Yesterday, I updated my Release Schedule Excel for CBs releases, and for the first time in I think ever, I was looking at what new units are still missing miniatures – and (with the exception of Torchlight) couldn't find any. Here's a screenshot of the relevant page to show what I mean: Quick explanation: The first row in MISSING LIST is new units that CB definitely needs to release because the unit has no general release (yes, the Thorakitai is a mistake and should be further down). The second row in MISSING LIST is new loadouts that CB could release but is unlikely to do so (or in the case of Tohaa, Jaan Staar and the Taqeul, because they're just as unlikely). The UPDATE LIST shows units that had models which are either discontinued or still in production but so old that they're in dire need of an update. What I'm getting at Except for the new Torchlight releases, which will be completed by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, there are no new things for CB to release. With the exception of general releases for a handful of Defiance (Sheeskin, Kendrat, Jaan Staar) or TAG Raid (Beasthunters, Triphammers) minis, as well as a few still missing minis from sectorial redesigns (Sogarat, Achilles, Drakios, Teucer, Al-Djabel), all that's left for them to do right now is release either resculpts or missing loadouts of existing stuff. Which opens up a possibility that I feel has been missing for quite a while. Wild speculation :D These last years, it was always pretty clear what was gonna come, since there were simply so many units that still needed a mini. Now, unless CB releases a slew of new profiles at Gecon, it's truly up to anyone's guess what we will see starting September. So, what are your guesses? I added a few speculations to the release schedule myself (first page on the very bottom in red font), but I'm inviting everyone to speculate as well. What do you think will be next for Infinity after Gencon? What's on your wishlist, realistic or not? Here are some of the items on my wishlist: An official REM Racer mini, finally Resculpts of all the EVO bots A three-piece StarCo box with resculpts of Emily Handleman and Knauf as well as a brand new, StarCo-exclusive unit General releases of Kendrat, Sheeskin, Pandora, Authorized Bounty Hunters, Beasthunters, and Triphammers Resculpted Kaplan box Resculpted Scarface & Cordelia Resculpted Dasyu Resculpted Yuirko Oda and Neko Oyama Now you go :)
My guess is that Varuna and Tunguska will get the Invincible army treatment and get an action pack repackaging. A list of guesses for what they can do: New alguacil box Resculpts of the ariadna remotes Resculpts of the big metal Tags (Jotum, Maggie, Iguana, etc) New Geckos New SAS
Oh, there's still aplenty of stuff to do - in terms of updating. Current trend seems to be releasing all models larger than S2 in some form of a plastic: for the last few years that was siocast, although this years' GenCon release of unicool TAGs - and WarCrow taking a significant share of CB's siocast production capability - may mean they will be contracting this one out. And we still seem to have aplenty of TAGs, S5 superheavy infantry, REMs and bikers who could undergo that treatment. Then there are the missing loadouts. Judging by my own collection (Haqq in all the flavors & Corregidor, StarCo and Druze, for reference), there is quite some room for S2 model release of sculpts for profiles who are missing one - either due to the old being phased out, or never ever existing. Realism of these expectations being a completely separate issue. CB can always push the narrative forward and give us one or another new army / sectorial coming out of the woodwork. That, or an old one returning, with a fresh wave of models. I'm not sure about the status quo post Shattergrounds, but perhaps Tohaa can show up again, for example. Now, I won't be theorycrafting here. I don't have the data, and my experience with how CB handles these things suggests their strategic planning reaches reasonably far into the future. Adjusting for unforseen events, I'd guess they have the next two years planned, more or less (note: planned is not the same as ready for delivery, or even in the literal works. Some of it is in the works, with a planned due date, some might be absolutely ready, and some might fail to unforseen events, and be pushed back or even cancelled. And msot likely we'll never learn about it). Also, I have long abandoned trying to understeand the logic CB uses planning their releases. There has to be one, but from my perspective, nothing can be nailed to the door.
Regarding Tohaa's "Update" list, the Kosuil, Nikoul and Sukeul are all 3D sculpted models, and only the Kotail would need an update because it's scale is closer to the one used in hand-sculpted models. I'm not sure about the Gorgos.
If lucky, a new Thorakitai box with special weapons and a Dasyu blister for Aleph (the latter was discontinued soon after N4 landed...). My bet is a relaunch of something that will sell well, possibly JSA or Acontecimiento, looking at an N5 launch at Agust 2025. Another option is a new NA2 using the Space Mari... I mean, Torchlight and some base O12 troops with something else, the cheapest bet would be CA, and open said N5 launch with CA (dunno who would be a good bet against CA, since vanilla OSS, the O12, then PanO's Svalarheima would be the oldest, I think, leaving aside Tohaa... but I'm not sure about a CA VS Tohaa starter...)
New S.A.S. was my thought as well. You almost always take more than one, and there's still a chain rifle resculpt missing. As for Traktor Muls – I don't think CB will touch anything Code One in the forseeable future. And since they didn't resculpt them for C1, I don't think they will do so now. Yes, possible resculpts and additional loadouts are plenty. They will never run out of those. I was just thinking that they can't do resculpts and loadouts forever. Once Torchlight is done, people want new things. The reason the entire Tohaa range is in that update list is because the entire range has been discontinued. And since CB has been on record saying that when they resurrect Tohaa, it will be a complete redesign, I don't think we will see any of the old models back. I'm down for N5 next year. Anything that breathes fresh air into the game. And yes, Dasyu should come soon, since they made them part of Aleph REF. Unless they have abandoned reinforcements entirely.
Some people will, yes. But it is also the problem of bloat. We already have a lot of units and profiles in the game... for a game that typically uses 10-15 models. Adding new things means design problems - the risk of power creep, and making older models irrelevant. Or invalidating the older units and phasing them out of game completely, which will also get the people pissed. You can't have everyone satisfied. Ever. Simply a fact of reality. I've seen games based on the power creep being, essentially, the design feature (forgive me not recalling the name, it used early WizKids Heroclix concept. The first one of them was some kind of fantasy). They didn't fare good enough - I haven't seen it around for about 20 years... It is a fine line to walk. And CB have to be able to walk it, if they want to stay in business.
I think this has been stated a lot, but it's worth restating. There are a lot of redundant and/or outmoded units in the game right now. List building for most factions, while not 'solved,' feels pretty constrained right now. This problem is the worst in vanillas, but just going through lets say Ramah, how often do you see Janissaries, Hortlaks, Al Fasid, Naffatun, Khawarij, Wild Bill, Hakims, or Tarik? That's even leaving out units that are contentious at best, like the Shakush, Maggie, Yara and Rouhani. Most even vaguely optimized Ramah lists are gonna be based around the Ghulam-Zhayedan core, feature a Mukhtar MSV2 Red Fury, have a Beasthunter, Carmen and Batard and maybe a Nahab or Namurr. So much of the roster is complete dead weight.
As someone who has played RTF for the last year, I have to disagree, for three reasons: 1. When people talk about lists, they tend to forget that many factions have to tailor their lists to the mission lineup. I just played a Janissary Doctor+Al Fasid+Hortlak sniper Haris last week, and to great success – in Frostbyte. Defeated vanilla Nomads, with the Al Fasid shooting a Gator all the way to dead with his B4 HRL. Because while those units might not be picked in any other mission, they're perfect for Frostbyte. As for some of the other units mentioned: Yara Haddad has been a staple in my lists, because RTF doesn't have a lot of AP weapons, and she's affordable as well as packing MSV2. And once you bring Yara, you suddenly start considering Rahman Rouhani as a third member of your Haris, because he's a cheaper yet similarly efficient doctor than the Mukthar. 2. Not every model has to be viable on a competitive level to be fun: I agree with you insofar that there are indeed a few profiles I have never picked so far, but those are only the Naffatun and Hakim. I still think that every unit on your list, while not the most optimized, makes for good fluff additions from time to time if you don't play Infinity exclusively on a competitive level (which, btw, many people don't do! Not everyone is a hardcore competitive player, as much as some people want to make you believe). Wild Bill, Khawarij, Tarik Mansuri, and the Shakush have all made it into my lists, and there's a player in my local meta who only plays two Maggies when he plays RTF. 3. The whole "solved" discussion I think only pertains to the highest competitive levels. Everywhere else it's a matter of personal choice if you want to follow the accepted "meta" for a faction or just go and play what you like anyway. Infinity, after all, is still a game where 95% of your success on the table comes down to player skill, deployment, table setup, and luck – not mechanical strength.
I get what you are saying, but I'd argue that list construction is a significant skill and factor in a competitive context, and that while the casual/narrative experience is worth considering, I think CB has encouraged the community to view the game from a primarily competitive lens. Outside of the yearly narrative community campaigns, CB structures infinity around the competitive scene. It mostly promotes competitive events through the satellite system and interplanetario (at least historically for the former), and structures the most regular updates to the game through ITS seasons. In their studio updates every now and then, they will take an overview of the current ELO standings and congratulated the players on the top, and talk about upcoming competitive events. It's not a Super Smash Bros Melee situation where the competitive community has coopted the game, I think it's fair to say that CB most actively promotes infinity as a competitive game. Based on that, I think it's fair to ask that CB dedicates more effort to rules fixes and balance changes. Tbf, they've even done that in the past every now and then, with stuff like the Avatar and Imetron nerf a few years ago. But the overall state of the game has felt pretty stagnant for a while now. I think it's fair to say that from a competitive pov, the game would massively benefit from a shakeup. If Think Big is just some TAG resculpts and maybe a sectorial update, it's gonna be nice for sure but I'm not gonna be that excited to be honest. I'm hoping it's something more comprehensive and wider reaching than that.
I rather like resculpts and re-releases of older models. The collectors and hobbyists will buy them just to own and paint (i know I will, if they keep up the scuplting quality, especially if they look better than the old versions!), and there is no associated SKU or rules bloat. That being said, I don't mind a proliferation of profiles either. The factions are already close enought to each other, and there is already enough profile overlap within the factions, to make ones choices more about style than absolute substance. So, as long as the logistics can manage it, I'd be happy to see, say, a completely new species of alien on the other side of the Digester-induced Wormholes...
Kaplan Box is a new Box, right? There is an old N2 Box and that new one including the Kaplan Spitfire
Depends on faction and mission to an extent; I'd give almost anything in my Nomads a try due to their versatility and passable internal balance, but it'd be a hard sell getting me to bring anything but a Daoying for my YJ LT outside of pure fluff, and only my irrational hatred of auto-take Characters keeps me from reaching for Shona in my NCA whenever an objective requires CC. Outside those cases where design constraints can cripple your scoring or combat matchup, I definitely agree that player skill and luck are far bigger factors than fine balancing. As for my wild speculation... Joan is a safe bet. Can never have too many Joans of Arc.
I am assuming we will get a broader picture of what we can expect to come down the pipeline after GenCon. To some degree I feel like we were so caught up in their push to release CodeOne products that the release schedule became expected to be more predictable, and we may be moving back to how things had been prior. However, unless it is tied to a big convention release, I think it may be more difficult for them to create smaller surprises, (such as the announcement of the Tunguska sectorial starter), because most factions have all their sectorials already, (the Haqq Khanate being an exception). Hopefully, they will be able to take this time and revitalize some of the armies that have been discontinued with new sculpts and redesigned army lists, without it needing to be released in an convention released Army pack. as far as wish list: I would like a new Sogarat. I only want to see a Rem Racer if it is based off of Daal.
Some hopeful wishes for my main factions: Pan O - Nokken Combi - Boyg MK12 (its hard to convert especialy when you painted the ML already and I don´t want to prox MK12 with ML) - Crusader BSG or new (MO lacks affordabel jumpers ... speaking of jumpers SWF is missing them complety, I still hope for a Valkyrie themed unit with combat jump). Yu Jing - Liu MR (and or Spitfire) - Daofai Hacker - Jujak BSG (we need a specialist and I don´t see it in your list either) - Hac Tao ML would be a thing (now that you can not buy the other load outs alone) - Heatea HRL because I made a convertion already ... - Dokkaebi MK12 ! come on, we need a second sculpt - this time try to make it female ;-) - Sun Tze - how can it be that he has only 3 sculpts and one is from the stone age of Infinity - this time try to ... and last but not least: Rework ISS complete with new box, lim. ed. stuff etc. Nomads are fine - I would miss a Evader with MR and or BSG (here are the mines) and Iggy need not only a new sculpt but has a dire need of fresh rules. Edith: Fun fact - CB just showed Iggy on Insta with a text saying something like "charismatic TAG" - so they basicaly make promotion for a old und unsatisfiying ruleset, with a TAG that is overshined from the Gator in alomst every aspect. Aleph - Daysus are very likley - they changed with Reinforcments and the combis are gone. Teucer, Draikos and Asura SF please!
Much of their release, when and what, usually make no sense to me. They are not as likely to come out with new stuff for factions that don’t sells well. I’m not sure what those are but I think Yu Jing and Haqqislam, because they have been on the losing end of new figures for a few years now. YJ is currently near the bottom of new figures this year with only 3. If it wasn’t for REF figures, Haqqislam would be at 3 for the year as well. We already know not much is coming out at Adepticon. 2 TAGs is all we know. I think we’d have some info if there was more. Due to the new JSA TAG, I’m going to guess there’s going to be some sort of box set for them. I don’t know if new things or re-sculpts. They need to do this while JSA is still in customers minds. If they are smart, they make some of those new JSA available to other NA2 forces as well (Ikari, Druze). JSA is a good seller for CB and they have not capitalized on that. 2020-2023 Total new figures Combined Army: 76 Nomads: 76 PanO: 55 O-12: 51 Ariadna: 42 Aleph: 38 Yu Jing: 37 Haqqislam: 23 2020-2023 Total new figures per year. 2023: 129 2022: 91 2021: 112 2020: 103
Corvus can't sell the same units time and again, even with new sculpts. Thus, I can see three paths forward: 1) new units in the same factions. This leads to either too specialized units everywhere, forcing extreme engineering to bring what you may need to the table (currently almost impossible to manage), or power creep with units that are, essentially, cannibalizing their existence spot from older units that offer less for more, which is the same as retiring the old models into a Legends booklet. 2) new factions with new units, running into the wall of having a soul, and not being just stand-ins for tropes. Also, it's a short term solution, since the rithm of releases (unless it goes down with Warcrow) would mean a year devoted to a single faction would fill all the slots and then some. 3) New game modes with more units on the table. This would require a less granular approach (I mean, no more than 3-4 skills per model, kinda going to the One Page Rules direction), and somehow balance the game for more than 300-400pts (possibly with double 5-man core, all units running as duos at least, etc...) but would allow for more sculpts of the same unit, so... A lot of the factions have been getting the "shape" for more than 10 years of a core LI, core HI, core MI, TAG, 1-2 warbands, 1-2 infiltrators, 1-2 parachutists/AD, and 1-2 heroes, at least. Lately we've seen this "minimun composition list for a faction" increased to a S5 troop, S6 TAG, etc..., so it's inevitable to see so many units as dead weight in the Army, specially since the lists get tailored for the missions, and older units seem completely disconnected from the missions in the current ITS'. Personally, I've been advocating for a culling from Vanillas, removing the "suboptimized" duplicities (for example, Nomads losing access to Securitates and Moderators in vanilla) in order to make the listbuilding a little more agile, and less daunting for newer players. No competitive scene would mean real obscurity for Infinity, games without competitive scene have a much harder time getting new people. So yeah, narrative is nice and dandy, but designing a game around that would be something more like an RPG. Like the old D&D 3.0 miniatures game. Just a note there, there is no difference between a character and a troop you will deploy just the one with that loadout... (so your Daojing could have a Name and Title, for example...), this is quite obvious in ASS, with so many weapons being exclusive to a character. Like any other company, they mix "sure success" with "blind attempt" all the time, but I agree their tempo is weird. Somehow I can see them following on certain GW's steps, while at the same time they do their own thing and other stanger movements (some more than likely caused by Spain's worker laws), but I think the most obvious problem until this year has been their unwillingness to accept that their designs of the game do not necessarily survive contact with the customers (reinforcements being such an incredible example they had to backpedal on several parts of it), which I think is good progress, since not even Apple can direct their customers all the time.
