Editing Infinity (wargame) (section)

=Hobby stuff=

'''Community'''
<br>
The biggest difference between Infinity and [[Warhammer 40K|certain other futuristic wargames]] can be boiled down to the outlook of the game's producers. Corvus Belli is refreshingly community focused, publishing its core rules online in the form of a wiki as well as an army builder that can be used for free on the web and as a downloadable app. Additionally, CB is very liberal with respects to forging relationships with third party suppliers for terrain and other items, though the advent of 3D printing might be a strain. They recently released a board game set in the same universe and it is surprisingly awesome, [[Aristeia]]. For good or ill, some of the Aristeia characters can be used in Infinity proper, though are only available in that game and its expansions.

'''Cost'''
<br>
Like most tabletop miniature games, Infinity is not "cheap," but it's cheaper than a lot of games because of its small scale. Some of the large snazzy models such as the [[TAG| Tactical Armored Gear (TAG)]], can get quite pricey $ wise (pushing $40-50), but TAGs are about 80 points each in a system where 300 points is a normal game. Each infantry model costs around $9-15, but some infantry models can be worth 40+ points depending on the model’s stats, weaponry and equipment. All factions and many sectorials have starter packs for ~$50 that have the models to play 150 point games (generally regarded as the smallest you can feasibly play but also perfect for beginners).

One big downside Infinity has is the game is dependent on proxies to build a large army. There are units that have been in the army builder for years and have never been released as a model, and even some flavors of existing models that have never seen the light of day - meaning that Nomad Hellcat Paramedic you have in your list is going to have to be a proxy. Tying into this are that the unit boxes the game has being rather terrible value depending on what you're looking for - a box may for example have a dude with a Combi Rifle, two special weapons, and a hacker version, when all you want is the guy with the Combi Rifle - and you have three of them in your list. There are entire ''units'' that need a box purchase because they've never been released as blisters at all (see the mini rant under Mercenaries). 
Another cost factor is the amount of terrain required to make the most of Infinity's high-verticality system. DIY terrain builders can get it done cheaper, but that requires another skill set and more time.

Corvus Belli has also recently started releasing more and more "special edition" sets. Limited sets to complete army boxes, more Dire Foes, Aristeia box sets that have Infinity units in them that you can only get in Aristeia... and more worryingly, the Kickstarter they ran for a board game, Infinity: Defiance. This added a mess of new characters to the core game that you can only get by backing (or buying, when available) Defiance. The problem is, some of these characters are resculpts, some are sculpts that already exist, and most are entirely unique, not to mention any Kickstarter exclusive models that may represent a character who you can field but have yet to get a general release. Time will tell if they eventually make proper blisters of these characters, but considering how many things they've been discontinuing lately, the future looks grim.

'''Scale'''
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Infinity is a skirmish game about operatives operating operationally, so each side consists of approximately 6-15 models. 150 and 200 points are standard for small games, 250 and 300 points are standard for... standard games, and 400 points is standard for large games. Battlefields are fairly terrain dense due to the Automatic Reaction Order rule. Since this is a sci-fi game, there are no unit coherency rules (radio is a marvelous invention) unless you are running a sectorial specific fireteam and even then, it is eight inches from the leader. Models can freely climb buildings (if there is a second/third floor), snipe out of windows, flank the opponent, etc. The game follows a fairly strict "if you can see me, I can see you" policy on LoS, but only within the model's vision cone, which is a hemisphere around the model's front for most models.

'''Models & Sculpts'''
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The models in Infinity are top-notch sculpts, highly detailed and heavily stylized, however age is catching up on some of the older models - compare an Aridna Line Kazak to a USAR Grunt for example. Everything has a sleek "iPod future" feel to it, to the point that Infinity is often accused of being [[Tau|anime.]] Infantry is broken down into three classifications, light, medium, and heavy infantry. There are two other minor categories for infantry, Warband and Skirmisher, but Warbands are basically medium/heavy infantry that like melee combat and assault tactics while Skirmishers are various kinds of specialized light infantry scouts with some extra options (mines, hacking or sniping etc) or less commonly expensive stealth experts. Unlike the familiar 40K and PP miniatures, infantry are sleek and slender, and rarely extend far from the base's footprint, notably NOT using Heroic Scale (enlarged head, hands, and feet to give a sense of being bigger than a thing is).