A RPG based around city sized space craft and space stations. Featuring space combat, boarding actions, ground combat, diplomacy, trade, indepth crew interactions, research and scavenging in a semi proceduarlly generated universe.
Ok, I give up... I don't often back Kickstarter stuff, falling into the mindset that if it does end up getting released I'll probably pick it up then if it's not too expensive...but in this case...
I really like the sensible details in the weapon design with the ejectable missile magazines and stuff. The co-op aspect of weapon customisation also sounds interesting.
This may end up being the first kickstarter project I end up backing; Star Citizen looks amazing and all, but gameplay wise, it doesn't appeal to me the same way this does.
Space fighters are all well and good, but not-Rogue Trader? That's deliciously seductive.
And it has co-op! That's a major draw for me, too.
I'm also getting a kind of Master of Orion'esque vibe from the various ship, fighter and weapon designs, but that may just be because I loved that game so much.
Also, did anyone notice that, despite how it looks on the first glance, the bridge isn't actually in the tower? Smart design.
I kinda wonder if this kickstarter will succeed, though... 25 days in and only 1/3 funded. Well, they still have a month to go and I expect a lot of donations coming in during the last 2-3 days. Fingers crossed!
Oh, and check out not only their kickstarter but the main website! Loads of cool stuff there, like the Articles of War (could be "stolen" for a Rogue Trader campaign!) or the Your Crew concept.
http://www.mandategame.com/
I think its highly likely that they will succeed. They have made about $50k in the last week and while there is still $300k to go they have enough time, taking into account the usual boost that the final week will bring.
I thought that the Longdark wouldn't make it as it was moving slowly for most of its Kickstarter yet it ended up 20% over target.
Oh yes, they've already put too much just into the basics that enabled them to show off the proof of concept etc to stop now - I'd just fear that, if the kickstarter fails, what would be released eventually would be a lot less awesome as it'd miss a number of features they are gunning for now.
You don't have to "care". Supposedly, you have the option to join the rebels or go independent and turn to piracy. You can also treat your crew like gak - with appropriate consequences.
For $20 for the game, it's hardly a lot to put in for something that could possibly be huge.
How many games cost that, for half of what this project is promising?
There's nothing wrong with wanting competition or playing games purely for competition. It does seem a little strange when you consider the object of an RPG is to play a particular role and the challenge inherent in that is to find solutions to problems that fall into that role. Reading books would also seems boring I guess... Unless it was a competition or something...
I play team-based FPS games that have no story all the time-- TF2 and Blacklight: Retribution being the two most prominent, but not the only ones. But the thing is, both of these have more depth to them, and both of them go to try to make you care about their/your character(s), in their own way. The TF2 teams have distinct personalities and styles which present them as your psychotic buddies and sociopathic enemies. In BL:R, the game invests heavily in allowing you to create your own soldiers and even more in allowing you to create your own weapon, making you care about, strangely, your gun and making it better suited to your playstyle.
A game that does not at least try to make you care about its characters is either extremely simplistic (such as Atari games) or extremely garbage.
... so tell me, friend, what games are not dull as hell?
Some generic borefest like call of duty, perhaps?
Europa Universalis, Baldur's Gate (1 or 2), Skyrim, Civ IV.
Mass Effect was just generic sci-fi universe #534, a game like that could never have been big without the booming adolescent console market who don't know what a decent game looks like.
xruslanx wrote: Mass Effect was just generic sci-fi universe
Europa Universalis was just a "generic universe". Skyrim was just a "generic fantasy universe". Baldur's Gate was just a "generic fantasy universe". Civ IV is likewise pretty "generic", too, really.
Oh, and guess what? All of these games tried to make you care, the very thing you decried earlier.
Mass Effect was a game that deeply appealed to adults as well as adolescents. Indeed, arguably it appealed to adults MORE-- it was far deeper than an "adolescent console" game.
xruslanx wrote: Mass Effect was just generic sci-fi universe
Europa Universalis was just a "generic universe".
No, it's reality.
Skyrim was just a "generic fantasy universe".
You won't hear me defending the fluff behind Skyrim. I've never been into the mythology behind it, since it is very generic and instantly forgettable.
Baldur's Gate was just a "generic fantasy universe".
No...it's the Forgotten Realms. It may have its flaws but it wasn't just made up on t he hoof by a handful of devs.
Civ IV is likewise pretty "generic", too, really.
Well...no, it's set in alternate reality.
Oh, and guess what? All of these games tried to make you care, the very thing you decried earlier.
Europa Universalis certainly does not make you care neither does Civ. Skyrim doesn't *really* have NPCs (since the first person breaks the willing suspension of disbelief required to deal with NPCs). Baldur's Gate does though, I guess. But it's not an integral part of the game like it seemed to be in Mass Effect.
Mass Effect was a game that deeply appealed to adults as well as adolescents. Indeed, arguably it appealed to adults MORE-- it was far deeper than an "adolescent console" game.
Well I could be borderline-autistic and say that any video game with *charectors* in it is surely for children, since real men shun human interaction. Regardless, it utterly failed to have any effect on me. I forced myself to play through it for a few hours, hoping at some point I'd find a reason to stay of my own accord, but no. Every environment was instantly forgettable, every NPC was a fart in the breeze.
But it sold very well, so clearly a lot of people disagree.
Which is about as generic as it comes. Hell, DnDdefines what it is to be a "generic fantasy setting". And there's really nothing wrong with that. Something being generic is irrelevant. What's important is how the story is told within the setting, something both DnD and Mass Effect do, and which I hope The Mandate does as well.
... just like Mass Effect, which is set in an alternate history where we found Prothean artifacts and had our tech level boosted massively as a result. Just like any game that isn't purely historical, actually.
xruslanx wrote: Europa Universalis certainly does not make you care
In its little ways, it certainly did, just like Civ below it:
Ah, that's why they negative citizens are "unhappy", and are shown to be frowning, angry people instead of just numbers on a spreadsheet. In certain versions of Civ, they even had the citizens express happiness and joy in their own words! Yes, that's right-- Civ made you want to care about the little people heads that represented the populations.
xruslanx wrote: (since the first person breaks the willing suspension of disbelief required to deal with NPCs)
What the hell kind of ideology is this?
First person perspective REINFORCES the willing suspension of disbelief, by having you see the world from the player character's perspective. Third person perspective breaks the willing suspension of disbelief by making you a camera floating above and slightly to the left of the character you're playing.
Furthermore, you can switch perspectives in Skyrim, making this a pathetic defense of your weird ideas about games.
xruslanx wrote: Baldur's Gate does though, I guess. But it's not an integral part of the game
My ass it wasn't. It was a core part of the story and even part of the game mechanics from the very start! The game rewarded those who acted to non-hostile NPCs in a caring manner.
ITT: People realising that taste and preferences are not a universal thing.
I for one am looking forward to "care" ... I just don't yet know for what or for whom. I'll probably end up going my crew > the Empress > The Mandate > everyone else.
At least that's what I got from the events and solutions the character generation demo threw at me.
If/once the time comes, I'll prolly go Black Eagle for origin. (oh hey, look, a wild wiki appears!) I know the wiki says Prussian/Cossack, but personally I'm getting a distinct Spanish Conquistador vibe from the art, and I dig. Anyone else already having plans for their character?
History is as generic and overdone as it gets. History games are about as generic, predictable, and forgettable of games as you can get.
Right well this has veered into an ontological discussion. History can't really be defined as "generic" since...it's history. It actually happened, not for the benefit of game-makers but as a concequence of the times. You can't compare the setting of Europa Universalis to the setting of Mass Effect.
Which is about as generic as it comes. Hell, DnDdefines what it is to be a "generic fantasy setting". And there's really nothing wrong with that. Something being generic is irrelevant. What's important is how the story is told within the setting, something both DnD and Mass Effect do, and which I hope The Mandate does as well.
It may be generic but it's an awful lot *deeper* than a universe created entirely to sell a single game. Clearly a universe that's been the setting of the biggest RPG in the world, and around a dozen cRPGs, has more depth to it than one created for a single franchise.
... just like Mass Effect, which is set in an alternate history where we found Prothean artifacts and had our tech level boosted massively as a result. Just like any game that isn't purely historical, actually.
Sci-fi is not the same as alternate history. Granted there is some overlap but Mass Effect is quite clearly sci-fi.
In its little ways, it certainly did, just like Civ below it:
No it didn't. EU was about conquest, destroying other religions and spreading your own, wiping out natives and colonising their land, etc. It certainly didn't have any of this "Wah wah empathy wah" nonsense that you get in games like Mass Effect.
Ah, that's why they negative citizens are "unhappy", and are shown to be frowning, angry people instead of just numbers on a spreadsheet. In certain versions of Civ, they even had the citizens express happiness and joy in their own words! Yes, that's right-- Civ made you want to care about the little people heads that represented the populations.
No, it made you care about the effects. That's a lot different from a game that focusses around the feelings of other NPCs.
You never played Skyrim.
Yes I did. The NPCs were gak, or they were if you were bought up on Baldur's Gate 2. Hell I can't even name a single one, I know there was that useless thane woman who just used to run into traps all the time, but I can't remember her name.
What the hell kind of ideology is this?
First person perspective REINFORCES the willing suspension of disbelief, by having you see the world from the player character's perspective. Third person perspective breaks the willing suspension of disbelief by making you a camera floating above and slightly to the left of the character you're playing.
It's not an observation, it's a fact.
In a 3rd person isometric game, the NPCs' charectors are based entirely upon their portrait, and their dialogue, both written and spoken. In a first person game however, you get their big ugly expressionless rendered face right in front of you. *That* breaks the willing suspension of disbelief, combined with the lack of any body language whatsoever. The more you see of other NPCs, the more you realise they're not real. This is actually a very established phenomenon, it's why The Elder Scrolls failed to dominate cRPGs before piracy killed off all the non-console alternatives.
My ass it wasn't. It was a core part of the story and even part of the game mechanics from the very start! The game rewarded those who acted to non-hostile NPCs in a caring manner.
Uh...no it wasn't. Baldur's Gate II was about rescueing Imoen from Spellhold, then kicking Irenicus' ass. At no point did the story require you to go around talking to your "crew".
Historically, cash influx should see another peak in the last week - but I too am somewhat sceptical as to whether it will be enough. :(
It'd suck if the KS would fail because they were aiming a bit too high. I'm sure the game will still be published (it was greenlit on Steam last week), but if the funds from KS will stay away, I'm sure it'll impact development somewhere.
Lynata wrote: It'd suck if the KS would fail because they were aiming a bit too high. I'm sure the game will still be published (it was greenlit on Steam last week), but if the funds from KS will stay away, I'm sure it'll impact development somewhere.
Yeah, I hope they make it. I told a lot of my friends and there were many who likedit...
Palindrome wrote: Kicktraq isn't that accurate, there is usually a peak in activity during the final week but I doubt that it will make any of its stretch goals.
It isn't being quoted as biblical truth, but even without Kicktraq I could tell you that it isn't trending enough to hit its goal, and that is taking into account the peak at the end that often happens. As a backer I would love to be wrong.
To be fair back to that dude arguing with melissia it is a little un-realistic that somebody could down 100 ingredients, food and drinks without much problem in skyrim. I still enjoy the hell out of the game though. It's kind of amusing actually that your character can and will eat just about everything from plants to giant's toes to human flesh to human hearts and daedra hearts. I mean holy crap if you could ever bet somebody to eat something on a dare you can bet a skyrim player character would.
My main problem with video games is that they used to be about anything and everything and could be as stupid as you wanted or as creative. Now we have fitness games and call of duty :(. I suppose it's true though. Indie games and steam in general helps a lot with interesting titles. Just different opinions I guess.
Also for some people i'd like to say arguing with somebody doesn't usually end well in any case for any party. Has anybody after an argument back and forth said "You know what you're right. I know you called me a stupid pig-headed moron but I can see your superior logic." In the end people are very much about ego. You can throw proof at them or evidence but a damaged ego is the biggest thing. Nobody wants to feel stupid or bad or any other negative quality. You don't exactly have to support their opinion so much as give it a little respect. Sure some people tend to instigate fights more than others but they often make life a much bigger hell for the person that keeps this going.
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On topic i'd wouldn't mind playing this game.
Wasn't there a kind of similar game about trading in ship-to-ship where there were no rules pretty much? I can't remember the name of it but it was pretty popular. Basically the game included lots of trickery, deception and all sorts of good and bad things people are capable of.
Anyway my point is 'The Mandate' sounds an awful lot like that game too.
I might give this a shot if I have the money. I probably won't though.
Wasn't there a kind of similar game about trading in ship-to-ship where there were no rules pretty much? I can't remember the name of it but it was pretty popular. Basically the game included lots of trickery, deception and all sorts of good and bad things people are capable of.
Wasn't there a kind of similar game about trading in ship-to-ship where there were no rules pretty much? I can't remember the name of it but it was pretty popular. Basically the game included lots of trickery, deception and all sorts of good and bad things people are capable of.
Eve?
Yep that's the one. I could be wrong though as my memory is often pretty bad heh.
Wasn't there a kind of similar game about trading in ship-to-ship where there were no rules pretty much? I can't remember the name of it but it was pretty popular. Basically the game included lots of trickery, deception and all sorts of good and bad things people are capable of.
Eve?
Yep that's the one. I could be wrong though as my memory is often pretty bad heh.
Was the game you were thinking of also an MMO? It could also be Freelancer if it wasn't an MMO.
flamingkillamajig wrote: To be fair back to that dude arguing with melissia it is a little un-realistic that somebody could down 100 ingredients, food and drinks without much problem in skyrim. I still enjoy the hell out of the game though. It's kind of amusing actually that your character can and will eat just about everything from plants to giant's toes to human flesh to human hearts and daedra hearts. I mean holy crap if you could ever bet somebody to eat something on a dare you can bet a skyrim player character would.
My main problem with video games is that they used to be about anything and everything and could be as stupid as you wanted or as creative. Now we have fitness games and call of duty :(. I suppose it's true though. Indie games and steam in general helps a lot with interesting titles. Just different opinions I guess.
Also for some people i'd like to say arguing with somebody doesn't usually end well in any case for any party. Has anybody after an argument back and forth said "You know what you're right. I know you called me a stupid pig-headed moron but I can see your superior logic." In the end people are very much about ego. You can throw proof at them or evidence but a damaged ego is the biggest thing. Nobody wants to feel stupid or bad or any other negative quality. You don't exactly have to support their opinion so much as give it a little respect. Sure some people tend to instigate fights more than others but they often make life a much bigger hell for the person that keeps this going.
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On topic i'd wouldn't mind playing this game.
Wasn't there a kind of similar game about trading in ship-to-ship where there were no rules pretty much? I can't remember the name of it but it was pretty popular. Basically the game included lots of trickery, deception and all sorts of good and bad things people are capable of.
Anyway my point is 'The Mandate' sounds an awful lot like that game too.
I might give this a shot if I have the money. I probably won't though.
EVE's excel files included MISSILES though, and frankly that's a hell of an improvement in my book.
I backed it and spread the word on social media. I'm really hopeful for this one, it looks to be a blast.
For my first character I'm thinking a cold Romanov tactician from the Imperial family. After being scape goated and disgraced the prodigal child returns as a Corsair captain at cousin Annie's request... rebel in the making? Hardly, but a little off the books piracy to ensure that there's money and safe places for themselves and their crew should they be betrayed by the family again? Not out of the question.
To be fair, you're also getting a concept book PDF, the Lore Codex, the soundtrack, and some customisation stuff. Leaving this out, $10 for an expansion and $3.33 DLC doesn't seem like a bad offer.
And even if it did not include content updates and an expansion pack, $40 is a pretty good price for a PC game nowadays, at least one with these production values.
No need to go for the Midshipsman tier, though. If you think $40 is too much, why not get just the base game for $20?
Lynata wrote: To be fair, you're also getting a concept book PDF, the Lore Codex, the soundtrack, and some customisation stuff. Leaving this out, $10 for an expansion and $3.33 DLC doesn't seem like a bad offer.
And even if it did not include content updates and an expansion pack, $40 is a pretty good price for a PC game nowadays, at least one with these production values.
No need to go for the Midshipsman tier, though. If you think $40 is too much, why not get just the base game for $20?
The soundtrack and some other stuff is in the 20$ already.
Why won't I get just the base game? Can you tell me how much of the game is in the base game? The game is apparently cut into pieces.
Kickstarter is already like buying a pig in a poke. A semi-transparent poke but still, you have no idea what you're actually buying. Now whey give you only half of the pig, or only quarter or a whole one, who knows? You can buy the rest later... at an unknown price.
Too many unknowns for me.
I checked on their funding status again and wow. Massive increase, and still plenty of time to go. I'd been concerned it wouldn't get funded, but after the past couple days, I've no doubts.
Its nearly broken $400k now, $100k in 3 days isn't bad
We may even hit a stretch goal or two now.
There is a newish trailer as well (bearing in mind that the ingame photage is prealpha)
An updated design document was put out today and goes into some detail on boarding actions. Boarding actions were one of my main draws to this game and if they live up to their design document then I will be very happy. http://yourcrew.mandategame.com/#part%20troi
The only question is, come 2015, is my ship more akin to a Rogue Trader, or the Battlestar Galactica?
I think that it will be somewhere in between. I don't think that there will be the range of options available to Rogue Traders (the first stretch goal of 'away missions' will help a little here though) but on the other hand there will be quite a lot more freedom of action and choice than in Battlestar.
Huh, another 10k just now. Only $90.000 more until it hits the minimum goal.
I begin to feel much safer about this kickstarter being successful. Would've been nice if it hit more stretch goals, but honestly this is something they can also collect money for via PayPal, as long as the first 500k are secured.
If it can maintain this level of funding it will succeed. The PR machine is bound to be gearing up for the final week so its all but certain to reach its goal now. The most optimistic Kicktraq projections based on the last couple of days suggest that it may even hit $1 million
I'm not sure what has generated the increased pledges over the last day or two, and I don't care. With the expected bump in the final days I have no doubt this will get funded, though considering the sudden uptake I wouldn't be surprised if we hit the $500k mark by the end of the day, or at the very least tomorrow.
I think that a lot of it has come from a Youtube commenter called Angry Joe who was very enthusiastic about the project and publically backed it for $150. There has also been some coverage on major gaming sites over the last few days and the new trailer with a recognisable voice over actor.
Only 80k to go so if things keep going as they are we should hit the target in the next 2-3 days.
"[The Mandate] is literally... wait a minute... is LITERALLY my dream game. I'm freaking excited!" - Angry Joe
"Currently, I don’t think there’s a more interesting Kickstarter project than The Mandate" - RockPaperShotgun
"The Mandate I would definitely say that is a really awesome looking space opera game, absolutely, that looks incredible." - TotalBiscuit
"There are still many [Kickstarter] ideas we'd love to see completed. One example is The Mandate" - The Escapist Magazine
"Sometimes you feel like forcing people to invest money in Kickstarter projects, to ensure their creations. I have those tendencies when I see extensive plans of the Perihelion Interactive team and their space RPG The Mandate." - Games.cz (Translated by forum user: Pilgrim)
Its now been backed, despite a troll backer who withdrew a $10k pledge this morning. Hopefully it will make at last its first stretch goal by Monday morning
Let's wait and see for the stretch goals. The cool thing is that they'll likely continue to accept PayPal monies at the very least for as long as they're working on getting the game ready for public beta, and that this cash will count towards stretch goals, so .. who knows!
The most important part is that the minimum funding has been secured and we're probably going to get a rather cool game in return.
There is supposedly some sort of big reveal tomorrow so hopefully that will turn on the funding taps again (and its not just another trailer). I'm surprised that they waited until the last few days though.
Hmmh. Traditionally, the last few days for a Kickstarter project are the ones that see a huge influx in money. So if they think they can apply a "plus x%" boost in some way, I could see the reason behind putting it there.
To those who loyally contributed to the
General Mobilization of 3513,
The darkest hour is behind us.
There are trials ahead, challenges far greater than those already surmounted. We
have a fleet to defend us, but no captains to command it. We have ships, but our
foes have more.
We will not lie to you and say that the battles are over. We will not lie and tell you
that victory is certain. This is the beginning of the war, not an ending.
There will be times of ghastly silence, when all we can do is watch and wait for
news. There will be times of bloody terror, when ships burn and crew perish in the
depths of space. There will be terrible defeats before we can hope for victory.
But We tell you the darkest hour is behind us. You kept faith with the Mandate and
kindled hope where there was none. We may face trials on our path, but now we
have a path. We have not yet begun to fight, but we have the strength to meet our
foes. By your courage, by your sacrifice, you have wrenched something into
existence where previously there was only emptiness.
You have taken on a share of the burden of the Mandate. Humanity’s destiny is
yours to guide and protect.
Make ready. The darkest hour is passed, but our foes outrace the dawn
The update wasn't all that exciting in the end, just an example of one of their 'great captains' who you can recruit in the game. They will also be making a nice little community event where you court marshall the $10k backer who pulled out at the 11th hour which I think is a nice touch.
The first stretch goal is almost a certainty now.
All that I need to do now is wait until January 2015 for the beta.....
Now I have to imagine how this would play out, given the "retro" style of the setting. I guess spacing him/her could be a viable form of "walking the plank"? Imagine a phalanx of Marines, carrying ceremonial sabres. Maybe even give the prisoner a space suit ... with half an hour of air supply.
I guess we could say the Lord Admiral's authority was rendered ...
... null and void.
That being said, walking the plank was supposedly only something criminals would do, with the proper navies resorting to hanging someone at the yard arm. It's a bit less practical, but also less sadistic and more traditional. Another alternative would be a firing squad, then throwing the lifeless body out of the airlock for good measure, without any of the burial honours usually reserved to those fallen in service to Her Majesty...
What do you think?
It's quite a cool trick, though - if you can really pull off such underhanded manoeuvers in the game ...
All in all, I like what I see there. The interaction and combat style look slow and "simple" enough that you won't have to guide your troops on every single step. I mean, we have to keep in mind that boarding actions run simultaneously to the space battle outside the hull, and you'd have to split your attention between both.
Together with the current amount of Paypal donations (last update was 13k), it's at about $680.000 now, so only 20k until the starbase boarding stretchgoal with 12 hours left.
I'm feeling confident that this stretchgoal will be reached regardless now - the only question is if this will be done before or after the kickstarter ends.
well it finished with $701k so Starbase boarding actions are in and they have $15k in paypal payments. If they manage to make another $85k through paypal in just over a year there may well be full mod support as well
neither does Civ. Skyrim doesn't *really* have 
