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 warboss wrote:
Thanks for the link. It's obviously just a first impression but I was relatively underwhelmed by the seeming lack of dynamism mixed with the high level of book keeping required. I'm fine with power allocation but my first wargame was the old FASA trek ship game from the 80s. I'm not sure this will fly with the post Xwing community...

I feel the same way... with only 1-3 ships per side I would have expected something more epic here, with fancy bases maybe and some cool maneuvering tools... it looks a bit... pathetic

That or they are hoping to grow the game - the space market is a bit empty right now. Dropfleet has not really managed to grow itself and Firestorm Armada is dead in the water as Warcradle is all focused on Dystopian Wars right now; meanwhile GW hasn't made a peep on Battlefleet Gothic in ages save for rumours of it making a return.

So perhaps starting with a small model range with very fiddly controls per ship with a view that they'll expand to fleets and larger forces as time passes and thus simplify the rules/upkeep side of things

That would certainly explain why the ships are on the smaller side, leaving room for more ships per side.

habedekrai37 wrote:

 warboss wrote:
Thanks for the link. It's obviously just a first impression but I was relatively underwhelmed by the seeming lack of dynamism mixed with the high level of book keeping required. I'm fine with power allocation but my first wargame was the old FASA trek ship game from the 80s. I'm not sure this will fly with the post Xwing community...

I feel the same way... with only 1-3 ships per side I would have expected something more epic here, with fancy bases maybe and some cool maneuvering tools... it looks a bit... pathetic

I do agree that having the low model count contributes significantly to my expectation of zoomy spaceships being preferrable but I actually don't want the next evolution of go-go-gadget tabletop accessories personally. I don't think you need them to have more dynamic movement/simulated action on the tabletop.


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 Overread wrote:
That or they are hoping to grow the game - the space market is a bit empty right now. Dropfleet has not really managed to grow itself and Firestorm Armada is dead in the water as Warcradle is all focused on Dystopian Wars right now; meanwhile GW hasn't made a peep on Battlefleet Gothic in ages save for rumours of it making a return.

So perhaps starting with a small model range with very fiddly controls per ship with a view that they'll expand to fleets and larger forces as time passes and thus simplify the rules/upkeep side of things

That would certainly explain why the ships are on the smaller side, leaving room for more ships per side.

Yeah, there was a relative renaissance in the genre a couple of years back but the dark ages have returned (if I can be so bold as to butcher historical ages together in a metaphor). I suspect/hope we'll see more info during their annual GenCon presentation.

So perhaps starting with a small model range with very fiddly controls per ship with a view that they'll expand to fleets and larger forces as time passes and thus simplify the rules/upkeep side of things

This would have no significant downsides, gamers are traditionally enthusiastic of having their games "dumbed down" when they bought into detailed crunchy systems.

Angronsrosycheeks wrote:

So perhaps starting with a small model range with very fiddly controls per ship with a view that they'll expand to fleets and larger forces as time passes and thus simplify the rules/upkeep side of things

This would have no significant downsides, gamers are traditionally enthusiastic of having their games "dumbed down" when they bought into detailed crunchy systems.

Handled correctly both sides win. You simply expand the range of models until players want to use more and more in game and want a more wargame set of rules. Then you release them alongside the original rules and give players the choice which version they go for.


I agree it fails if you pick one over the other or if you try and make a rules system that has one set of rules that straddles the two approaches.

Infinity GenCon seminar video...

About time for new Bolts.

 Kanluwen wrote:
About time for new Bolts.

When I saw the bolts, I totally thought of you.

The Unberfalkommando is my second favorite unit to field in the whole game but the model was the most difficult I've ever built. I'm excited for the new sculpts. The art was a little cringe-inducing but the renders and finished product look great. Love that creepy-as-**** hairless cat pupnik. So uncomfortable to look at.

Personally I kind of hate the Uberfalkommando, but I didn’t like the old ones at all either so I’m willing to accept I’m just not the target market. Everything else is fine. I like the Yu Jing reinforcements a lot, and I like most of the PanO ones apart from the female Blade-Ops (never liked that kind of pose much and are her legs really long?) and Agnus (never been a fan of characters really and again not sure about the pose). I’m not a fan of the Hassassin redesigns in general and these are no better - the old Muyibs and Govads were a lot better IMO.

I really quite like the Warcrow stuff, especially the Hegemony (the War Surgeon in particular) but I’m not at all enthusiastic to hear they’re gonna be in the thermoplastic.

 Cannibal wrote:
The Unberfalkommando is my second favorite unit to field in the whole game but the model was the most difficult I've ever built. I'm excited for the new sculpts. The art was a little cringe-inducing but the renders and finished product look great. Love that creepy-as-**** hairless cat pupnik. So uncomfortable to look at.

I think its funny that the god of destruction has been reduced to a peripheral. Check out Lord Beerus if you're unfamiliar with the reference.

1-3 models per side and hours of bookkeeping? As much as I want a space combat game, I think this is a hard pass for me.

Stupid forever n00b question... are some minis subfaction locked only? I was under the impression and thought that the point of vanilla forces was to pretty much have access to at least one of everything but noticeably less than the subfactions that focus on the units/theme. I was playing around with a themed force with vanilla nomads and noticed that the new Observance figs weren't showing up even as AVA 1 or 2. Is my Infinity app-fu weak or is this a feature and not a bug?

Starting fairly recently, some new sectorial models straight up aren't available in vanilla, and that does include a number of observance models.

Angronsrosycheeks wrote:
Starting fairly recently, some new sectorial models straight up aren't available in vanilla, and that does include a number of observance models.

Admittedly I'm an outside but, from that perspective, I don't see that as a good thing especially if it's a new change. I think it's appropriate though for named special characters/heroes that are one off unique (or at least as close as you can get to that in a universe where you're backed up to the cloud by AI) but I'd much rather have "normal" units available to some lesser degree. I guess I won't be buying any observance models then since I can't use my existing nomads (admittedly just a single squad box!) with them.

I see your point, but from design perspective it has a lot of advantages. Previously every unit had to not only be balanced for the sectorial it was in, but also for every other unit in the faction. Now you can have a Cool Observance Lady without worrying that it will create a Combo Of Doom in Vanilla nomads.

Angronsrosycheeks wrote:
I see your point, but from design perspective it has a lot of advantages. Previously every unit had to not only be balanced for the sectorial it was in, but also for every other unit in the faction. Now you can have a Cool Observance Lady without worrying that it will create a Combo Of Doom in Vanilla nomads.

Very true but personally I don't think the trade off is worth it. I haven't heard people complaining significantly about Infinity balance since pre-N3 when they nerfed rambo'ing (or so I've heard since I've been lurking that long!) so it seemed like what they were doing was working. Now they don't have to worry about vanilla players buying the figs I suppose. Just to be clear, I'm completely fine with figs being locked into one sectorial and not allowed at all in other sectorials; my only concern is with vanilla. Code One already is the version of the game with pruned units chosen for balance for newer players like myself.

It's a hurdle all miniature firms have to cross if they survive long enough. Do you keep vast armies around; do you rely on updating old models with new sculpts; do you rely on adding new armies and leaving old ones with fewer updates; do you retire models and then add new ones.

It's a battle to maintain game balance; whilst also continuing to generate revenue and also keep fans happy

 Overread wrote:
It's a hurdle all miniature firms have to cross if they survive long enough. Do you keep vast armies around; do you rely on updating old models with new sculpts; do you rely on adding new armies and leaving old ones with fewer updates; do you retire models and then add new ones.

It's a battle to maintain game balance; whilst also continuing to generate revenue and also keep fans happy

While I agree with all that, it's not actually what where are specifcally talking about here though. The question is whether or not you lock models only into their sectorial or also add them (to a more limited degree) into vanilla lists also.

Has this (locking models behind a single sectorial wall) affected any other factions beyond Nomads yet?

Yes. Pandora is available only to Steel Phalanx (and Hassasins I believe, but she was a preorder bonus for Op Blackwind so she's not exactly normal release), and Sarko and Sekudroids are only available in Starmada. those are the ones I pay attention to, so i might have missed something from the other factions.

Angronsrosycheeks wrote:
Yes. Pandora is available only to Steel Phalanx (and Hassasins I believe, but she was a preorder bonus for Op Blackwind so she's not exactly normal release), and Sarko and Sekudroids are only available in Starmada. those are the ones I pay attention to, so i might have missed something from the other factions.

The Sekudroids sounds like a unit but are the others special unique characters? Thanks for the info regardless.

Sarko is a unit, not a hero. Though to be fair, there is zero functional difference between a unit with AVA1 and named hero with AVA1 anyway.

I have Maximus and Caskuda on pre-order

TAG RAID unboxing but unfortunately no closeups of the miniatures painted or unpainted yet.

Got my Caskuda and Maximus
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