Beasts of War hosted a live chat this morning (their Friday evening) with Carlos (Bostria) and Gutier (Interruptor) from Corvus Belli. They fielded all manner of questions regarding Infinity: The Game, and I cleaned up the transcript and have the juicy bits for you here! Tell your friends!
Q:
Why were specific cultures chosen over others for the various factions
(ancient Greece versus Rome in the case of Aleph)? And will we possibly
be seeing some other cultures in the future?
interruptor: OKs, to to the question related to specific cultures,
we choose those who has some link with related factions (Hindu for
ALEPH as India is a growing up power in informatics and part of
PanOceania; Greece before Rome, because Roman Myths are a copy of Greek
ones, so its was preferable to take the original, for example.
interruptor: About new cultures, at the moment, we have not
planned to add more , we'll keep to the ones we have for the sectorials
we still have to develop
Q:I
would like to know which fictions have been the most inspirational in
the creation process of the setting I mean books, comic-books, films, tv
shows, mythology sagas.
interruptor: Inspirations for Infinity are a lot
of them. Apart of the evident Masamune Shirow, we also have been
influenced by euromanga artists like Trankat. In literature, Dan Simmons
was an important influence for the staff at the beginning, but for me,
British authors like Alastair Reynolds or Ian Banks have been very
important
Q: what has been your experience of using a 3D printed master versus one that has been sculpted by hand?
Bostria: What we can say is that the key point
for being able to produce 3D models was to integrate the 3D printed
models in our actual production system. We tried many different ways in
order to being able to make Master Moudls with 3D printed models and
obtain the first Metal Master Copies of those models.
The main problem was that the 3D printed pieces usually got stick into the mould and brake during the process.
Finally... it was by using a few drops of dishwasher in the moudl what
avoid the sticking problem, and the 3D printed pieces were easily
removable from the master mould.
Q: Which faction/ mini have you enjoyed working on the most and which one is your personal favourite?
bostria: My favourtie miniature is the "112 Emergency Service" from the Ariadna Army. My favourtie army is Yu Jing.
interruptor: Personal favourite faction? All of them! 
Please
realize all are my little children. There are some that required more
effort, like the Combined Army due the difficult to create "alien"
cultures, and Haqqislam, which required a lot of documentation, and to
be careful to create an attractive faction in a moment in which Muslim
culture was not very popular...
Q: why are females in Infinity so sexualised ?"
bostria: Let me give you an answer.
At some point we made an amazing discovery: "sexy chics sell lots of
blisters" We spend months thinking why, oh why? but we couldn't find an
answer.
IMHO while many big companies are still not delivering true scale
attractive female models that is a commercial gap that other humble
companies with good sculptors can take advantage from.
Q: Will Americans or Canadians get models of them in this dark future?
bostria: USARIADNA is the obvious answer
to this question. in the future when a new book delivers the new
sectorial armies there will be an american themed sectorial army that is
creating a huge anticpation these days.
I just hope we can deliver extremely awesome miniatures for them in order to fullfill the expectations.
Q: Are there a set number of factions? If so have we seen them all already? How many sectorials are planned for each faction?
bostria:We have 8 factions right now: PanOceania, Yu Jing, Ariadna, Haqqislam, Nomads, Combined Army, ALEPH, Tohaa
In the future O-12 and mercenaries will also become factions on their own.
Also, we expect to deliver 2 sectorial armies for each faction in the future.
Q: Will future books follow the art style of Human Sphere or the Paradiso Campaign book?
interruptor: About the art style of future books, just wait and see the upcoming Artbook One to have a clue about future art 
bostria: I think that the answer is going
to be "more like Human Sphere", the only reason I can give you for this
is because Chuck Pires, the artists who made 80% of the Pin ups from the
Human Spehere books is again making lot of artwork for us.
But we will keep with the horizontal small speed paintings fron enviromental descriptions. we like those very very much.
Q: Will there ever be plans for either a TAGs VS TAGs minigame featuring a more detailed TAG combat system?
interruptor: We really would like to release a minigame of
combat TAGs, but at the moment, we have not scheduled that,
unfortunately I must say, but we have not time and company resources
enough to face that
Q: the designs of the differing proxy mk bodies of the Posthumans, what was the thought process here?
also why where certain Homeridae chosen over others, for example why more Argives than Trojans?
interruptor :Why Argives and less Trojans amongst
the Homeridae? As the Homeridae are Recreations, the Argives will feel a
little bit uncomfortable with Trojans besides them as they still
remember” those characters as enemies But I’m not saying there will not be any Recreation of a Trojan hero, but at the moment we keep with Argives.
About the process of creation the Posthuman’s Proxies, you will be
able to take a look to that in the upcoming Infinity Artbook One!
Q: Were the Antipodes a biological weapon employed by the Tohaa on Planet Dawn?
interruptor: It seems the Antipodes were in Dawn planet before the
arrival of Tohaa, but those were intelligent to not deal with them
Q: I know that the topic of design decisions is a bit of a
sensitive/annoying one, but I'm very curious to know how you guys saw
Ariadna competing (in Paradiso) against armies that had helper
synch-bots and a wide variety of hacker choices (in addition to Engineer
choices) available to them? I'm doing well in our local campaign, but I
find that my opponents always start with the upper hand because they
have so many options to take objectives. I'd love to hear your thoughts
on how you feel that this particular faction would keep up with the
others.
bostria: I can tell that by the end of the year Ariadna
will have some additions that will be helpful for them regardign
objectives
Q: Have you ever thought of expanding the Infinity
Univrese onto board or cardgames? OR have you ever been approached by
video game makers for licensing?
bostria: we have been aproached bby different videogame
companies, but it seems that making an Infinity video game requieres
something more than enthusiasm, is a complex task that requieres serius
financing investment. Green light for a n Infinity videogame requires
many factors to happen.
Q: If there will be an Indian Sectoral for Aleph, will there be any Indian Heroes recreated for it?
interruptor: We'll keep with the Hindu and Vedic references in
ALEPH, but not necessarily deeping too much in that, maybe some hero,
but not necessarily a Recreation (As Achilles is for example)
Q: The next book will have
two new sectorial armies per faction... Really??? I mean also for ALEPH
and Tohaa??
bostria: @jehuty two sectorials armies per faction is our objective for the books that expands the factions, yes.
Q: on the box set treatment: is it an "exclusive" for
link-team able troop profiles, or it can be a viable solution for AVA 4+
guys? specifically, we'll see a Chasseur box, or is a blister a more
sound solution?
(that question could also work in the Intruder case!)
bostria: By now we will stick to the 4 figure box for
those units that can make fireteams and Warbands. we are not completely
sure if people would buy a 4 figure box of Hellcats because, as you may
know, is unlikely to see someone using 4 hellcats in the same battle.
interruptor: Boxed set are planned mainly for those
troops who can link or work together (as Support Packs), but it's more
difficult to release for single action models as infiltrators...
Q: Is the
new Anaconda TAG Nomad in origin? and What armies will be able to field
it?
interruptor: Yes, the Anaconda is Nomad in
origin, but being a Mercenary this doesn't mean it can be enlisted by
Nomad Sectorials...
Q: What's the reason for the changes in combi rifle designs for Nomads?
bostria: @flipswitch the new 3D modelling miniatures, and the
Iguana design were the starting points for thinking about a redesign of
the new nomad weaposn. plus, we were also no completely satisfied with
the re-size of the classic nomad weapons.
Q: Is the art book purely art or does it have descriptions
for things? Are there any plans for novels or other stories to explore
the background/universe?
interruptor: You'll find a brief intro to each faction
and the main lines of designing of all of them. Plus a sample text of
background of the unit you are seeing, but if you have the books, those
info it's not new (except of those models which are not in the previous
books, of course)
bostria: the artbook goes like this for every faction:
Page 1 New Cover for the faction
Page 2 Speed painting and a brief faction text
Page 3 concept artwork process
Page 4 Pin up of final art of the design
... That is repeated 4 more times and the last concept design process has 3 pages instead of 1.
Q: pin-up, you say? Do you mean pin-up in the style of the new Anaconda art, or just a larger picture of something?
bostria: when I mean Pin up I mean full figure full color
no background made by chuck Pires, final artwork, not just concept
design.
Q: We will see a new design of the Croc men like we have seen in the Hac Tao?
bostria: @arhaim No plans for a new crocman dossier by now.
(Tom: BOOOOOOO!!!!)
Q: What will be the first Bootleg miniatures to release?
Q: Is there any same plans for
any of the other weapons? I know a lot of people dislike the PanO combi
rifles for example, but they look a lot better scaled down than the
older ones.
bostria: @flipswitch redesigning PanO their weapons or their
fusiliers... will happen at some point in the future, but if we get into
redesigning such important miniatures... we would prefer to have a
fluff reason to do so, instead of doing it any given Tuesday. so, lets
wait for the right moment for getting into that.
Q: What can we expect from future CA sectorials? Exrah? EI?
bostria: the future of the Combined Army is
intentionally a mystery. Things will happen and reinforcements will
come. But we prefer not to reveal anything because it has to be
something dramatically BIG
interruptor: Seeds of what will happen with CA are placed in Campaing Paradiso
Q: I heard the the bootleg
miniatures would be more display pieces with scenery and parts is this
true?
interruptor: The most of the 1st wave of Bootleg have display bases, but that's not compulsory on this rang
Q: I want some Civilians! Tons of people I can put on the streets.
bostria: that is a good idea and fit in the
Bootleg line of miniatures that respect the fluff but are not necessary
for playing.
Q: any news on an Aleph OSS sectorial? Or is that coming soon too?
interruptor: @turtleyawesome.At the moment, we're more focused on
the Assault Subsection, and the OSS will be closer to the release of the
next expansion, so not soon, sorry.
Q: In terms of concept design, how many
concepts/iterations of design do you typically go through in the design
of a unit or character?
bostria: @marcoskoll It differs depending on wich design.
sometimes a troop comes from the 1st sketch like the Kaplan... sometimes
a troop comes after months of rejected sketches like the Lasiq.
What I can tell you is that the design process of a TAG is usually Looooong
Q: what about sectorial specific Spec-Ops models? are they
possible or, if anything, we'll see something similar in the Bootleg
range...?
interruptor: @ademaru. You'll see more specific Spec-Ops, but the
expansion of these kind of model will depend on the feedback from the
player community
bostria: You will all have more spec-ops don't worry
Q: I have noticed myself, and read on the internet too from
other peoples experience, that Tohaa can be very difficult to paint. Are
you worried this will affect the sales?
interruptor: Tohaa models are highly detailed, but the
painter is not forced to paint everything is on the model. We want to
release high quality model, that cannot affect the sales, on the
contrary!
Q: Are there any plans for more scenario based books, or even stand alone official missions to play?
bostria: Yes, there are plans for more missions. You
will get information and visual support of that stuff later in this year
Q: Are the Riot Grrls an answer or wink to the sexual objectification discussions in the forums?"
bostria: @ademaru No, Riot grrls are not an answer to any forum
chat, We made the Riot Grrls because in Bakunin there are Riot Grrls,
they exist there.
Q: I would love to get my hands on a moderator detective/investigator!
interruptor: A Moderator Investigator-detective? Me too!
Q: will there be a new TAG for ALEPH in the scheduled new sectorials??
interruptor: Not by the moment for the Steel Phalanx, but
for upcoming ALEPH Sectorials I'm sure you'll see more TAGmania
Q: Will the artbook include art of miniatures not yet released?
bostria: yes, the Iguana, the seraph, the Geckos... I guess that there are more... let me check...
Q: and Art of miniatures that have no profile yet ?
bostria: that will happen later in the year, but I cannot reveal more
Q: What other conventions besides GenCon will CB be attending this year?
bostria: this year we will support the NOVA Open, The
Feasts of Baldes Event, One Valhalla weekend from BBlueTablePainting...
the Vigo tournament... and there is somethin HUGE coming for TableTop
Nation in October
(Tom: My guess is this will also be the LAST year they go to the NOVA Open...)
Q: In the future Morat starter, should we expect resculpts
of older models (Vanguards, Suryats) that are more in line with the
armor design of the Treitak?
interruptor: We want a more brutish look for the Morats, getting them bulkier and menaceful
bostria: About Morats... I have Fausto right next to me and he is making the most awesome Morat figure I've ever seen.
Q: If I may ask, what kind of visual style can we expect from the Tunguska Sectorial?
interruptor: Tunguska is The Money for Nomads, so high-tech style would be a characteristic of its Sectorial
Q: how much of the design process is driven by
the artwork and how much by the sculptors and how much by your design
team and you
bostria: design process... at the beginning of
INFINITY the sculptors had more freedom and final word when it comes to
design, but with the years we've learned to make better working method
in ordor to have more control over the miniatures for having better
results. Right now the miniatures are more similar to the designs than
ever
Q: To get back to my earlier question about concept
design, what sequence do things tend to happen in? Do background
concepts tend to precede visual design, or does cool imagery tend to
inspire unit descriptions?
bostria:
Step Zero- gutier fluff idea
First Step Troop profile from Gutier and previosuly tested and approved
second Step- concept design
Third Step- Gutier writes down the final fluff
Fourth step- Sculpt
Q: Interesting. So there's a fairly strict progression of how things are created, regardless of unit type?
interruptor: The most of the troops start as an Army
List need (This army needs a Medium Infantry with MSVL2, for example)
from that point the process is what Bostria pointed. But in the origin
is the game and army balance, awesomeness comes later
Q: So you look at
an army's particular need first, and then find/create the unit to match?
How do you go about integrating historical references into the game
(i.e. Minuteman, Briscard, etc.)? Are any of you big history buffs?
interruptor: @penemue. Well, I have a History of Art university
degree, so you can imagine it is natural to me to look after historical
references. It is not always easy, but always interesting to me
Q: In which speciality will be the Varuna sectorial focused on? Camo, assault, deployment?
interruptor: Varuna was conceived as the Quick Reaction
Force, but we're still testing it, so I cannot assure you the final
result
Q: Do you know what programs your artists use to
produce these wonderful pieces of art, I am assuming that the artists
work digatlly, am I correct in thinking that?
bostria: 80% of our sculpt are traditionally mad by
hand, by Pedro fernandez, Jose Lis Roig and Carlos Torres, and also
Fernando liste back in the days. by now we have 2 3D sculptors Fausto and
Javier Ureña , they are both relativity new to CB and have made the most
recent TAGs. about software used by 3dsculptors mostly
"ZBRUSH" About software used by artists "Photoshp" and "Painter"
Q: Have you found that with the constant
improvements in sculpting and art etc that you have even more freedom to
explore your imagination, or has it put pressure on you to come up with
even greater ideas?
interruptor: We never have artistic limitations, only
production ones, that's one of the reasons we have not large vehicles
for example. But our sculptors always have fulfill the expectations,
maybe now with 3D have more freedom in the production area, but on the
artistic area we still be the same crazy guys as always
Q: What do you really think of your crazy fan base?
bostria: I think we are ALL a bit crazy. the thing
is.... everybody want this to happen, we are just delivering something
that people wants. This enthusiasm from people from greec, from the USA,
from UK, from Spain... is what makes things happen.
Q: if there is going to be a revamp of the Tiger Soldiers?"
bostria: Tiger Soldiers are ESSENTIAL, they will get
their moment, and that will require 100% of our attention, time, efforts
and awesomesauce
Q: ny news on structure
of the Mercenaries as a separate faction? Different companies etc?
interruptor: @ianjw. Yes, in the future different with specific
army list Mercenary Companies will be released, some of them have been
mentioned in previous books...
Q: what can we expect from Brigadier Jacque Bruant? I'm really intrigued by this character...
bostria: Jean Reno
Q: hmm, wasn't there supposed to be some sort of comic series?
bostria: the whole project of the Comic is being delivered
by a french company full of Infinity enthusiast with great contact in the
french comic scene. we trust them very much.
Q: Can you share any teasers about Caliphate? Specifically Khawarijs
bostria: Khawarijs, will make fireteams with Tarik
mansuri, will have access to new weapons and they will be the less
powerful unit compared to the rest of the caliphate
super-bio-enginegered soldiers
Q: how powerful could Caliphate
super-bio-engineered soldiers get? Are we talking Ajax/Achilles level?
I'm highly intrigued to see them!
bostria: Ajax is a retarded gorilla compared to the excellence of the Mukhtar and Numair units
Q: Which anime/manga are you currently watching/reading? Any favorites?
interruptor: At this moment I'm just reading 2 manga
series: Billy Bat and Master Keaton both from Urasawa. Not sci-fi but
both interesting seinen manga
Q: Are there any plans to expand the game setting at all with novels and the like? even if in digital formats?
bostria: the evolution of the Infinity universe
depends directly form the imagination of our friend Gutier Interruptor
here, he is the main head. And he writes the books, any writer who would
like to expand the universe has to OBEY him in a slave-mode level.
interruptor: Infinity novels must be a license, we
are not in the publishing business, that's a different area we are not
able to manage...
Q: Is there any thought in the studio towards a 3rd Edition
core rule book, that compiles all the clarifications from the Wiki,
Forums, etc?
interruptor: It's clear that, at some point a 3rd edition polishing rules
and adding some FAQs will be necessary to release, when? That's
something right now I cannot reply, but we 're always checking previous
and future rules, that's sure!
Q: Aproximately when do you think we could see the "acheron's fall" book?
bostria: approximately when Acheron actually falls....
Q: Will there be weapons packs avilable
seperatly? I hate not being able to equip my models with the weapons the
come with. Many hackers for example. Or better please include single
weapons to attach if you want to. I´d be mire then willing to pay for it
extra.
bostria: No, by now, the way to get extra pieces is through tournament pack, and spec ops blisters.
(Tom: The SpecOps models ARE their answer to weapons packs... And, since they are all derived from the Factions' basic troop profiles, you ALWAYS need more basic troops anyway!)
Q: So what will the basic Varuna troop be, then... Something we haven't seen yet? Cheaper (points) than Kamau?
bostria: Kamau fireteam is awesome, and fusiliers will be available too
Q: What are the plans for the tohaa sectorials if any?
interruptor: For the Tohaa, we're investigating
the possibilities of the pheromonic technology, and we also have the
Chaksa Sectorial, too.
Q: I'm right supposing that from now PanO will see a notable reduction
in new HIs, while YuJing will keep a steady flow of them? Needless to
say I'm putting high hopes on the Invincible Army sectorial.
bostria: now its time for the Yu jing HIs to have their own sectorial arrmy. the Invinicible army.
Q: any more plans for NeoTerran Sectorial?
bostria: @valthonis Neoterra will have reinformcements next year
Q: Or better, will there be Earth sectorial?
bostria: there were testing of the earth sectorial but we
decided to delay that until it has more "meaning" to the actual Infinity
universe. when Acheron actually falls....
Q: In terms of your overall direction, you've obviously
taken some unique approaches. What drew you to your particular balance
of following known quantities and attempting to carve out your own
particular niche - personal appeal or the growth of the business/game?
interruptor: It is a delicate balance between
personal appeals and company needs, after all we have the responsability
of support the salaries of all of us (we have families) but finally
personal appeals win more than the company, that's the reason you still
have money in your pockets!
Q: how many of your design
process and game design is influenced by your Spanish heritage and
culture and do you think it is has been a great being away from the
gaming centres of the UK and the USA?
interruptor: Being from the periphery allows to have
a different approach to mainstream things, that results refreshing as
we're not just copying what the great industry is making, and that's one
of our strong points (and our weakness, being from the USA is more
useful to go to events, to not depend on translations, etc.)
Q: a fluff question. Can the nomads ships travel in the worm holes whit out the circulars?
interruptor: I'm afraid not, Nomads depends on the
Circulars to travel. By that reason they always pay on time the O-12
taxes
Q: Is there
any chance the Antipode threat will be expanded on and with that any
possibility of an Antipode Faction?
bostria: never heard of an Antipode army, so I guess that is not going to happen.
interruptor: We are researching more Antipode troop
combinations but the possibility of an official Antipode Faction is a
hard one, sorry for that.
Q: can you give any insight
into the Gorgos design, currently we do not know it's look or base
size, and there are many discussion on the Tohaa forum with mixed to not
so great reactions to it
bostria: Gorgos will appear in the artbook
Interesting stuff, no doubt! Exciting times ahead for Infinity: The Game.
