Are you a fan of sci-fi movies and TV franchises like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly? So are the developers of Perihelion Interactive LLC, which is what led to their upcoming space-faring game, The Mandate. Set in the "war-torn depths of space," The Mandate is a sci-fi game that seeks to engage players with political intrigue, harrowing space battles, and exploration, while centering the game around the most important aspect of any great space show like those stated above: a truly dynamic crew.

As you can see in the Kickstarter trailer below, The Mandate takes place 1,500 years in the future, in a world where Imperialism has led one Empire to the brim of the known Galaxy, but not with out political dissent, harsh military action, and sabotage. The untimely death of the last Emperor has left his young and inexperienced successor, the Empress, betrayed and without her Grand Fleet. Vulnerable, her only option is to turn to disgraced ex-Mandate officers, and create a fleet of veterans with the promise of redemption. You are one of those disgraced captains, charged with the Imperial Mandate of exploring worlds, restoring order, and discovering the fate of the lost Grand Fleet.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1964463742/the-mandate/widget/video.html

The decisions players make in The Mandate will affect the world around you and your crew. Every action has diplomatic and morale consequences attached: Periherlion promises the game won't be just a periodical dialogue wheel. The game is a sandbox, allowing players to play alone or cooperatively with up to six players for space battles and isometric realtime strategy combat. You can choose your crew, hone their skills, improving their survival rate. You can also explore the ship, and interact with your crew between battles. Getting to know your crew adds ties to them, making the crew closer and bound to fight harder when attacked. Ships can attack and board other ships, and so the more skilled your crew is, and the more you trust them, the better they can do against enemy invaders (or you can simply control them). Players can also build Starbases with the use of modules, allowing for thousands of combinations and stations with unique uses.

The Mandate is currently set to release to PC, Mac and Linux platforms in the first quarter of 2015. At the time of this writing, The Mandate has received nearly $185,000 of its $500,000 goal, with just over a month to go; you can support Perihelion and The Mandate on their Kickstarter Campaign page.

You can also check out The Mandate's website for more tons of more details on the game, and to create your own character and your own starship (powered by Unity web player). Check out the ship battle trailer, character creator trailer and screenshots below for a look at the layout of ships, different captain options, different factions and more. Stay tuned for more on The Mandate.

Ship Battle Gameplay Trailer

//www.youtube.com/embed/lf-lB51wlNo?feature=player_detailpage

Character Creator Teaser Trailer

//www.youtube.com/embed/Fq9sXg6GMsM?feature=player_detailpage