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2014/10/28 23:38:26
Subject: The NEW INFINITY News & Rumors Thread - New Dog Warriors on Pg. 18!
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.
2014/10/29 01:05:29
Subject: The NEW INFINITY News & Rumors Thread - New Dog Warriors on Pg. 18!
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.
2014/10/29 01:06:45
Subject: The NEW INFINITY News & Rumors Thread - New Dog Warriors on Pg. 18!
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.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2014/10/29 09:04:52
2014/10/29 07:53:08
Subject: The NEW INFINITY News & Rumors Thread - New Dog Warriors on Pg. 18!
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.
Thanks!
2014/10/29 16:17:08
Subject: The NEW INFINITY News & Rumors Thread - New Dog Warriors on Pg. 18!
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.
PS. Sorry Alpharius....
Every Nomad kid want to be a Tomcat when they grow up.
2014/10/29 20:18:44
Subject: The NEW INFINITY News & Rumors Thread - New Dog Warriors on Pg. 18!
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.
2014/10/30 20:44:44
Subject: The NEW INFINITY News & Rumors Thread - New Dog Warriors on Pg. 18!
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.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/10/30 20:48:58
2014/10/30 20:58:14
Subject: The NEW INFINITY News & Rumors Thread - New Dog Warriors on Pg. 18!
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.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2014/10/30 21:17:31
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.
Infinity: Way, way better than 40K and more affordable to boot!
"If you gather 250 consecutive issues of White Dwarf, and burn them atop a pyre of Citadel spray guns, legend has it Gwar will appear and answer a single rules-related question. " -Ouze