The Mandate is still chugging along the crowdfunding campaign trail, still about half way to go with just under three weeks left. So to keep interest building and gamers engaged, Perihelion Interactive have released two new updates, one which give a little background to the Empress, the other to the Officer role your player will play in the game, and some free giveaways to celebrate the game reaching another social stretch goal.

The Mandate, for the uninitiated, takes place 1500 years into the future, during a time where an Empire with an Imperial Mandate has just lost their Emperor to mysterious circumstances, had his inexperienced daughter crowned in his place, have lost the Empire's best soldiers, the Grand Fleet, and have colonies threatening to withdraw from the Mandate. The desperate Empress has created the Corsairs, taking disgraced ex-captains and giving them a ship and crew, charged with reclaiming their honor. This will require players to quell rebellions, investigate the disappearance of the Grand Fleet, explore new worlds, and fight in the name of the Empress and the Mandate. The game seeks to give players unbridled freedom in how they choose to play the game, be it as a noble and diplomatic soldier loyal to the Mandate, a rebel against the Empire, or a pirate king just looking out for himself and his crew.

The first update, "Dressing an Empress," gives a little behind-the-scenes look at the design choices that went into creating The Mandate's newly crowned Empress Anastasia Romanova, including the Imperial Russian influences that have also inspired the game's backstory, a choice of grace and intelligence over sex appeal, and a host of concept art (which you can also view below), that shows how she has evolved over time. You can also check out Anastasia's page on The Mandate's website for a little more on her character.

The second update, "In Her Majesty's Service," shows off some design choices that have gone into the military seen in The Mandate, including certain factions and their relation to the Empire, the different ships players will be able to create, and a slew of concept art showing the different uniforms players will have available for their officers in the game (which you can also view below).

The first update also includes some nice free goodies, which consist of mainly wallpapers and themes, to reward backers and interested parties who have shared news of The Mandate on social media networks. Perihelion Interactive encourage all gamers to check it out, and be enthusiastic in sharing The Mandate as much as possible.

The Mandate is set to release to Windows, Mac and Linux platforms for a Q1 2015 release, and is currently around $250,000 of its $500,000 Kickstarter Campaign. For more on the game, you'll want to check out the gallery below, and the influences, mechanics and lore going into making the game standout among its peers in the sci-fi genre.

For more on the game's backstory, also check out the Scourge of the Mandate text-adventure game (which puts you in the shoes of feared and hated space pirate Jameson Howth), check out the previously released trailers and screenshots, and check out the customization developer diary.