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Game News Are you ready for a Mandate in space?

DarkUnderlord

Professional Throne Sitter
Staff Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2002
Messages
28,553
Tags: Perihelion Interactive; The Mandate

A new KickStarter is out, this time a Sci-Fi Space RPG type thing called Mandate:

As the captain on board a Mandate starship, you lead a crew through the galaxy who adapt and grow as they fight alongside you.



There are a lot of sci-fi RPGs out there, but we feel there’s something lacking. Being huge fans of the sci-fi genre, we wondered why spaceships feel so empty? What’s missing? Looking back to all the TV and Movies that inspired us, like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica or Firefly, we realised games are missing something integral: a crew. A ship without a crew feels hollow and meaningless, so we’ve taken space travel to the next level. The dangers of space should not only test your metal, but your flesh.

We wanted to make a game where you’re not a solid, singular object in a sky-box; you are a captain in an evolving, dynamic ship that hundreds of people call home. They adapt to you, and grow with you as you fight alongside them, and if you suffer losses, you’ll feel the loss that comes with that.

That’s where the drama is, that’s where the story happens, and it’s the interacting with people on the deck that makes this a complete experience.

We want to create a complete sci-fi RPG experience.​


You can play around and design your own ship with their online ship designer. The KickStarter ask is for $500,000 over 60 days which is a lot, although the team has some pedigree on games such as: Assassin's Creed 1&2, Mafia 2, Alan Wake, FarCry 2&3, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures,Call of Duty 3, Splinter Cell, Planet of the Apes, Saga of Ryzom, FIFA ONLINE, FarCry Evolution, Rainbow 6 Vegas, The Secret World and more.

None of which are RPGs... You can watch just the game concept trailer to see the direction they want to take game-play, which is space station upgrading, ship-to-ship combat and boarding parties fighting on a ship.

We also asked Ole, the game's Lead Designer what the RPG elements in the game are that you'll find:
  • Establish your ancestry and life-path in the prologue. Decisions made in the prologue will affect how the game plays out and your past may hunt you down
  • Create your own captain & decide what battle philosophies and schools of war to follow. Specialize in assault, engineering, drone or support doctrines
  • See your crew gain experience and promote them to officers, and induct your elite officers into your inner circle as starship captains, your Band of Brothers!
  • Engage in a long, branching storyline where your decisions influence the story, and the fate of your crew, your ship and ultimately the Mandate
  • Manage the micro-cosm of your ship; See events unfold onboard your ship and deal with them in your way. Your ship is more than just a piece of machinery - it has it's own life. Interact with crew, officers, prisoners and visiting dignitaries.
  • Approach the Articles of War your way! Be warned your conduct will affect your reputation among the other factions
  • You are the captain! Your word is law. Praise, scold, promote and decorate your crew. Honour the fallen. Conduct court martials and put saboteurs and rebels on trial for violating the Articles of War
  • Develop your corner of space the way you see fit, be loyal to the Empress, side with the rebels or become a notorious pirate! Conduct diplomatic negotiations with other factions, bribe, befriend or bully them to get your way!
  • Start with two empty hands and build up your power base. Expand your industrial might and establish science academies to gain the upper hand. Trade, seize or mine rare materials and construct mighty new flagships. Train elite shock infantry and field the latest latest sensor, shielding and weapons technologies.
Worth funding?
 

Rahdulan

Omnibus
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Oct 26, 2012
Messages
5,325
Their portfolio is all over the place. I guess it seems nice enough.
 

laclongquan

Arcane
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Jan 10, 2007
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1,870,184
Location
Searching for my kidnapped sister
Mandate of Heaven: you are leading your crew of dogooders to go civilizing the barbarians of the galaxy, spreading justice, democracy, and happiness all over the place. And if somebody stand in your way? Orbital Strikes!
If it sound sarcastic, it means to be..

Mandate of Man: Loot, treasure, sexy mates. Those are the things drive your band of merry pir... adventurers, yeah, adventurers wandering all over places, liberating the oppressed.

And for gods of indie's sake, put some updates of female officers, female pirates, cloth-torn slave girls up there. Dont you ever hear of Sex Sell concept?

That kind of hooks.
 

Grotesque

±¼ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Patron
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
9,405
Divinity: Original Sin Divinity: Original Sin 2
hearing that voice over was torture.
what saved this video was the last few seconds with some "gameplay" footage
 

SuicideBunny

(ノ ゜Д゜)ノ ︵ ┻━┻
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
8,943
Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Torment: Tides of Numenera
i doubt they'll make it but sure hope so because that sounds like something i would badly want to play.
 

Metro

Arcane
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Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
27,792
Did they pay for advertising here?

Anyway, this seems far too ambitious for a team of people spread all over the world and no experience on an actual RPG. And what's with these campaigns that don't reveal the names of people involved unless it's funded? Some kind of contractual thing? Ashamed to be tied to a losing campaign?
 
Last edited:

Commissar Draco

Codexia Comrade Colonel Commissar
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Insert Title Here Strap Yourselves In Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Divinity: Original Sin 2
What kind of Empire uses popamole star instead of :obviously: two headed eagle, premise is interesting would back if done by Russians/East Jewropeans who would guarantee less generic art direction, pc and childish setting cause For Empire lost in treachery and rebellion it looks too much let say optimist. :keepmyjewgold:
 

Lady_Error

█▓▒░ ░▒▓█
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This definitely sets a new low regarding the voice-over.
 

Chateaubryan

Cipher
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
369
Don't know. Curious for some things, but the very clunky narration (and I'm not only speaking of the voice acting) and the fact that almost half of the staff - and notably the writer - will be revealed AFTER the funding are very turnoffy.

Edit : DAT RAMMING SHIP.
 

S2ensuki

Learned
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
100
Yeah I would say this is a Kickstarter that did not do it's research properly.

Having said that, I do really like the premise, even if they mentioned "X COM" which I *think* is the new one?

I really liked the music though.

Previous games: Assassin's Creed 1&2, Mafia 2, Alan Wake, FarCry 2&3, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures,Call of Duty 3, Splinter Cell, Planet of the Apes, Saga of Ryzom, FIFA ONLINE, FarCry Evolution, Rainbow 6 Vegas, The Secret World

:retarded:

Splinter Cell was good if they mean Chaos Theory. and AC 1 was cool even though it was boring.

I'll put a pledge in, but I can always cancel it if it's going south.
 

Bulba

Learned
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Messages
518
their focus is all over the place.
So it's gona be x type space combat with base development and some sort of tactical combat inside the ship with crew managment and all being an rpg.
It will be all very shallow
 

Spectacle

Arcane
Patron
Joined
May 25, 2006
Messages
8,363
Did they pay for advertising here?

Anyway, this seems far too ambitious for a team of people spread all over the world and no experience on an actual RPG. And what's with these campaigns that don't reveal the names of people involved unless it's funded? Some kind of contractual thing? Ashamed to be tied to a losing campaign?
I would assume that they already have jobs they will quit if the kickstarter is successful, but if it fails they will have to continue working for the man, and it generally doesn't help anything if the boss knows that you're looking to leave the company.
 

Mortmal

Arcane
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
9,520
Highly interisting concept, very promising , too good to be true, alas we all know what happens next ..Last time i had the same feeling about a game that was chaos chronicle. 500000 $ , they will never get it as there's no big names amongst them, they may be competent, skilled , no one knows them.
Estimate date of delivery december 2014, they never made a rpg apparently just shooters and mmmo and they will build that universe with a deep and complex system under one year ? I'd really like to believe that, unless they arleady worked a lot on it, how is that possible?
 

Lhynn

Arcane
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
9,967
Having said that, I do really like the premise, even if they mentioned "X COM" which I *think* is the new one?
Its the original one actually.
It looks like they really want to ride the Kickstarter RPG success train... but on the other hand the whole concept looks awesome enough for me to want to throw 20 bucks on this one. If it offers mod support it could be pretty epic for sci fi fags.
 

Norfleet

Moderator
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Messages
12,250
Looks pretty hokey. I say leave it. I see nothing more than a conspicuously overwrought smoke and mirrors propaganda scheme, and no actual game. This has all the markings of vaporware written all over it. If it sounds too good to be true, it invariably is a scam.
 

bylam

Funcom
Developer
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
709
Have worked with both Ole H and Robert H at Funcom and both of them are good designers and hard working people. After TSW launched, I heard that Ole disappeared into the depths of Eastern Europe on a secret project.

It's a solid concept, though I worry they might be shooting a little on the low side with funding. Not sure what 500k buys you in Eastern European talent these days.
 

Norfleet

Moderator
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Messages
12,250
I have heard nothing but awful things about this "TSW" thing, so this does not impress me. The concept does indeed sound nice. But that means nothing, anyone can come up with a nice-sounding concept. This does not make a game.
 

Lhynn

Arcane
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
9,967
I have heard nothing but awful things about this "TSW" thing, so this does not impress me. The concept does indeed sound nice. But that means nothing, anyone can come up with a nice-sounding concept. This does not make a game.
The concept would sound like crap to non-cRPG players, so id rather give them the benefit of the doubt.
TSW isnt that bad, the setting is pretty good, so are the dialogues and characterization. Gameplay is crap, but something most mmos have in common to a degree. Everything else is pretty average.

Am actually cautiosly optimistic, sounds a heck of a lot better than another mass effect and for a fraction of the price.
 

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