The Mandate : fanboy mode activated!

[Cikomyr]

So as a kickbacker for Perihelion's The Mandate, I was quite happy to receive a new update this morning. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1964463742/the-mandate/posts/1026507)

But what really got me fired up this morning about the incoming game is the video they posted that talk about ship textures, and the Scanner/damage system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsI-ZTVraA4

It's the scanner mechanics that I love. Jump to 3:20 if you want to get into the gist of things.

I mean... I don't know, I just find pure awesome the emphasis they made over Scanners and overall ship intelligence in this game's combat system. For similar games (like Starfleet Command), I usually went like: "Hm.. I need the best tactical office for weapon, the best Engineer for power, the best Helmsman for steering, and the best security officer for shipboarding action. Science officer? Screw that"

but The Mandate is really making a talented Scanning officer (and scanning-related equipment, and probably Scanning Scramblers) a huge military asset to have on your ship. Makes the game have some deeper strategic depth that I can't not feel enthusiast about.


Anyway. that was my 2 coppers..

[Drasius]

I remember when this was first proposed and thought it was rather ambitious but could turn out well so I waited. Glad to see they are coming along nicely as this looks like a tremendous amount of fun.

[Ailurus]

Also backed it, and still excited about it. Just haven't had time IRL to actually sit down and fully read through all the updates and watch the development vids - backing them all up though to look at when things slow down a bit though.

[Narkis]

I also backed the game. Some recent kickstarter and early access failures have made me apprehensive, but they seem to be on the right track. And I'm kinda worried that the game doesn't seem to be in the state I'd expect for a 2015 release.

[Cikomyr]

I also backed the game. Some recent kickstarter and early access failures have made me apprehensive, but they seem to be on the right track. And I'm kinda worried that the game doesn't seem to be in the state I'd expect for a 2015 release.

I have seen similar worries on their forum, and i think its possible they are putting a lot of work in the overall gameplsy, game progression, etc. Instead of focusing on eye-candy Spesh Battles.

[Cikomyr]

Sorry for the quasi-necromancy (this thread was just Mostly Dead, i swear!!), but there was a huge update this morning by this game!

They found a publishing partner (Eurovideo), they have posted new shipdesign art (the Europa Cruiser is AWESOME) and posted a gameplay vid for in-ship design.

I am at work on my cellphone for the moment, so me posting images and video will have to wait. But if you are curious, just search for The Mandate Update #45. Ill be back with more details later!!

[Ailurus]

I also backed the game. Some recent kickstarter and early access failures have made me apprehensive, but they seem to be on the right track. And I'm kinda worried that the game doesn't seem to be in the state I'd expect for a 2015 release.

Well, this question is officially answered now, with the news that everything's been pushed back functionally one year.

Feature Alpha: Q3 2015 (early)
Feature Beta: Q3 2015 (late)
Content Beta: Q4 2015
Launch: Q1 2016

But, while that's disappointing, they did say they're not going to do any type of early access release like other companies such as DoubleFine did. Instead, they're going with the publishing deal, as mentioned by Cikomyr. Full breakdown on how their publishing deal works for anyone interested in the specifics:

So what are the implications of this deal?
Eurovideo [the publisher] will invest to ensure the development of The Mandate
Perihelion Interactive [the dev team] will have full creative control. Full stop. We will execute the original game concept as we presented to you in the Kickstarter and will follow our vision without any intervention from Eurovideo
Eurovideo will handle all marketing, PR and distribution activities
Perihelion Interactive will interact with existing & new backers and release regular updates. There will be no changes here
Perihelion Interactive will retain full control over backer pledges
Eurovideo will handle all localization in cooperation with Perihelion Interactive
We can now guarantee that The Mandate will be localized into German, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian (other languages to be discussed)
Both the English and German versions will be voiced (other languages to be discussed)
The development team will grow due to this investment and as a result we can pack more content and more hours of fun into the game
The soundtrack will be 120 minutes instead of 60 minutes and the size of the orchestra will double

[Narkis]

I'm pretty happy with this update. They addressed pretty much every concern I'd had, including how they'd get the funding for the extra development time. And they managed to avoid the trap of Early Access to boot. I still think their schedule is overly optimistic, but probably not by too much.

[Cikomyr]

So I promised more links and pics once I'd be back on my laptop!!

First of all, here are the various Heavy Cruisers that have been presented:


The role of fate in the affairs of humanity cannot be underestimated. It was fate that thrust the Mandate upon the Romanovs.

Their discovery of Gate travel gave the responsibility of unifying the scattered worlds of humanity. They established the trade network that made them the wealthiest and most powerful civilization amid the stars – and when it became evident that reckless use of the Gates threatened the safety of all humanity, they took on the burden of protecting humanity from itself. The Romanovs remembered how Earth was ruined by human greed and shortsightedness, and are determined not to let that happen again.

It was not pride or jealously that made them take on the burden of the Mandate. It was a duty that had to be done. The Romanovs have always taken the long view. They measure their successes in centuries, even millennia. If the other colonies chafe under Mandate rule for a few generations, so be it, as long as the Romanovs can safeguard the ultimate future of humanity.

To be a Romanov, then, is to be part of a chain that stretches back to the darkest days of old Earth, and forward to the unknowable future. Endure, whisper a billion billion unborn generations, endure so that we may exist.

https://www.mandategame.com/sites/default/files/45_hc_romanov.jpg


The Arkwright Colonies settled on worlds rich in metal and other resources, and are the industrial powerhouse of the Mandate. The union of Arkwright productivity with Romanov trade fuelled the early growth of the Gate network, and for a time it seemed inevitable that the Arkwrights would become the dominant power in human space. Then came the war, and the forcible establishment of the Mandate.

The Arkwright families have long been jealous of the Romanovs’ power and influence, and the two houses are fierce rivals. The Arkwrights continued to push against the boundaries set by the Romanovs – they continued illicit Gate building for centuries after that first war, and drove the second colonization effort that created the fringe worlds.

The Arkwright worlds themselves are like world-spanning factories, with insatiable hungers for food and raw materials. The Arkwrights need to expand faster than the Mandate permits. If it takes a rebellion to break these chains, so be it!

https://www.mandategame.com/sites/default/files/45_hc_arkwright.jpg


The Black Eagle worlds are no strangers to conflict. Before they joined the Mandate, border wars and internal feuding wracked these colonies. The first system settled by the Black Eagle ship was Kurst – that system had four marginally habitable worlds, but none was anywhere near as hospitable as Novy Petersburg or Starfall or Victoria. Right from the beginning, the Black Eagle settlers fought amongst themselves for survival.

Contact with the Romanovs brought an end to this conflict, and began the brief summer of the Black Eagle worlds. Gate travel meant the Kurst worlds could import the supplies they needed to make life bearable. Even better, it offered the hope of finding new, better worlds to settle. Equipped with Gate technology, the Black Eagle settlers struck off into the unknown – and brought back disaster.

The Black Eagles have long been the most stalwart supporters of the Mandate, and are famed for their military traditions. Despite this, they have more in common with the oppressed fringe worlds than they do with the glittering worlds of the core…

https://www.mandategame.com/sites/default/files/44_02.jpg

THE EUROPA!!! <3 BEST SHIP EVARRRR

The Europans of Starfall are the cultural and intellectual center of the Mandate. At times, their influence exceeds even that of the Romanovs, and many worlds look to them for leadership. The Europan nobles have always shied away from directly challenging the Romanovs, but it is an open secret that they covet the Imperial title. Of course, some claim they have all the influence and power they need, and that half the Emperors were Europan puppets, entranced by Starfall culture and sophistication.

The Europans see their Romanov cousins as backward peasants, and consider the Mandate to be an unnecessary restriction, a chain holding back human progress. At the same time, they have benefited from their alliance with the Romanovs, and so seek to reform the Mandate instead of destroying it.

The Europans are renowned as artists, scientists and diplomats. This progress comes at a price – their military forces are small and comparatively weak, despite possessing some of the most advanced weaponry in the Mandate. In times of peace, the Europans could rely on the Grand Fleet for protection, but now they look nervously at the advancing rebels. The glittering worlds of the Europan systems are ripe for plunder and conquest…

https://www.mandategame.com/sites/default/files/45_hc_europan.jpg

The Osmani are cyborgs. Their cybernetics might look more like jewellery, or sculpture - beautiful and elegant. If we can get some Ottoman Empire influences in there too, beautiful. Circuits as calligraphy, maybe.

Hundreds of colony ships fled the dying Earth. Of that vast exodus, most failed to find an inhabitable world to settle, or else were unable to survive on their new home. The great powers of the Mandate - the Romanovs, Arkwrights, Europans and Black Eagles - managed to prosper and even settle other systems after the discovery of jump gate technology, but those four were very much the exception. Most colony ships failed.

The Osmani civilisation arose out of such a failure. Their vessel crash-landed on a hostile world, a cold desert that resembled Mars. To survive, they merged with their servant machines. They went far beyond the previous limits of cybernetics, fusing human and machine to endure the rigours of their new world. On Earth - and even today, in the Mandate - cybernetics are mainly used as part of medical treatment, replacing maimed limbs or failing organs with artificial substitutes. Mere replacement was not enough for the Osmani - they had to augment and adapt themselves, becoming something other than human.

Centuries later, after Mandate explorers discovered the Osmani worlds, the Osmani Sultanate was integrated into the Mandate. Unlike most of the other rediscovered colonies that had joined the Mandate after its founding, the Osmani had a thriving civilisation with a strong technological and industrial base. They were the equal of any of the great powers. Indeed, the combination of their ability to settle on worlds considered uninhabitable by 'normal' humans together with the vast number of star systems now accessible to them through the Gate network meant the Osmani had the potential to eclipse the other human civilisations and become the dominant force in the Mandate.

The other powers responded to this threat by blocking the Osmani at every turn. To this day, there are no Osmani captains in the Grand Fleet or Osmani officials in the Mandate bureaucracy. Osmani corporations face punishing trade tariffs and sanctions; Osmani civilians are treated as second-class citizens. The Osmani are too dangerous to be allowed remain independent of the Mandate, but that doesn't mean they are welcome. The Osmani Sultana may smile at her 'beloved cousin', the Empress of the Mandate, but that smile is a precisely engineered, mathematically perfect mask to conceal her true feelings.

Denied access to the heart of the Mandate, the Osmani turned to the fringes. Pirate ships carry advanced Osmani weaponry, and smugglers use Osmani-built Gates. The Osmani could even be blamed for the whole rebellion - if the cyborgs had not threatened the other powers of the Mandate, there would have been no need for a second hasty wave of new colonies, and hence there would be no fringe worlds to rebel against the Mandate. Indeed, the rebel ships often use Osmani weapons, too.

The Osmani survive by adapting with the cold efficiency of machines. For them, the mistrust of the other powers is one more hostile environment that they must overcome.

https://www.mandategame.com/sites/default/files/45_hc_osmani.jpg

Here is a link to the new video update (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5OxFbVpZXLM)


Here is the new schedule:

Feature Alpha: Q3 2015 (early)
Feature Beta: Q3 2015 (late)
Content Beta: Q4 2015
Launch: Q1 2016


I personally think that one good thing about the fact that Perihelion picked up a new partner is that their new business partner did a thorough analysis of the project and its organisation. And they found it satisfactory. Basically, REAL pro do not believe it's a pipe dream after investigating the inner workings, and Perihelion got some coaching by people who actually have experience in project management. As a rather business-minded person myself, this really assuage my worries. People often underestimate the difficulties and challenges related to properly administrating projects. They think anyone can just start coding, buy pizzas and get going.

[Rockphed]

I personally think that one good thing about the fact that Perihelion picked up a new partner is that their new business partner did a thorough analysis of the project and its organisation. And they found it satisfactory. Basically, REAL pro do not believe it's a pipe dream after investigating the inner workings, and Perihelion got some coaching by people who actually have experience in project management. As a rather business-minded person myself, this really assuage my worries. People often underestimate the difficulties and challenges related to properly administrating projects. They think anyone can just start coding, buy pizzas and get going.

I was actually starting to worry that the next update was going to be along the lines of "we ran out of money and all have to go find real jobs. We will work on this during our off time" since I had done some math and figured that they were about out of money. I just took my 2 years of experience with technical projects and extrapolated.

I am very, very happy that they announced a partner. Firstly, it confirms my hope that they were reasonably business minded people who had their feet on the ground (which every update so far has looked like, but an announcement like this cements it). Secondly, it means that in some fashion I will get the Mandate, which increasingly looks like a game that I have wanted since I played Star Raiders II on my parent's Atari 2600.

I wonder if making a Star Raiders mod for the mandate will be feasible or fun. I think most of the pieces are already in place...