Star Wars Galaxies

Star Wars: Galaxies (SWG) is a Star Wars-themed MMORPG for Windows PCs, developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts Entertainment. It was released on June 26, 2003. With several hundred thousand subscribers, it is one of the most popular MMORPGs in the United States.

Galaxies, like most MMORPGs has a monthly subscription service and various pricing plans depending on the length of the plan. Monthly, three-month, six-month and yearly plans are available.

Development and release
With a Star Wars license and veteran designer Raph Koster at the helm, expectations among gamers ran high during the development of Galaxies. Many industry professionals expected that these forces would push the subscription numbers past the one million mark. As development wore on, the release date was pushed back, features were cut, and Sony canceled planned ports for the Xbox and PlayStation 2.

The game was released to mixed reviews. Galaxies was most criticized for numerous bugs and broken features that plagued the game. 

Release and major update history

 * June 26, 2003: Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (initial boxed release) and Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided Collectors Edition
 * October 27, 2004: Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed (boxed expansion)
 * April 27, 2005: Combat Upgrade (free major online revamp)
 * May 5, 2005: Star Wars Galaxies: Episode III Rage of the Wookiees  (digital download expansion)
 * May 25, 2005: Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience (boxed compilation of An Empire Divided, Jump to Lightspeed, Rage of the Wookiees)
 * November 1, 2005: Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan (digital download expansion)
 * November 1, 2005: Star Wars Galaxies: Starter Kit (boxed compilation of An Empire Divided, Jump to Lightspeed, New Game Enhancements)
 * November 15, 2005: New Game Enhancements (free major online revamp)

Features
In the game, players choose among a variety of professions, from bounty hunter to musician. Through the use of a "skill point" system, players can only master a certain number of professions. Professions are designed to be interdependent, where, for example, a commando can kill things quickly but might need a doctor's aid, should a combat medic enter the scene. In addition, the Galactic Civil War aspect of fighting for the Rebels or Galactic Empire is meant to be Galaxies' "end game", which is considered to be not very hard to reach compared to other MMORPGs. Star Wars Galaxies has a unique player-run economy.

After release, the developers continued working on the features cut during the delay. In November 2003, two of those most anticipated features, creature mounts and player-created cities, were enabled. Also, on November 7, 2003 it was announced that the first player had unlocked a Force-sensitive character slot needed to become a Jedi.

Opening crawl
STAR WARS GALAXIES An Empire Divided It is the height of the Galactic Civil War. Although the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the dreaded Death Star, the Emperor still holds thousands of systems in his grip.

Throughout the galaxy, brave adventurers struggle to restore peace, while smugglers, bounty hunters and crime lords prosper amid the chaos.

Meanwhile, in the Outer Rim of the galaxy, one of Darth Vader's Imperial Star Destroyers has captured a passenger freighter on suspicion of harboring criminals...

Story arcs

 * Cries of Alderaan
 * Secrets of the Syren
 * Legacy

Planets
A player may explore any of the following planets:
 * Corellia
 * Dantooine
 * Dathomir
 * Forest moon of Endor
 * Kashyyyk (requires Rage of the Wookiees or The Total Experience)
 * Lok
 * Mustafar (requires Trials of Obi-Wan)
 * Naboo
 * Rori
 * Talus
 * Tatooine
 * Yavin IV

Playable species
A player may create a male or female character of the following species:
 * Bothan
 * Human
 * Ithorian (requires either Jump to Lightspeed, The Total Experience or Starter Kit)
 * Mon Calamari
 * Rodian
 * Sullustan (requires either Jump to Lightspeed, The Total Experience or Starter Kit)
 * Trandoshan
 * Twi'lek
 * Wookiee
 * Zabrak

NPC Races
There is also a number of other species that appear throughout the game as NPCs (non-player characters).

Professions

 * Jedi
 * Officer
 * Smuggler
 * Bounty Hunter
 * Commando
 * Trader
 * Medic
 * Entertainer
 * Spy

Basic professions

 * Artisan
 * Brawler
 * Entertainer
 * Marksman
 * Medic
 * Politician
 * Scout

Elite / hybrid professions

 * Architect
 * Armorsmith
 * Bio-Engineer
 * Bounty Hunter
 * Combat Medic
 * Carbineer
 * Chef
 * Creature Handler
 * Commando
 * Dancer
 * Doctor
 * Droid Engineer
 * Fencer
 * Image Designer
 * Merchant
 * Musician
 * Pikeman
 * Pistoleer
 * Ranger
 * Rifleman
 * Shipwright
 * Smuggler
 * Squad Leader
 * Swordsman
 * Tailor
 * Teras Kasi Artist
 * Weaponsmith

Pilot professions

 * Alliance Starfighter Pilot
 * Imperial Navy Pilot
 * Freelance Pilot

Force-sensitive professions

 * Combat Prowess
 * Crafting Mastery
 * Enhanced Reflexes
 * Heightened Senses

Force discipline professions

 * Force Defense
 * Force Enhancement
 * Force Healing
 * Lightsaber
 * Force Powers

Force powers

 * Force Choke
 * Force Lightning

Playable ships
Players are able to pilot, purchase and build the following ships (requires either Jump to Lightspeed, The Total Experience or Starter Kit):

Alliance ships

 * A-Wing
 * B-Wing
 * X-Wing
 * Y-Wing
 * YKL-37R Nova Courier
 * Z-95 Headhunter

Imperial ships

 * TIE Fighter
 * TIE Advanced
 * TIE Interceptor
 * TIE Bomber
 * TIE Oppressor
 * TIE Aggressor
 * VT-49 Decimator

Privateer ships

 * Kihraxz Assault Fighter
 * Ixiyen-class fast attack craft
 * Rihkxyrk Attack Ship
 * Vaksai
 * M3-A Scyk fighter
 * G1-M4-C Dunelizard fighter
 * M12-L Kimogila Heavy Fighter
 * M22-T Krayt Gunship
 * YT-1300 light freighter

Exotic ships

 * Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighter
 * Belbullab-22 starfighter
 * Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor
 * Personal Luxury Yacht 3000
 * Y-8 Mining Vessel
 * Firespray-class starship
 * YT-2400 light freighter

Jump to Lightspeed
(Boxed Expansion Pack)

Sony Online Entertainment released the first expansion Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed on October 27, 2004. This expansion finally allowed players to explore and battle in ten sectors of outer space, in more than twenty types of starships from the era between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, including familiar X-wings, TIE Fighters, and YT-1300s (same type as the Millennium Falcon), as well as new and never before seen ships created by the developers. It also added real-time space shooter elements to the game, which allowed for an interesting combination with the turn-based mode already featured in the ground-based. Jump to Lightspeed also added many space missions, four space-specific professions, and two new playable species.

Customers who pre-ordered the expansion received a limited-edition unarmed Flash Speeder as an untradeable player mount.

This expansion is now free to subscribers. It is either installed with the base game in new installations or downloaded as a patch for those who purchased the base game before the Starter Kit was released

Episode III Rage of the Wookiees
(Digital Download Expansion) The second expansion for Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars Galaxies: Episode III Rage of the Wookiees, was announced in March 2005 and released to coincide with final Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith. Major features included some Episode III content such as the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk.

Other features included new starfighters, resource mining in space, and cybernetic limbs for player characters. Customers who purchased the expansion also received a limited-edition Varactyl pet as a player mount.

Rage of the Wookiees was also part of The Total Experience pack.

Trials of Obi-Wan
Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan was released through digital download on November 1st 2005, to coincide with the release of the Revenge of the Sith DVD.

The expansion introduces the new planet of Mustafar, where players are able to take missions delivered directly from the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi. High-level quest rewards include the ability to find a fiery red crystal found only on the volcanic planet that creates a lava-like lightsaber. Trials of Obi-Wan includes more than 50 new quests, from rescue missions to the exploration of a crashed Republic cruiser. Many quests also revolve around the return of HK-47 from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided Collectors Edition
The Collectors Edition was released in a nicer Collectors box, an additional illustrated booklet (From Pencil to Pixel: The Art of Star Wars Galaxies), and exclusive in-game eye-wear not available with the standard version of the game.

The Total Experience
Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience released three weeks after Rage of the Wookiees collected the three major components of the game&mdash;An Empire Divided, Jump to Lightspeed and Rage of the Wookiees&mdash;into one convenient package. Customers who purchased this package received a limited-edition BARC Speeder as a player mount.

Starter Kit
The Star Wars Galaxies Starter Kit is a retail, boxed edition of the base Star Wars Galaxies game. It includes the NGE content and Jump to Lightspeed. Additionally the Starter Kit provides the player with instant intra-planet travel via an X-Wing or TIE Fighter.

Combat Upgrade
The Combat Upgrade of April 2005 and was a major revamping and rewriting of the entire Star Wars Galaxies combat, armor, and weapons system. A more "realistic" tone was set, whereas only certain characters in certain professions would use specific weapons and wear armor. In addition, the method of fighting in the game was redone with skill levels assigned to both players and game creatures. Under the new system, only a creature of equal skill could be attacked by a player, with lesser creatures rendering no experience if killed and the more powerful creatures deemed almost invincible to single player attacks.

New game enhancements (NGE)
On November 15, 2005 there was a complete overhaul of all game aspects, limiting the game to 9 professions (bounty hunter, entertainer, smuggler, trader, medic, force-sensitive, officer, spy and commando). Though the NGE is not completely accepted by most of the veteran players (as was the similar "combat upgrade" or CU shortly before it), the small new fan base seems to enjoy it. Many veteran players were forced to respecialize (or "respec") their character to meet with the limited professions standard. However, it seems that SOE is headed in a somewhat right direction with the latest patches being produced, emphasizing on balance and individuality of each profession (though most professions are yet to receive their patch at this time). These included: This was the first time they used 'Chapter' instead of a publish (insert #) and included the beginning of a large-scale PvP war over the city Restuss, on Rori, moon of Naboo. Players fought each other and did missions to collect Restuss Commendation badges, which could be exchanged later for their factions specialized armor and weapons. It also expanded the legacy quest series, a quest involving slaves on Corellia. It introduced 3 new badges. This chapter further moved the Battle of Restuss, turning the City of Restuss into a full-fledged war-zone, where rebels and imperials are set to Special-Forces upon nearing the grounds, and civilians are barred from approaching. New missions were introduced for both sides, and awarded more medals for each completion. It also brought forth another addition to the legacy quest, which involved helping a CorSec agent decide which side to take in the GCW. With this chapter also came the Expertise Tree.
 * Publish 27&mdash;Focus on the Commando, Spy, and Jedi professions (as well as re-introducing Heavy Weapons and Traps into the game).
 * Publish 28&mdash;Reinstallment of the "Player Bounty" system (with changes) as well as changes in the PvP community.
 * Publish 29&mdash;New Targeting system, groundwork layed for the 'expertise system', promising future character customization comparable to the talent system in WoW.
 * Chapter 1: Battle of Restuss
 * Chapter 2: The Talus Incident

Inconsistencies with Star Wars continuity
The developers of this game draw on as many aspects of the films and expanded universe as possible. This is good in many ways; however, in some cases, they just don't fit into the era.

Keeping in mind that the time frame of this game is meant to be shortly after the Battle of Yavin (0 ABY&mdash;1 ABY), there are some elements of the game that arguably should not be there. Also, other elements of the game are just not true to Star Wars.

Many players are not concerned by such issues; however, some players find it difficult to be immersed in the Star Wars universe while playing this game.


 * The opportunity to play as transcended blue glowing Jedi character. (December 2005 upgrade)
 * Jedi can be seen in large numbers in many major cities, equipped with Jedi robes and ignited lightsabers. Also, Jedi are dominant combatants in the Galactic Civil War (see below).
 * The ability of players to craft and pilot ships, such as the Firespray, which were supposedly ceased in production years earlier.
 * The ability of players to craft and pilot ships such as the B-Wing, which supposedly have not been designed yet.
 * The ability of players to craft and equip Mandalorian armor, though this is hardly seen. The armor is still rare.
 * Major characters always staying in the same spot. Eg. According to this game, Emperor Palpatine rules the Empire from his Naboo Retreat. This is due to the necessity to keep quest giving NPC's in one position. Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker on the other hand frequently travel to major factional cities, such as Theed, Coronet, or Bestine to promote their faction in the area.
 * Many key and canonical characters are visible simultaneously throughout the Game Environment, as opposed to keeping them rare and in one location. This gives an illusion that such individuals had clone copies of themselves placed strategically throughout the Galaxy. Some notable examples, Luke Skywalker can be found excavating the ruinous remains of an Exar Kun Temple on Yavin IV, while he is at the same time visiting Coronet or Theed pitching recruitment propaganda for the Rebel Alliance.  Darth Vader can be found on Kashyyyk, as well as at the Naboo Retreat, also while visiting various cities promoting Imperial propaganda.  Princess Leia can also be found on Dantooine and Corellia, at the same time.
 * Clone Wars technology was released into the game with the launch of its second expansion titled Rage of the Wookiees, an Expansion released to capitalize on the Theatrical Release of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The items released into the game environment proved to be vastly more popular then the current Galactic Civil War era technology, and as thus the Clone Wars gear also proved to be vastly superior to the current technology as well. These things included Clone Trooper Armor, the Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighter which is often referred to as the ARC-170, and this Fighter is available to Rebel Aligned Pilots through a quest. Also the Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor is available to Imperial Aligned Pilots through a quest and has become a vastly popular Fighter for the PvP Dog Fighting environment of the game.  Also, several new Clone Wars era Rifles and Carbines and Vehicles, such as the BARC Speeder Bike, were released into the game, and are all are now vastly popular and used throughout the entire game environment.
 * The DVD release of Revenge of the Sith brought to the game its third and latest expansion titled "Trials of Obi-Wan". This expansion is set on the planet Mustafar and designed to capitalize on the DVD release of Episode III and its final fight sequence between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was set on the same planet. The expansion brought back the famed droid HK-47 whom players can kill for a quest. It also allows them to interact with the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi whom is lost on Mustafar and needs the aid of the players to help him "find his way back"... so he can go to Hoth and help Luke.

In some of the above cases, the developers provide a reasonable in-universe explanation as to how these elements exist, however it is unknown if other sources will accept them as canon.

Although slightly shaky with the canon, the explanation of there being so many Jedi in this time period 1 ABY is simple: they aren't Jedi. Although many characters have force powers and wield lightsabers, amongst role-players in the game there are little if any characters who claim to be 'Jedi', trained in the philosophies of the ancient Jedi order, and instead they claim to be force-sensitive, a plausible case, considering the players of the game are supposed to represent the small percentage of the population with unique abilities.

The Jedi in Star Wars Galaxies
Unlike the historic chronology of Star Wars, where almost all Jedi are extinct by the time frame of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the concept of Jedi in Star Wars Galaxies is modified to have several hundred, if not thousands of Jedi capable of playing in the game which is set in the period of time between Episode IV and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Under the first Jedi system, a player could only become a Jedi after mastering professions chosen randomly for you at character creation. When fewer Jedi entered the game than was anticipated, players were helped by finding several Holocrons which would tell a player which game professions to play and master. This resulted in several "career" players spending hours on end writing program macros and mastering almost every profession in the game. However after complaints from a large portion of the player base (especially those that weren't constant and devoted players and thus more willing to master multiple professions), Star Wars Galaxies was altered to a new Jedi system called the Jedi Trials.

Under the Jedi Trials, only after obtaining several various goals as a regular character was a character considered "glowing with the Force" and deemed worthy to train to become a Jedi. Several new tasks then became available to the player which were revealed through various NPCs (Non-Player Characters). Such tasks included obtaining various skills, destroying certain creatures, and visiting several Jedi related locations.

Even with the Jedi revamp in place, many in the Star Wars Galaxies community have expressed feelings that eventually the game will become an "Army of Generals" where the number of Jedi playing in the game will be extremely high, thus making the game less interesting for those playing non-Jedi characters. It has not yet been announced by game programmers if yet another Jedi system will be enacted, although the method of obtaining Jedi skills was changed considerably under the "Combat Upgrade" system released in April 2005.

As of the NGE, anyone can become a Jedi by selecting the "profession" when creating their character. Arguments, however, come up proposing that Jedi, once the NGE was released to still be unbalanced, only this time with the odd against them. Many Jedi came into the NGE and saw that their former power was dramatically reduced. At this time the village is still inactive. Players that were still inside when this happened found only a few NPC's left. Some Players still wish to see the village reopened, only this time, as a sort of training center for the Jedi made to ensure the old prizes don't disappear from the game.

A few words from Leland Chee regarding Star Wars Galaxies and canon
When Leland Chee was asked on the StarWars.com Message Boards if Star Wars Galaxies is generally ignored when it comes to canon, he replied with:


 * As far as the Holocron is concerned, I don't ignore anything. Licensing checks continuity in Galaxies like we would for any other game, book, or toy. As I do my continuity checks, the information gets entered into the database. I also incorporate anything from the Galaxies website and strategy guides.

When asked about player-created characters, ships, and events featured on the official Star Wars Galaxies website, Leland stated that such aspects of the game are:


 * Non-continuity since they exist only in a single galaxy/server.

Spin-offs

 * Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine was a spin-off novel to the game, written by Voronica Whitney-Robinson. It was the first in what may become a series of spin-off novels to the game. The book is introduced at the official Star Wars site here, and the site takes a closer look at it here. The following is the plot summary from the book's inside front cover:


 * Enter the explosive universe of the exciting online game


 * STAR WARS GALAXIES:
 * AN EMPIRE DIVIDED!


 * It is a time of great turmoil. The oppressive Empire is close to seizing complete control of the galaxy. The ragtag guerrilla army of the Rebel Alliance fights on, striking wherever it can, but now something has come to light that could spell certain doom. Hidden in the Jedi ruins of Dantooine is a Holocron containing a list of high-level Rebel sympathizers. If that list were to fall into the hands of Darth Vader, the Rebel Alliance would lose its most valued support&mdash;and possibly the war itself.


 * As an Imperial bio-engineer who frequently visits other worlds, Dusque Mistflier is the perfect cover for a Rebel who needs to travel far and wide without arousing suspicion. And so she agrees to help Rebel spy Finn Darktrin in his quest to recover the crucial Holocron. Despite help from Han, Luke, and Leia, the mission is fraught with peril. And as their journey takes them into the fiery belly of the beast that is galactic civil war, Dusque and Finn will learn that the hardest part of all is figuring out whose side you're on'and how far you?re willing to go to win...

EU that has referenced SWG

 * Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine (direct spinoff, contains numerous references)
 * The Story of General Grievous: Lord of War
 * N-K Necrosis
 * Myyydril Caverns
 * Bane's Heart
 * Treun Lorn
 * Doctor Kinesworthy
 * Underworld Appendix: Swoops, Spice, and Wretched Rogues
 * Crash n' Burn

Trivia

 * The game references and features elements from The Star Wars Holiday Special, such as Lumpy's stuffed bantha, and the customs of Life Day, when the viewer visits Kashyyyk. The red Life Day robes the Wookiees in the special wore are also available during special events in the game.
 * The game also references the other two Star Wars spin-off films, in that the player may encounter the Gorax species from Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, and the base of the Sanyassan Marauders, as seen in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.
 * The game references characters from the Expanded Universe, such as Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade from the Thrawn trilogy, and HK-47 from the Knights of the Old Republic series of games.
 * All of the names of the galaxies (servers) in Star Wars Galaxies are references to starships in the Expanded Universe.
 * Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine is a novel based in part on places and events in the game. It was authored by Voronica Whitney-Robinson and Haden Blackman, the LucasArts producer of the game.
 * Like many other MMORPGs, the game design of Galaxies includes realistic social institutions such as a dynamic player economy and other real-life social phenomena like a complicated division of labor. According to Star Wars Galaxies and the Division of Labor, the division of labor in Star Wars Galaxies produces in-game results similar to those in real life. Galaxies' original game design socialized players to specialize their characters by mastering one or two professions, and to join guilds, in which players relate to one another primarily in terms of their professions (I am the weaponsmith, so I make weapons for the guild) &mdash; just as in real life, players are tied to one another by organic social solidarity.

Awards

 * E³ 2002 Game Critics Awards: Best Online Multiplayer
 * E³ 2001 Game Critics Awards: Best PC Game, Best Online Multiplayer

Official sites

 * SOE Official Star Wars Galaxies Website
 * LucasArts Official Star Wars Galaxies Website
 * Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan Mini-Site

Fan sites

 * Star Wars Galaxies Center
 * Star Wars Galaxies Crafting
 * Star Wars Galaxies on Allakhazam.com
 * Star Wars Galaxies Stratics
 * Star Wars Galaxies Warcry
 * Star Wars Galaxies Wiki
 * Star Wars Galaxies OGaming
 * Star Wars Galaxies Emulation
 * Star Wars Galaxies The Galaxy Report