the last GenCon about similarities with Hyperion*, but he simply replayed that it's question for someone else (apparently far beyond his field).

*I haven't read the series, it didn't sound something I'd quite like.

Gutier "Interruptor" did say that Hyperion was one of the books he read and enjoyed.

Personally, I just love the Indian and New Zealand influence within Pan-O. Those CrocMen and Akalis!

Oh, don't forget the Bolts. Background has them as a signature Australian flavoured unit. There's also Red-K combat group.

Bagh Mari are another Indian element, though anyone can sign up for the unit.

Hyperion is an absolutely fantastic book, would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi. Definitely some parallels there, but then again you could also say there are elements of Neuromancer, Peter F Hamilton's books (Reality Dysfunction, mindstar rising etc.), Kim Stanley Robinsons' 2312 as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Gutier has read all of those and many more besides.

Personally, I just love the Indian and New Zealand influence within Pan-O. Those CrocMen and Akalis!

Definitely, it's also nice that the game covers more than just steroid-pumped white men killing each other (although that has its place). A lot of the background has got that refreshing feeling to it (almost like the kind you get after you've watched a non UK/US film at the cinema, if that makes any sense!)

 Pacific wrote:


Definitely, it's also nice that the game covers more than just steroid-pumped white men killing each other (although that has its place). A lot of the background has got that refreshing feeling to it (almost like the kind you get after you've watched a non UK/US film at the cinema, if that makes any sense!)

I may change my tune when it comes to painting that skin tone. I'm.....not great at darker skin.

my dilemma is trying to find an army to start, i like them all! i'm pretty much split evenly between PanO, YuJing, and Haqqislam.

the patriot inside of me is telling me to go Ariadna, but the U.S. related miniatures all look extremely derpy.

seriously...what is this.

Well, you can collect all of them. Otherwise tell more what you'd like, maybe we can narrow it down. You're looking for specific style or theme of the force?

USAriadna is still somewhat under development. We know they're getting a line infantry in the future and there will be motorcycles for them too.

CB have often tried to do miniatures in non-static poses, with limited success. Some of them are crackers-good (Saito Togan, Cassandra Kusanagi), others not so - the standout one being the Wulver vaulting the wall.

Personally I would probably go for one of the top 3 you mentioned, depending on what sub-faction you wanted most of them are pretty well fleshed out, and then wait for USAriadna as looking at Gencon they should have a whole load of good stuff coming their way soon.

Knight wrote:Well, you can collect all of them. Otherwise tell more what you'd like, maybe we can narrow it down. You're looking for specific style or theme of the force?

USAriadna is still somewhat under development. We know they're getting a line infantry in the future and there will be motorcycles for them too.

good to know they'll be getting some new miniatures in the future. i tend to find myself drawn towards YuJing the most out of the three aforementioned armies, the beauty of most of the miniatures is quite breathtaking.

Pacific wrote:CB have often tried to do miniatures in non-static poses, with limited success. Some of them are crackers-good (Saito Togan, Cassandra Kusanagi), others not so - the standout one being the Wulver vaulting the wall.

Personally I would probably go for one of the top 3 you mentioned, depending on what sub-faction you wanted most of them are pretty well fleshed out, and then wait for USAriadna as looking at Gencon they should have a whole load of good stuff coming their way soon.

Saito Togan is easily one of my favorites. guess i'll just have to wait to play Ariadna. i see that a lot of YuJing units are CC oriented, does this leave them at a disadvantage since Infinity is predominately a shooty game? otherwise, YuJing will most likely be my first army choice. now the real question is...vanilla, imperial service, or japanese sectorial?

i know for a fact that i'd like to run with a high number of sniper rifles.

 Storm Shadow wrote:
seriously...what is this.

That's the Minutewoman with Panzerfaust, what does it look like?

The thing behind USAriadna is that they're not yet a released sectorial, and models without a secctorial to belong to have been getting relatively little love in recent years. That said, there has been a distinct increase in new releases that don't (yet) have a sectorial over the last month or three.

 MarcoSkoll wrote:

 Storm Shadow wrote:
seriously...what is this.

That's the Minutewoman with Panzerfaust, what does it look like?

The thing behind USAriadna is that they're not yet a released sectorial, and models without a secctorial to belong to have been getting relatively little love in recent years. That said, there has been a distinct increase in new releases that don't (yet) have a sectorial over the last month or three.

it looks like a terribly posed model to me.

Well, if that's what you've decided the answer is, why did you even need to ask?

 Storm Shadow wrote:

 MarcoSkoll wrote:

 Storm Shadow wrote:
seriously...what is this.

That's the Minutewoman with Panzerfaust, what does it look like?

The thing behind USAriadna is that they're not yet a released sectorial, and models without a secctorial to belong to have been getting relatively little love in recent years. That said, there has been a distinct increase in new releases that don't (yet) have a sectorial over the last month or three.

it looks like a terribly posed model to me.

The pose is great if you use him in a Diorama running away from a group of heavy armed soldiers in a heavy wooded area while shooting wildly behind him. By himself he look odd and that would be the problem.