Exclusive Interplanetario Sneak Peek, Part One

The Data Sphere team has managed to send some infiltrators over to the biggest Infinity event of the year, the Interplanetario. Taking place between August 26 – 28 and organized by the Ezbosos Association in Vigo together with Corvus Belli, it was a chance for the game’s fans to immerse themselves in the world of Infinity, attending contests, round-tables and exhibitions. We shouldn’t forget about the biggest tournament of the year, either! 100 players from various locales competed for the title of the interplanetary champion.

You might have already seen the information coming out from Bostria’s seminar held on the site, or from the presentation held on the Infinity manga. We don’t want to repeat that here. Instead, we asked our infiltrator, Jan, to present some questions to Gutier “Interruptor” Lusquinos and we got some interesting and exclusive answers!

Due to the amount of questions that we had, we decided to split the article into three parts. The first part, concentrating on the Tohaa, Morat and Svalarheima background, is what you are reading now. The second part, talking about all the other factions with a specific focus on ALEPH can be found on my blog, where I normally share my Infinity travels in Central Europe. The last part, with mechanics and other questions, can be found on Jan’s blog, where he shares his irregular podcast.

The interview has been conducted during a private meeting with Gutier. This information is coming straight from the creator of Inifnity himself – hence the little chaotic structure of the post. Without further ado, here’s the material ( you didn’t know) you were waiting for!

How many are the Tohaa in comparison to the Sygmaa?
There are less Sygmaa than there are Tohaa. Those Tohaa Colonies conquered by the EI constitute around 25% of the total amount. There’s active war going on in those systems.

Are the Sygmaa a terrorist group within the Tohaa?
Most of the Sygmaa citizens feel no hatred for the EI. They are happy to have been incorporated into the empire run by the Ur Rationalists. Their people are living in the same way as before, there’s peace. Some small things have changed, but day-to-day activities remain the same. After such a long and, it seems, pointless struggle and loss of life, the Tohaa annexed by the EI feel betrayed. The Tohaa government made the EI look like a menace bent on the destruction of the Tohaa race. However, in Sygmaa territories, there’s no genocide, there are no ghettos. This is not World War II in Europe. Most people are not interested in any political action, they just carry on with their lives. There are however, Tohaa freedom fighter cells, constituted by covert Tohaa operators. The Tohaa Trygon are indeed operating within EI controlled territories.
Is it also a religious/philosophical struggle for the Tohaa?
There’s only one EI and there’s a given number of other alien civilisations within the Combined Army. The sacred number three is not visible in any pattern within the EI. One of the reasons the Tohaa rejected the proposal of the Ur Rationalists was because the idea of a single entity ruling over entities was alien to them. It was also important for them to keep their independence because they are a Herald race.

Is the Tohaa/EI war a guerilla war or a full scale invasion?
It depends on the system in question. In some places, where the EI has managed to establish a foothold, it is more of a regular war of attrittion between the two factions. There are some places where traversing the wormhole is easy and those will be under constant EI siege. In other places, like in Paradiso, the wormhole is unstable and so the EI uses guerilla tactics and infiltrators instead.

Does the EI use WMDs? It’s a war for survival between two species, so the question of ethics disappears in the background…
It’s not about ethics, it’s about how smart you are. Evolved Intelligence is, as the name suggests, Intelligent. It wants people and resources and that’s one of the reasons the CA don’t use weapons of mass destruction. It would probably be easy for the EI to completely conquer a place using brutal force, but that’s not what it aims to do. The EI does not want to control a barren wasteland, it wants a place that will contribute to the empire.

What’s the origin of the Tzechi Digesters?
They were at first only a footnote in the EI History, but the designers really liked the idea and developed it further with Campaign: Paradiso and the Tohaa background.
Would there be a sectorial that mixes Tohaa and Sygmaa units for either CA or the Tohaa?
Not planned at the moment. Within CA we have to work on the Shasvastii now, but maybe in the future? A Trygon resistance sectorial? Definitely something to keep in mind for the far future.

What does a Demarok look like?
A predator coming from the Morat home planet, they are so big you actually need a Raicho to fight them. Some Raicho regiments, especially those stationed on the Morat home planet, are expected to hunt down a Demarok in order to get their spurs. The beast itself is a little feline in appearance, but their exact outlook has not been designed yet.

Are Morat units gender-segregated?
Most of them yes, as the Morat society is a class- and gender-segregated society. They believe in the physical power and performing to the best of one’s ability, and males are simply stronger. There are mixed regiments that we haven’t seen yet, but most of them are indeed gender-segregated. Moreover, Morats, as a sectorial, were never created to have a Camo infiltrator within their ranks. They are a direct force. There are certain gaps in some Sectorial armies that will never be filled.

Regarding Svalarheima – are they coming out in Acheron Falls? Acheron Falls is a working title, by the way. This is the fault of Bostria who kept on using our internal working title in outside communications. The book will focus on different types of scenarios than Paradiso – Paradiso tells the story of grand battles within an urban environment. Acheron Falls will return to the Infinity root of clandestine operations performed under the radar. We will focus back on hyperpowers fighting each other in shady circumstances. Fusiliers are still going to be the main Line Infantry of the Sectorial. We might make the Svalarheima Fusiliers look a little different from their regular counterparts, providing them with equipment to make them match with the rest of the Force (Nisse, Orcs etc). Conversion packs would also be a good idea and Gutier always wanted to have such a product available because it allows the players to create more unique armies. Unfortunately, the company would have to improve its production line in order to provide such a product. That’s why we prefer to release an arm with a weapon instead of just a weapon. We would rather provide you with a new Fusiliers box, designed to be played within the Svalerheima sectorial, so you don’t have to pay more (buying the Fusiliers box and the conversion pack) to get the same product as, let’s say, NCA players. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time in the release schedule to even provide releases every month for all our armies, that’s why conversion packs don’t seem very probable right now.
Will Svalarheima have access to Knights Hospitalliers?
Of course. They are, after all, based on the planet.

What else should we expect for Svalarheima?
Apart from Nisses, Jotums and the Knights? I can’t tell you anything else at this point.

Will we see more Knightly Orders for PanOceania, such as the Livonian Order of the Sword? Looking at the minor orders, we already have the Order of Dobrzyń within the Teutonic Order and the Poles complained about that because Teutons were historically invaders of Poland. I’m not too sure about other Orders. We have to stop designing new things for the Military Orders and focus on other aspects of PanOceania. There are some more units we would want to see within the Orders, but they will not be released in the near future.

Continued here…