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Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: carlos13th on September 04, 2014, 10:18:40 PM

Title: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: carlos13th on September 04, 2014, 10:18:40 PM
Hey guys. Picked up some infinity stuff in a trade recently and want to get into the game. Was wondering who here plays it and what factions you use.

If you have any pictures of of your infinity models or terrain I would love to see it.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Rabbitz on September 04, 2014, 10:27:46 PM
Not played it in a while but I think its a really good system.  You do need a fair amount of terrain though.

I use Nomads purely because I liked the look of them most.

(http://www.unit57.com.au/images/InfinityTerrain1a.jpg)

(http://www.unit57.com.au/images/infb1.jpg)

(http://www.unit57.com.au/images/InfinityTerrain2a.jpg)

(http://www.unit57.com.au/images/InfinityTerrain3a.jpg)

(http://www.unit57.com.au/images/InfTable991.jpg)

Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 04, 2014, 10:27:56 PM
I play - Nomads. I played a little bit of 1st edition and a lot of 2nd edition.

I very much enjoy it, but it takes a while to get the hang of the rules. Regardless of what you may be told, it can't be simplified much either because the game balance is partly in that complexity. However, it's worth persevering with as it is a great game.

3rd edition looks like it will be more logical and clearer though, so I'm optimistic.

No pix worth a damn, but I can try and get some rubbish pix of a few models up later if you'd like?  ;Da
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Too Bo Coo on September 04, 2014, 10:28:24 PM
I'd be very interested in this as well... :D
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: carlos13th on September 04, 2014, 10:36:33 PM
I would appreciate any rubbish pictures you have.

I'm just starting with haqqislam and haven't put any paint to the models yet. Will probably be getting operation icestorm from the girlfriend too at Christmas. So will be another nomads guy.

I love the ice hanging from the platform.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 04, 2014, 10:44:55 PM
Right, well since my computer is kaput for now, I'm doing this off my phone... Let's see if it works:
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 04, 2014, 10:50:44 PM
Wow Rabbitz, that terrain is really nice! I know some people dislike laser-cut stuff, but I think your efforts look very accomplished.  8)
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Dr.Falkenhayn on September 04, 2014, 10:57:07 PM
totally meh.tried it several Times over the Years it's way to busy,too many too heavily specialised Models.i bought a Bunch Models from a Faction which i liked and ended up with a complete useless/unplayable Faction...

Also the Game is absolutely no Fun.You have to stay focused all the Time or you lose Track of whats going since your Opponent has the Chance to react (Move/Shoot/use Special Gear/Hack)...which Active Turn is it again?

Tons of special Rules,Modifiers,Specialist Equipment with more Special Rules,Game Mechanic Changes during a Turn:One Time you have to roll lower or equal to a certain value,next Time you have to roll over that Value (Armor Roll if i'm not mistaken)

imo i find Deadzone a much better Game also Mercs is very good  :-X
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Elbows on September 04, 2014, 11:06:41 PM
I'll probably end up trying it some time as my buddies want to run it.  I won't be buying in solely because A) the models are way too damn expensive, and B) I do not partake in games where you build armies according to points/values etc.

Hate that stuff.

My friends who play it really like it.  I wouldn't hesitate to give it a whirl, but I'm not buying into the system at all.  Love the table posted earlier - refreshingly non-neon.  The whole bright/glittery/tech feel to Infinity is a bit of a turn-off to me.  I'd much prefer playing on a more Necromunda looking field/table.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 04, 2014, 11:09:27 PM
Quote from: Dr.Falkenhayn link=topic=70672.msg859297date=1409867827
[...] i bought a Bunch Models from a Faction which i liked and ended up with a complete useless/unplayable Faction...

That surprises me! What faction / models did you get?  ???
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: carlos13th on September 04, 2014, 11:10:06 PM
I'll probably end up trying it some time as my buddies want to run it.  I won't be buying in solely because A) the models are way too damn expensive, and B) I do not partake in games where you build armies according to points/values etc.


Can understand the first point. Mind if I ask the reasons for the second?
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: carlos13th on September 04, 2014, 11:11:27 PM

imo i find Deadzone a much better Game also Mercs is very good  :-X

I plan on using my deadzone terrain as a dual use for both deadzone and infinity.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 04, 2014, 11:15:27 PM
Quote from: carlos13th link=topic=buildingssg859303#msg859303 date=1409868687
I plan on using my deadzone terrain as a dual use for both deadzone and infinity.

Make sure you play with lots of solid buildings though, and not something that looks like a paintball arena... The game is pretty deadly and demands "full" terrain to cut down some line if sight and allow more maneuvering.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Elbows on September 04, 2014, 11:15:37 PM
Can understand the first point. Mind if I ask the reasons for the second?

A couple of reasons.  I mostly find that games like Warhammer/WarMachine etc. are obviously built on getting you to buy more and more expensive models.  Ie. an expensive model is better in the game etc.  I despise "equal" games (the result of points matching), and I find that almost all games which are built with this kind of tournament-aim tend to have HORRIBLE rules, and are generally garbage.  I don't like a game which is tied to a specific model line because you end up being forced to buy certain figures etc.

If a game has a points-system and is aimed at any kind of tournament play, I lose interest 100%, immediately.  Doesn't mean I wouldn't play it at a friends house, but I refuse to buy into a big "system" like that.

It's personal opinion, but I just do not like supporting games like that.  Obviously GW is the biggest offender in that genre, but a lot of games look eerily similar so I stay away. 
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Dr.Falkenhayn on September 04, 2014, 11:19:53 PM
That surprises me! What faction / models did you get?  ???


Yu Jing Faction  ???

Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 04, 2014, 11:29:56 PM
@ Elbows:

Based on your comments here and elsewhere, I doubt you'll get on with Infinity. It's complicated, has points-based force selection, has a tournament (you can thank American demand for that), and the models are specific and pricey.

Of course, you can use other models if you like (just be clear what each model is), not play in a tournament (which I don't anyway), and play the models you like - the points system is actually a double one which stops a lot of silliness. The models are priced on two main things: how hard they are to cast, and how much metal they use. Efficiency in game doesn't correlate to cost in money. Plus the rules, templates,  tokens, army lists, army building tool, and a number of terrain pieces and scenarios are all free to download. :)
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 04, 2014, 11:31:05 PM
Yu Jing Faction  ???

What, the starter box?
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: carlos13th on September 04, 2014, 11:40:25 PM
Make sure you play with lots of solid buildings though, and not something that looks like a paintball arena... The game is pretty deadly and demands "full" terrain to cut down some line if sight and allow more maneuvering.

Yeah I have heard that, haven't had a chance to play with my deadzone terrain to see what I can create yet.

A couple of reasons.  I mostly find that games like Warhammer/WarMachine etc. are obviously built on getting you to buy more and more expensive models.  Ie. an expensive model is better in the game etc.  I despise "equal" games (the result of points matching), and I find that almost all games which are built with this kind of tournament-aim tend to have HORRIBLE rules, and are generally garbage.  I don't like a game which is tied to a specific model line because you end up being forced to buy certain figures etc.

If a game has a points-system and is aimed at any kind of tournament play, I lose interest 100%, immediately.  Doesn't mean I wouldn't play it at a friends house, but I refuse to buy into a big "system" like that.

It's personal opinion, but I just do not like supporting games like that.  Obviously GW is the biggest offender in that genre, but a lot of games look eerily similar so I stay away. 

Thanks for sharing. I don't think it's fair to assume that any game with points values has garbage rules though.

I see no reasons why you couldn't proxy with infinity though. That said I like their models a lot despite the cost.

Can understand you not wanting to buy into it though. I usually try to buy things that can run double duty for two or more game systems,even though I pretty much never actually play.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Elbows on September 04, 2014, 11:49:18 PM
I'm sure the rules are fine for Infinity - but most are not.  Any development aimed at tournament play immediately starts removing chance...removing random order of activation...removing random events/encounters,  removes a lot of things which I like in games.  Hence, even if the rules are solidly written, they can still be "garbage" in my opinion.  lol

I agree that I could probably proxy...and I could probably play the game with scenarios, ignoring points, ignoring tournament rules, ignoring min-maxxing etc.  But then, I might as well just go with a different game.  Like I said, I'm sure I'll have a chance to play some time in the future.  If so, I'll come back and post my opinion.  But on a surface level, nothing (other than a few good looking models) appeals to me about Infinity.

I do hope that new 3rd Gen. box is a good value though - that's a good way to get new blood into the game.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: chromedog on September 05, 2014, 02:04:10 AM
I play and have played for about 6 1/2 years.
I have 4 armies for the game (I played 40k for over 25 years - but towards the end, it just got tiresome.

I play infinity pretty much exclusively at club level.  Tournaments can go blow a yak.
I like the models (in the armies that I have :D )  - this is not to say that I like ALL of them, and indeed, most months I will look at their releases and yawn. 

Most of my miniatures collection has seen use in other games apart from the rulesets they were released for - but I've also got miniatures rulebooks I've bought JUST to read and miniatures JUST to build.

Deadzone terrain can work, but also suffers from the same issues as GW stuff.  Too many holes in the wrong places.
Deadzone and Mercs don't appeal to me for different reasons.  Deadzone is TOO simple a game, and mercs has ugly models. 

40k had some nice models, but crap rules.  Infinity has some really nice models and rules that do the job for now.

I've never been a "one game for ever" gamer - and I have no doubt I won't leave infinity in the dirt, the same way I left 40k - but I'll play it whilst I wait for this other thing to come along.

Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: syrinx0 on September 05, 2014, 03:09:34 AM
I have not played infinity yet but I did pick up the new starter set at Gencon. It was $120 for 15 figures, a scenery pack, playing mat, dice a few markers and a rulebook. I mostly bought it for the miniatures but enjoyed a demo game I played.  It seemed pretty popular as they sold out of the boxed set in spite of having a full pallet of boxes on the floor. 
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Malebolgia on September 05, 2014, 05:52:29 AM
Used to play in the past...but never really got into it. It just didn't feel right as a total package. The odd order system never worked out well IMO; you *can* give one monster model all orders and the rest cheerlead and are on constant overwatch. This combined with the abundance of heavy/special weapons and the Huge discrepancy between weapons means the games never felt balanced. It's mainly about the fancy toys...HMG's used to dominate all games (don't know what the current cool weapon is though) and a lot of games were also won by luck (In one game I rolled like 4 criticals...bam...4 dead enemies...yawn).

So although I like the idea of the game with the reactions, short and fast deadly games and gimmicky toys...it never felt exactly right. So we used a ton of house rules to make it work better (eg. A model can have a maximum of 2 orders per turn, luitenants 3).

But prefer Pulp Alley now :)
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Daeothar on September 05, 2014, 09:06:15 AM
I am actually very happy with Infinity, after playing 40K and affiliated games for more than 20 years. What really pleases me is the level of tactical play, which you don't get with the other games I play(ed).

We used to play Necromunda as our go-to Scifi skirmish game and I've liked it for decades (still do). But the mechanics really lack the depth and (dare I say it?) realism I always wanted in my games.

With Infinity though, you do get that depth, once you get over the 40K mindset. You don't charge an enemy over open ground to get into CC, in fact you don't stay out in the open period, unless you want to get your models back into the foam at rocket speed.

Granted; the rules do take some getting used to and do seem complex at first, but once you have a couple of games under the belt, they start to make sense. A lot of the added complexity comes from the more specialized units and gear, which you don't have to use when you start out. A starter box can be played as is, and you can add whichever unit you like afterwards.

And that's another thing I like about the game; as opposed to what some others are saying, I have yet to see a game dominating unit. They all have their pro's and cons, and in my experience, you can play a good game with any combination of minis, as long as you know how to use them effectively. That is not to say that there isn't some useful synergy between certain units, but overall, you can basically pick what you like and make it work.

Yes; certain heavy weapons are very powerful, but that's in their name already, isn't it? And also, there is a limit to the amount of special gear and heavy weapons in a list, so loading up on heavy weapons only is not only impossible, it would also restrict you in other areas.

As for TAGs (the large remote mecha like units); they too are not the super units they first appear. I very recently acquired my first one, and while it did a very good job, it was not the crush-everything-in-its-path-destruction-machine(-of-death) my opponent and myself expected it to be.

One thing that speaks against the game going the 40K way in regard to codex-creep and flavours of the month, is the fact that all units for all armies are in the same rulebook. Which ensures that they are as balanced as they can be. Of course there are campaign books and the like (2 so far in the 2nd edition of the rules), which add units for each faction, but those can be used mixed with the units in the previous books without them being significantly stronger, even though there are of course new abilities and equipment introduced.

I would say that Infinity is a well balanced game, with a 'different' ruleset that takes getting used to. It forces you to play very tactically, but it does require a lot of LOS blocking terrain to get the most out of it. Overall, I'd call it my favourite miniature game at the moment, and I'm confident it will take quite a while before I will have used/experienced every nuance of the rules and special equipment. I only play it in friendly games. I can see it work in tournaments, but that's not my scene, and the rules certainly work in a beer and pretzels environment.

The miniatures are, for the most, absolutely stunning, if not exactly cheap (but then; you only need between 8 to 16 or so models per force), and the game has a very distinct anime-ish look and feel, which you either like or don't like. You can make every miniature in the lines work, even though there obviously is some variation in cost effectiveness between units. Still, apart from thematic reasons, there are no real must-have units.

One cause for concern though is the apparent size-creep in the Infinity miniatures; the more recent sculpts are distinctively taller and thinner than the older miniatures. Also, the very first sculpts were more heroic in their proportions, while the line very soon after started to become more realistically proportioned. Most of my minis are from the intermediate period, so not heroic, but not too tall either. those mix well with the now OOP GOT line from Antenociti. I've also observed that some sculpts disappear from the official website sometimes, to be replaced by new sculpts, without prior warning.

As for what I play; I set out to collect a Haqqislam army, as I liked their background the best, but for some reason I ended up playing Pan Oceania first. Which also still is my current army, as I still need to assemble my Haqqs... ::) But I also feel the draw of Nomads, which was my second army choice.

And even though my regular opponent really dislikes the Alien factions, I could see myself doing up a Shassvastii force eventually too... ;)
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 05, 2014, 09:24:39 AM
I'm sure the rules are fine for Infinity - but most are not.  Any development aimed at tournament play immediately starts removing chance...removing random order of activation...removing random events/encounters,  removes a lot of things which I like in games.  Hence, even if the rules are solidly written, they can still be "garbage" in my opinion.  lol

Funny you should mention that... One of the stated goals of 3E is to provide that "slight chance" in as many situations as possible. We might be talking only 5%, but it's there!

The sorts of rules whereby you can attack your opponent's model(s) and they can't react have been whittled down/removed from the game.

As far as I can tell, attacks from behind a model still have a chance of killing it without a reaction (unless it survives, in which case it can turn around), but that's a hard-won situation to be in.

The way camouflage has been tweaked as well is designed to make things simpler, and to avoid the receiving model having to survive a full attack before it can retaliate - now the shots are exchanged simultaneously, but the camo troop has a "surprise" bonus modifier to weight things their way somewhat.

Another thing that was mentioned in 3E is that there is a maximum value for modifiers to stack to - you can no longer get a bonus/penalty exceeding a sum total of +/-12. This also helps to ensure that very specialised troops do not get to stack things so one-sidedly that no chance of reaction is possible (so even if highly unfavourable, at least you have some chance in many cases!).

I am sure that none of these things will change you mind much/at all, but hopefully it might encourage some occasional participation in the game with your group.  :)

[...]But on a surface level, nothing (other than a few good looking models) appeals to me about Infinity.

Understandable - we all like different things.

[...]I do hope that new 3rd Gen. box is a good value though - that's a good way to get new blood into the game.

Well... It's good value in that you effectively get everything past the two starter forces "free". But it's still expensive, and it's not the most newbie-friendly starter box out there either (the shower of tiny metal parts sees to that!).

Tournaments can go blow a yak.

Agreed!

It seemed pretty popular as they sold out of the boxed set in spite of having a full pallet of boxes on the floor.  

That was probably helped by the fact that the two starters in the set have been eagerly awaited for years now (along with Combined Army, they were the only ones waiting a resculpt - those sets date back to before there was even a physical rulebook for Infinity!)

Used to play in the past...but never really got into it. It just didn't feel right as a total package. The odd order system never worked out well IMO; you *can* give one monster model all orders and the rest cheerlead and are on constant overwatch.

That will still be the case. Personally, the whole game is an abstraction anyway, and I don't mind the way Orders work. My friend however does agree with your point of view.

The main issue I see though is that with the very open way that ARO (Automatic Reaction Orders) system works, it is very hard for the active player to get much of an advantage without being able to pump resources into a few models if they want to.

[...] The abundance of heavy/special weapons and the Huge discrepancy between weapons means the games never felt balanced. It's mainly about the fancy toys...HMG's used to dominate all games (don't know what the current cool weapon is though)

This is pretty true - HMGs were beasts and Sniper Rifles were hard to justify for example. Not to say that you couldn't defeat the weapons/models carrying them, but they were an obvious choice when you had one.

The new edition has tweaked a lot of the weapon ranges and the modifiers in order to give each weapon a role/slot in which it can excel. Even the crappy pistol has been buffed a little so that as a weapon of last resort it's not so hopeless. Time and play will show whether this will make a difference.

[...]A lot of games were also won by luck (In one game I rolled like 4 criticals...bam...4 dead enemies...yawn).

Still the case - many people liked that aspect of the game (see my comments to Elbows above), and it allows lowly grunts a chance to destroy heavy infantry (which in turn is a good reason to avoid pumping too many orders into one model unless you have positioned it excellently). In fact, HMGs were deliberately subsidised for cheap grunts for exactly this purpose. :P

___________________________________________________

Personally, the changes I am most looking forward to are:

1) New weapon range bands/tweaks

2) Clear streamlined rules for skills

3) Clear statement in the rules of the specific sequence of actions of things like Orders and the timing of action resolution

4) Clear streamlined rules for close combat

5) Clear streamlined rules for hacking

6) Clear streamlined rules for terrain

7) Clear streamlined rules for retreat
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: hubbabubba on September 05, 2014, 01:30:45 PM
How do I find infinity: increasingly expensive.

The minis are now way over priced IMO. Yes, many of them are lovely, and they have become the bar by which I judge other models, but there's no way I can justify the pricing, so i guess I'll pass on most of the stuff from now on. 50 euros for four models as in the case of the new wolfmen box is too steep for me. plus the range is very inconsistant in terms of scale.

The game plays ok, there's always been too many inconsistancies and poorly written grey areas. Personally, form what I've heard about 3rd ed, it's not going to get any better, probably more complicated instead of more streamlined which is what I think it needs.

Biggest turn off for me is the tournament mindset of all the folks around here, it's just no fun at all to play against most of them.

Pulp alley sounds like a much better set, although I'm yet to try it myself.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 05, 2014, 01:54:33 PM
Biggest turn off for me is the tournament mindset of all the folks around here, it's just no fun at all to play against most of them.

After following the progress of your forces for Infinity on these boards, I am sad to read this - I only wish you were closer, as I'd be delighted to play a game against you (our games are pretty rules-strict, but we are very relaxed and gentlemanly with each other in all areas of the gameplay, and regularly assist each other during a game. In fact, one observer who saw us playing Twilight Imperium stated that we should rename it Tweed Imperium based on our playstyle!).

As for buying newer sculpts, allow me to quote my friend:

"They can fuck off if they think I'm buying all those fucking models again".  lol
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Too Bo Coo on September 05, 2014, 02:04:27 PM
I think I'm down for the new box set as well.  It looks like a decent enough deal, but I'll wait to see what the reviews are before plunking down more cash.  I have some 2nd hand minis of various factions to paint up in the meantime.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 05, 2014, 02:29:43 PM
@ Too Bo Coo:

Unless you want the models in the box, I wouldn't bother with it:

- You will get the rules for free online anyway

- The chap who designed the mat and terrain has free versions on his website (along with more) here (http://www.toposolitario.com/principal/index.html).

- If you really want the pre-made terrain, CB have confirmed that the terrain from the set will be available separately in the future - this might be a cheaper option than getting the set with models you don't really want.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Too Bo Coo on September 05, 2014, 02:43:22 PM
@ Too Bo Coo:

Unless you want the models in the box, I wouldn't bother with it:

- You will get the rules for free online anyway

- The chap who designed the mat and terrain has free versions on his website (along with more) here (http://www.toposolitario.com/principal/index.html).

- If you really want the pre-made terrain, CB have confirmed that the terrain from the set will be available separately in the future - this might be a cheaper option than getting the set with models you don't really want.

Cheers for the heads up! 

The starter sets look ok at 40 euro or so for 6 minis, so that may not be a bad path then.  I was also thinking about using some of the 12 I have to make up a Merc force.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 05, 2014, 03:09:02 PM
The starter sets look ok at 40 euro or so for 6 minis, so that may not be a bad path then.  I was also thinking about using some of the 12 I have to make up a Merc force.

Shop around, as I'm sure we don't pay 40E for a starter set in the UK - more like 30-32E from many independent online retailers.

Also, I'm not sure Mercs will survive in 3E as they are now.

CB have confirmed that there will be some Merc companies coming (the equivalent of Sectorial forces), but I think they will probably not allow the mix-n-match approach there is now.

Back when the game had fewer models, it was okay, but there are so many models to choose from now, I think it's impossible to balance reasonably. If you and your friends are happy to keep using Merc forces built like that, then that's fine, but I think you might struggle with pick-up games if you game in a store or such. Personally, I'd probably be fine with it as long as there was no obvious min-maxing.

Alternatively, keep an eye on ebay or such; you can often get second hand models for cheap if you're not fussy about whether you get the latest sculpt or not.

Another option for some factions is just to supplement other manufacturer's models in your collection that are suitable. Ariadna is the obvious candidate faction for this, but others are possible. In fact, this might be a smart route if you are still wavering on the game before you drop a chunk of change of the official models.

What models/factions do you have?
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Too Bo Coo on September 05, 2014, 03:59:40 PM
These guys

1 haqqislam Hassassin Fiday - Boarding Shotgun
2 merc  Yuan Yuan
3 yujing Keisotsu Butai - Missile Launcher
4 Kamau - Light GL
6 panoc Auxilia
7 yujing  Domaru Butai - Chain Rifle
8 haqqislam  Najjarun Engineers
10 yujing      Hac Tao - Missile Launcher
11-12 haqqislam hafzas
13 aridna      4éme de Chasseurs (the braid is missing)
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: chromedog on September 06, 2014, 01:51:29 AM
That's an eclectic collection of figures.

Whilst I do have the odd model not a part of any of my armies, they are rare (I've got one ariadnan in a giggle hat and grenade launcher) the rest of my stuff mostly is for the armies I play. 

Except for the TAGs.  I own geckos even though I don't play nomads.  :D
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: nic-e on September 06, 2014, 03:41:57 AM
totally meh.tried it several Times over the Years it's way to busy,too many too heavily specialised Models.i bought a Bunch Models from a Faction which i liked and ended up with a complete useless/unplayable Faction...

Also the Game is absolutely no Fun.You have to stay focused all the Time or you lose Track of whats going since your Opponent has the Chance to react (Move/Shoot/use Special Gear/Hack)...which Active Turn is it again?

Tons of special Rules,Modifiers,Specialist Equipment with more Special Rules,Game Mechanic Changes during a Turn:One Time you have to roll lower or equal to a certain value,next Time you have to roll over that Value (Armor Roll if i'm not mistaken)

imo i find Deadzone a much better Game also Mercs is very good  :-X

Same here, infinity is a great SYSTEM, but i find it to be a dull game.(i have recently found zombiecide to be similar, great system with some fun moment, but i never really get any joy from winning, it more just feels like a hard tactical slog that leaves me drained)

Deadzone really fills the same niche for me in a simpler , funner way.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Geckilian on September 11, 2014, 02:43:39 AM
I'm getting back in to Infinity after a bit of a break (due to a lack of people to play unfortunately) and I'm still enjoying it. I have an unreasonable amount of Nomads, a small force of Aleph Steel Phalanx and an even smaller amount of Combined Army which isn't actually enough to make a list with.

I really enjoy the system. After a couple of small games a long time ago the rules clicked for me, so games are pretty fast now. Must admit I'm not too keen on the ITS system for tournaments, but YAMS (yet another mission system), the fan made objective cards, is pretty enjoyable.

Games can be pretty swingy depending on what tactics people use. For example yesterday at my local gaming club I brought a hacker-heavy Bakunin Nomad list with tons of hacking support and some markers to fire around the board. My opponent used Corregidor Nomads, which unlike Bakunin don't favour hacking quite as much and instead have far more flamethrowers. Turns out his poor single hacker got his brains fried by mine and I went to town immobilizing and taking apart his list neatly with area denial.

The very next game he played another friend who used a camouflage heavy Ariadna list and, while he had to deal with massive werewolves with silly amount of templates, an abundance of flamethrowers was just what was needed!

Each faction can pretty much do any set archetype of tactics so in theory you could run a hacker heavy list with nearly anyone for example, aside from Ariadna anyway, and still do well. The beauty of Infinity to me is if you have lots of different models, or your opponents allow proxies, then game to game you can vastly change how your list works and how the game plays out for you. I think I've only run the same list at most twice, back when I was learning the core mechanics. Constantly changing lists keeps it fresh as there's no real 'meta' or netlist - everything can arguably be viable and you have no real idea of what the opponent may bring to the table unless you know they have a heavy preference.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: chromedog on September 11, 2014, 07:53:34 AM
It's a game you will either like or not.

I find mercs has models I don't like, Deadzone has rules I don't like and zombiecide has zombies (which I stopped liking when I was still in High School - and I've been out of it for a looooong time).  I got tired of the constant escalation of wallet abuse from GW, too.

Infinity had models I liked, rules I was willing to live with, and a cost that was bearable (and free rules/army lists definitely helped in that aspect).  I didn't need to spend $150 on a rulebook and $80 on an army book BEFORE I even started putting an army together.

YMMV.  It's not a game for everyone.  There's nothing wrong with that. 
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 11, 2014, 11:58:55 AM
@ Too Bo Coo

That's a particularly motley assortment of models! I'm not sure that even a Merc list would really be much of an option either.

You might be better off deciding to go with one of the represented factions and picking up a relevant starter to augment them and play with. The other models can then be used as proxy options so that you can see what works for you. I'd suggest that either Haqqislam or Yu Jing are your best bets in this case.

Some models you might want to keep/use as alternative Mercs for your chosen force as well - the Kamau hacker could be your proxy for Valeria Gromoz for example, and the Chasseur girl could be a proxy for Father Lucien Sforza. A bit of fluff, tell your opponent who's who, and job done! ;)


@ Geckilian:

Games can be pretty swingy, but a lot will also depend on whether one or both players build skewed lists or not. Like every game where there is any player choice in forces, unless you both go for a bit-of-everything approach, you will sometimes get rather unbalanced situations.

Even so, with cautious tactics you can often still put a good showing in at least even if you're the underdog - that's one thing I rather like about the game.

As for your Bakunin lists, you can get flamers on Kusanagi, Lunokhod heavy remote, Lizard TAG, and Prowlers, and you get Chain Rifles on Morlocks (which are very cheap and a couple are usually worth a punt). Also, with the Riot Grrls, you get MSV1 which means you can spot Camo more easily and ignore all the Camo penalty modifiers they will have too. Finally, the Chimera has a viral CC weapon and might be worth sacrificing against a Dogface. Tools for the job, man! ;)


@ chromedog:

I agree, and find:

Mercs - Don't like the rules, don't like that model rules are not in the book. Like most of the models, (those sculpted by Tom Mason really).

Deadzone - Would have preferred fewer sculpts of better quality in proper plastic, with variety coming from spare weapons/heads on the sprues. Rules are okay, but hard to find during a game if you need them. Personally, I think it suffers from being slightly too basic and the special rules don't make up for this neatly enough - our games so far have all felt pretty generic.

Infinity - Poorly written rules, and lax response on addressing FAQ items. Normally, I'm not too bothered about extreme rules instances, but we seem to come up with one in nearly every game we play. Great game balance though, and a lot of action freedom. I love the models, but accept that they are pretty expensive.

WH40k - Sigh. I like aspects of the current aesthetic, and the rules are not appalling, but overall it's hard not to feel cheated by many aspects of GW's offerings. Given how many people complain about other companies' model prices, it amuses me to see how many of them play GW games. Basically though: it's a rules-heavy, tactics-lazy, expensive game for people who like skulls on everything.



Getting back on topic, maybe a quick summary of how the game works (no too detailed, not biased with lots of opinion) might be useful in the context of this thread? I'd be happy to write such a summary if anyone is interested?
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: hubbabubba on September 11, 2014, 12:28:05 PM
Do it, and add it to the neglected sci fi rules sticky at the top of the board ;)
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 11, 2014, 12:34:31 PM
Do it, and add it to the neglected sci fi rules sticky at the top of the board ;)

I see looking through the thread that you've already posted a summary there?

Admittedly, I was thinking of writing something a bit more wordy though!  ;D
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: hubbabubba on September 11, 2014, 01:06:34 PM
Exactly, I'm sure you can improve 100% on what I posted lol
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 11, 2014, 01:09:24 PM
 lol lol

Fair enough then, I'll get onto it.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: carlos13th on September 11, 2014, 01:27:22 PM
I would appreciate that too. Thanks
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Vermis on September 12, 2014, 12:58:23 PM
I avoided it for a long time, viewing it as Malifaux in Spaaace. Then I had a simple demo game which impressed me. Got to thinking I should get into it, 'cos it and Malifaux are the two main games played up at the Belfast club.

Then I had someone laugh at me, telling me it was as full of special rules as Malifaux. So I''m curious to find out just what the situation and comparison is like...

totally meh.tried it several Times over the Years it's way to busy,too many too heavily specialised Models.i bought a Bunch Models from a Faction which i liked and ended up with a complete useless/unplayable Faction...

Also the Game is absolutely no Fun.You have to stay focused all the Time or you lose Track of whats going since your Opponent has the Chance to react (Move/Shoot/use Special Gear/Hack)...which Active Turn is it again?

Tons of special Rules,Modifiers,Specialist Equipment with more Special Rules,Game Mechanic Changes during a Turn:One Time you have to roll lower or equal to a certain value,next Time you have to roll over that Value (Armor Roll if i'm not mistaken)

... aaand that doesn't fill me with hope. Particularly the bolded part.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 12, 2014, 02:27:30 PM
@ Vermis:

It does have a lot of special equipment and rules.

It's also one major reason why the "3-model demo" games that seem to be popular are so crap: it's like teaching somebody Snap as an introduction to Poker.

The equipment, skills, and weapon effects are all integral to the balance of the game. Playing without the vast majority of these leaves you 100% unprepared for how the game actually plays, and is grossly unfair to people trying to learn.

The other side of learning the game is that you get so carried away by all the shiny toys and clever skills, that you actually forget/never learn how to do things like Alert, Cautious Move, Go Prone, Coordinated Order - which are pretty basic actions available to nearly every model in the game, and which can sometimes get you out of tricky situations if you know them.

Yet another thing that's usually fudged or glossed over is the timing of declaring your model's actions, your opponent's declaring of reactions and the resolution of what was declared. Learning this wrong makes actions like Cautious Move pointless, and equipment like TO Camo even more powerful than it already is. Apparently though, people seem to be really uncomfortable with a Poker-style build up of declared actions before resolving them all simultaneously to see what actually happens/succeeds. That the official examples/videos are all over the place in this regard doesn't help either.

Anyway, I am writing a summary of how the game works (well 1st/2nd edition...!), and will post it here when I'm done. I'm aiming for it to be clear and specific, but also don't want it to become a long rambling blow-by-blow account of every rule. Hopefully you will find it helpful.

For now though, I will leave you with this: most of the skills, equipment, and weapon effects are actually pretty straightforward. Also, unless stated, most skills are "nested" - that is, a higher level skill includes all the lower levels of the same skill as well. Finally, skills in particular are an area marked for change in 3rd edition (moving to something that can be represented in a table where possible).
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Vermis on September 13, 2014, 01:58:15 PM
Ta Gilbear. I have to say you haven't reassured me too much, but somehow I'm still a bit interested. Looking forward to that summary, and whether 3rd is better. :)
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: hubbabubba on September 13, 2014, 02:52:46 PM
Vermis,, the fancy new Icestorm box is a good intro to the game, if you're prepared to fork out for the hefty price tag.
If not, just the step by step approach of the ice storm rule book should you be able to get a copy ;)
You'd then be able to play trough with proxies and any old terrain you had to hand. The box is very nice though, just overpriced.
However, in another incredible display of forsight on the pasrt of Corvus Belli, they've releasesd the starter box with basic 3rd ed. rules way in advance of the final edition of the 3rd ed. rules being ready for publication. So after your nice gentle intro to 3rd ed. Infinity, if you want to continue playing, you'll have to unlearn the rules from the box set and start with 2nd ed, until the new rules are published, rumours say Dec.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Vermis on September 13, 2014, 03:18:27 PM
Even better. lol Thanks.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 25, 2014, 03:35:26 PM
Right... I wrote something up, and then realised that my Operation Icestorm would be showing up soon - so I decided to hang on and see what the 3E rules looked like before posting.

Now I've got O:I, and I've read the rules. (Also, pored over the models, rolled the faction dice to "test" them, and generally behaved with the contents like a small child in a sweetshop. :D )

The rules are very clearly explained in good English, and the rules are not in a separate section to the missions like many other rulebooks are. Rather, each mission scenario introduces all the rules you will need to play it, with each successive scenario building on the one(s) before.

Even so, the game is clearly very stripped-down, with a lot of detail removed.

An example is close combat, where characters just make a melee attack in the same way as a shooting attack, but only when in base-to-base and using their CC score. There is nothing more, and even the model profiles for the Father Knight have had the close combat weapons removed for simplicity.

Other examples include a lack of orders choices (no coordinated orders, cautious moves, jumps, climbing, going prone, etc), no explanation of long and short orders, no special ammo, no mines, no flamers... And whilst I know it's quick-start, these are all fairly basic game rules that do apply to the models in the box.

This is not really a complaint as such, but it does remove a lot of options that I feel are important basics, and which people often overlook when learning/are being taught (and then they wonder why they can't beat whatever the perceived über-combo of the day is...).

So. Long ramble short: shall I wait for the full third edition release to write a proper and relevant (i.e. current) review, or do I finish up and post the review based on second edition? I'll say now that I'm not really too keen on doing both though!
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: hubbabubba on September 25, 2014, 04:49:48 PM
Relax and go with the flow.  :D

I'd appreciate reading either of the two, maybe to better review 2nd, as between 3rd actually becoming available, and the player base becoming familiar enough to give it a good write up, well we could be talking about Easter 2015.

Hence Corvus's no brainer, what are new players, (those who the box was aimed at,) supposed to do until 3rd is released, learn 2nd ed and later unlearn it all when 3rd is released.
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: Major_Gilbear on September 25, 2014, 05:21:41 PM
Hence Corvus's no brainer, what are new players, (those who the box was aimed at,) supposed to do until 3rd is released, learn 2nd ed and later unlearn it all when 3rd is released.

That actually confused me, since new players will have to un-learn quick-start 3rd, learn 2nd to play games until full 3rd is released, and then re-learn what they un-learnt to start with!  o_o

Anyway, I'll stick with 2nd then.  :P
Title: Re: Those of you who play infinity, how do you find it? What do you play?
Post by: chromedog on September 27, 2014, 12:07:40 AM
From what I can gather, Icestorm isn't intended to be played over a single weekend (there are several campaign style escalation missions).  New players would probably play the missions several times each (and possibly swap factions to do so) and that would probably keep them going until 3rd ed comes out.

That the veterans can and will be playing all the missions in one afternoon is more or less irrelevant from a "starting out" pov.

It's really no different to starting play with QSR and moving to full rules.  2nd ed QSR was missing a large chunk of the rules, its focus is getting the orders/ARO mechanic, the face to face rolls, etc down.