Star Wars Galaxies

From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.

Star Wars Galaxies
Developer(s)	Sony Online Entertainment
Publisher(s)	LucasArts
Release date	June 26, 2003 (US) 2006 (AUS)
Genre	MMORPG
Modes	Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T) USK: 12
Platform(s)	PC (Windows)

[Source]

Star Wars Galaxies (often abbreviated SWG) is a Star Wars-themed MMORPG developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts Entertainment for Microsoft Windows PCs.^[1] The base game, titled Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, was released on June 26, 2003 in the United States of America, November 7, 2003 in Europe and in 2006 in Australia. The base game has been upgraded with three major expansions since. In addition to the initial cost of the game software, SWG charges a monthly subscription fee (like most other MMORPGs) of $14.99USD (11.15€), with discounts for 3-, 6-, and 12-month subscriptions. It can also be accessed through Sony Online Entertainment's "Station Access," which grants access to all their MMORPG games for $29.99USD per month.^[2] It is unknown what will happen to this game due to the release of the supposed Knights of the Old Republic MMO in 2009.

[edit] Development and release

On March 16, 2000, LucasArts Entertainment announced a partnership with Verant Interactive Inc. and Sony Online Entertainment to create the first massively multiplayer Star Wars online role-playing game.^[1][3] The then unnamed game would be developed by Verant with online play supported by SOE. This was the same team responsible for creating and supporting the popular Everquest massively multiplayer online game. LucasArts would be responsible for all distribution of the Star Wars online game. The announcement included an expected release date some time in 2001 and that the game would take place during the classic trilogy Star Wars era.

LucasArts officially announced the brand name of the game to be title Star Wars Galaxies on November 29, 2000.^[4] The announcement claimed the first round of testing for Star Wars Galaxies was expected to start in late 2001 which would push back the official release date to an unknown time. The game's official information site was launched on November 30, 2000 in conjunction with SOE and featured frequently asked questions about the game and message boards fielded by members of the development team.^[5]

On May 17, 2001, even before the game went into public beta testing, the first expansion's development was announced.^[6] The yet unnamed add-on, which was expected to be available six months after the initial product release, would be a space simulation and enable players to own and fly starships which would allow interplanetary travel and space combat. The release date of the initial product, the ground-based component, was updated to the second half of 2002. The staggered release schedule of the space component of the Star Wars Galaxies series was said to benefit players because they would have time to establish their characters and explore different elements of the core game before adding the space layer.^[7] Traveling between planets would be accomplished through the use of public shuttles, which would ferry characters from world to world.

A new official site was also released on the same day that put more of an emphasis behind the community of the game. It included new screen shots, movies, an updated FAQ, concept art, development team member's profiles, features about the game, and a new forum.^[8] The site reached 100,000 users by December 2001.^[9] Throughout the next year after the release of the new site, new content would be revealed. This content included information on species and locations, new images and movies of different game elements, and 360 degree QuickTime VR panoramas of different locations.

Verant began accepting applications from users in May 2002 who were interested in participating in a closed beta test for SWG. The closed beta test would begin in July 2002.^[10] SOE would share more information on the game as the beta moved forward. This would include more screen shots, information on match making services, the fact that players would be permitted only one character per server,^[11] and skill trees and how the skill-based system would function.^[12] LucasArts also announced on May 20, 2002 that both the Xbox^[13] and PlayStation 2^[14] would get a version of the game, but these would later be cancelled.

2002 ended with LucasArts officially confirming a release date of April 15, 2003.^[15][16] They also announced on December 20, 2002 that the ground-based component of Star Wars Galaxies would be called An Empire Divided and that the game's online community had grown to over 400,000 users since its original release in November 2000. This represented one of the largest ever fan communities amassed for any game prior to retail availability.^[15]

An Empire Divided would later be delayed to an unknown time,^[17] but on June 17, 2003, LucasArts confirmed Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided would be released on June 26, 2003.^[18]

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 base game, An Empire Divided, was released in the United States on June 26, 2003 to mixed reviews. Galaxies was most criticized for numerous bugs and broken features that plagued the game.^[19] 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.

On November 7, 2003, An Empire Divided was released in Europe. A localized version for the Japanese market was published by Electronic Arts Japan on 23 December 2004. However, Japanese acceptance of the game was low, and in November 2005 the servers were shut down and existing accounts migrated to US servers.

[edit] Features

[edit] Timeline

The game events are set after Episode IV, which lets players choose what the path the galaxy takes after Death Star I is destroyed.

[edit] Geography

An example of the lush environment in Galaxies.

The game covers ten planets: Tatooine, Naboo, Corellia, Talus, Rori, Dantooine, Lok, Yavin 4, the forest moon of Endor, Dathomir and the newest chapter 8 update, the Nova Orion Space Station. In the second expansion, Rage of the Wookiees, the Wookiee planet Kashyyyk was added. In the third expansion, Trials of Obi-Wan, the planet Mustafar was added. Each of the original ten planets are represented by approximately 225 square kilometers (15 km x 15 km maps) of game space^[20]. In contrast, the expansion planets of Kashyyyk and Mustafar are smaller, constructed differently (e.g. instances) and in some cases imposed different rules than the original, such as terrain that is not traversable (i.e. mountains or hills that cannot be climbed over).^[21][22]

[edit] Graphics

The game is generally praised by reviewers for its realistic character models, detailed architecture and lush environments.^[23][24][25]

A Small town in Tatooine.

[edit] Points of interest and cameos

Examples of characters and points of interest that players can visit within the game include R2-D2, C-3PO, their escape pod on Tatooine, the Naboo Royal Palace, the abandoned Rebel bases on Dantooine and Yavin IV, the notorious pirate Nym in his stronghold on Lok, Ewoks and Rancors.

[edit] Species and professions

Players of the game create characters to navigate through these environments. Characters in Star Wars Galaxies can be one of ten species, again taken from the films and the Expanded Universe: Human, Twi'lek, Zabrak, Wookiee, Trandoshan, Rodian, Mon Calamari, Bothan, Sullustan, or Ithorian. A character can be either male or female, and he or she belongs to one of nine iconic professions: Force Sensitive (Jedi), Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, Commando, Spy, Officer, Medic, Entertainer, or Trader. Chapter 6 has introduced Beast Master, the NGE version of the pre-NGE Creature Handler, as a separate expertise tree.^[26] A character can also optionally advance in the Politician and Pilot professions, independent of his or her primary profession.

As with all MMORPGs, the feature set of Star Wars Galaxies is subject to change.

[edit] Combat mechanics

Ground combat is currently real-time and similar to a first-person shooter. The player must aim a targeting reticule at a target and left-click the mouse to fire. Auto-aim and auto-fire features are available, creating a more traditional combat experience, but players eschewing those options are rewarded with an increased chance to do maximum damage. As characters gain levels, they gain access to additional combat abilities called "specials" which are activated by using the right mouse button. These specials usually have a cool-down period. In addition to providing especially powerful damage attacks, specials are also used to heal, buff, debuff and crowd control. Players gain the ability to use more powerful weapons as they advance in level.

Players also earn "Expertise Points" as they level up which they can use in their profession's expertise "tree". The player can allot 45 points into various abilities and attributes to make their characters more diverse, from weapons specialties to healing and armor proficiencies.

[edit] Player housing, guilds, and cities

Characters can erect, own and decorate a variety of buildings, including houses, cantinas, guild halls and city halls. These buildings, when grouped, can be organized into cities. Players hold elections via ballot box for Mayor. Elected mayors grant city members certain rights to place structures within the city and eject players from cities as needed. Reelections are held every two weeks. If another player wishes to run for mayor they can add their name at any time to the ballot box to run against the incumbent. As cities grow in population, they become eligible to add services and facilities such as vehicle repair garages, shuttleports, cloning facilities, hospitals, cantinas and garden displays. They can show up on the planetary maps alongside canonical cities such as Theed and Mos Eisley.

[edit] Other features of the basic game include:

• Single- and multi-passenger ground vehicles and starships: (landspeeders, speeder bikes, swoops, X-wings, TIE Fighters and even several of the YT series of ships)
• An almost completely Player-run economy, wherein player characters are responsible for creating many (and nearly all) in-game items including blasters, starships, clothing, armor, food, housing, furniture and even a wide variety of droids. Items are created from player-collected raw materials and looted items—with other player characters as the only consumers. Recently, the developers have added more high-quality equipment to loot tables and as quest rewards, but player crafters remain an essential part of the economy.
• An extensive set of emotes, moods, and associated animations, which affect not only an avatar's physical appearance but also the text used to describe a character's speech, and even the shape of the speech bubble displayed on-screen.
• Standard MMORPG features such as player guilds, chat functionality, and other community features.
• The ability for players to place bounties on opponents that defeat/kill them in PVP battle. Player character bounty hunters can then pick up another character's "bounty mission" on the terminals and track the character down. A bounty can be claimed at anytime, regardless of the target's PvP setting. Up to three bounty hunters can be tracking a character at any given time.
• An extensive avatar/character-creation system. Characters can hire Entertainers to change their appearance in-game, with even more options than those available at creation. Every visual aspect of a character is thereby changeable at any time after character creation except species and gender.

There are twenty-four different "galaxies", or servers, in which players may choose to play the game. Most of them are named after obscure ships from the Expanded Universe. They are:

[edit] Planets

The basic "game world" consists of simulated planetary surfaces and associated structures. The twelve different planets are taken from the Star Wars movies and the Expanded Universe: Tatooine, Naboo, Corellia, Talus, Rori, Dantooine, Lok, Yavin 4, the forest moon of Endor, and Dathomir. In the "Rage of the Wookiees" expansion the planet Kashyyyk was added, and the latest installment "Trials of Obi-Wan" has added the planet Mustafar. The ten original planets are represented by approximately 256 square kilometers (16 km x 16 km maps) of game space, with all established cities and locations compressed into that space. Kashyyyk is represented by several navigational zones that connect to each other via portals located throughout that planet. Many of these zones are instanced, meaning that only the player or group that selects that zone are the only inhabitants of that zone. Mustafar has a traditional layout similar to the original planets, but with many instanced dungeons scattered across the landscape. And an added planet from chapter 8 Ord Mantell where you can use your space skills on tier 5-10, you can also fight the Blackguard Stardestroyer or just outnumbering corellian corvettes.

A player may explore any of the following planets:

[edit] Playable species

A player may create a male or female character of the following species:

[edit] Professions

[edit] Playable ships

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

[edit] Alliance ships

[edit] Imperial ships

[edit] Privateer ships

[edit] Exotic ships

[edit] NPC species

There are a number of species that appear throughout the game as NPCs (non-player characters).

[edit] Pre-"New Game Enhancements" professions

Prior to the release of the New Game Enhancements on November 15, 2005, a player could choose from up to 34 professions to play. The player was limited in their choice of profession by set number of skill points. Taking advantage of the different skill and combat modifiers offered by different professions, players could customize their characters to match their playing styles. This meant that a character could have skills in more than one profession, unlike the current system which allows the player only one profession per character.

[edit] Basic professions

With the exception of Politician, these professions were selectable during the character creation phase of the game. Once you selected your character's profession, race, gender, and appearance, a brief tutorial followed that showed the basic mechanics of the game. Progress through the profession was in the form of skill trees. Once a pre-required amount of experience points had been attained, a player could train their character in a particular skill box on the tree. Each skill tree had four 'branches' of skills, usually representing different types of skills for that profession. Once all four branches of the tree were completed, a character could then train in the mastery of that profession. In order to access the Elite / Hybrid professions, players generally had to train in more than one basic profession.

[edit] Elite / Hybrid professions

Having mastered one or more of the basic professions, players could further specialize their characters by pursuing a variety of Elite / Hybrid professions. Elite combat professions generally required the mastering of a particular style of combat, or with certain types of weaponry. Hybrid professions required that a player complete specific branches of two different profession trees before they could further specialize in the area they were most interested in.

(Hybrid/Elite professions have either been made into a class, added to another class, or removed completely.)

[edit] Pilot professions

[edit] Force-sensitive professions

[edit] Force discipline professions

[edit] Force powers

[edit] Story

[edit] Opening crawl

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-class Star
Destroyer has captured a passenger freighter
on suspicion of harboring criminals…

[edit] Story arcs

• Cries of Alderaan
• Secrets of the Syren
• Legacy

[edit] Gameplay

A Force Sensitive fights Imperial troops in Galaxies.

In basic gameplay, the player uses his or her character's skills and special abilities to attack targets, complete quests, undertake missions, create useful in-game items, and/or entertain other players. The player's character will have opportunities to meet famous Star Wars characters, earn in-game fame and fortune (or infamy and notoriety), travel to iconic Star Wars locations, and obtain numerous items, artifacts, and 'trophies' that can enhance his or her character.

[edit] Ground Combat

A small skirmish between two ground forces in Galaxies.

[edit] Space Combat

Space combat in Galaxies.

Space combat in Galaxies is similar to ground combat. Players must aim at their targets (often needing to "lead" their target in compensation for the target's movement) and click a button on the mouse or joystick to fire. Success in space combat is largely dependent on player skill, but not quite to the same extent as seen in previous Star Wars space-simulator games.

As characters advance in their piloting professions, they gain access to a variety of tactics, starship chassis, and starship components. Their ships can be completely customized with components looted from enemies or crafted by shipwrights. Available chassis include the X-Wing and Y-Wing for Rebels, TIE Fighters and TIE/In interceptors for Imperials, and new Hutt and Black Sun ship designs for Freelancers. Characters who have mastered a piloting profession get access to PoB (Player on Board) ship designs such as the famed YT-1300. PoB ships allow characters to walk around the interiors (which can be decorated just like a building on the ground) and man additional shipboard stations such as laser turrets. Some high-end ships are obtainable only via difficult quests; such ships include the Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor (commonly called the JSF or "Jedi Starfighter") and the KSE Firespray (Made famous by the Fett ship Slave 1).

[edit] Initial release and expansions

[edit] An Empire Divided

The base game, titled Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, was released on June 26, 2003 in the USA and on November 7, 2003 in Europe. A localized version for the Japanese market was published by Electronic Arts Japan on December 23, 2004. Japanese acceptance of the game was low, and in November 2005 the servers were shut down and existing accounts migrated to US servers.

At the time of its initial release, the game was very different than it is now. Vehicles and creature mounts were not yet implemented. While player housing was in the game, player cities were not. (Those features were added in November 2003.) Each character and creature possessed three "pools" (called Health, Action, and Mind; or "HAM") that represented his or her physical and mental reserves. Most attacks specifically targeted one of these three pools and any action the character took also depleted one or more of the pools. When any one of those pools was fully depleted, the character would fall unconscious. Combat, then, required the player to carefully manage his or her actions to avoid depleting a pool.

Character progression was vastly different at release as well. Characters started out in one of six basic professions (Medic, Brawler, Marksman, Scout, Entertainer, or Artisan) and could pick up any of the other five at any time after character creation. Each profession consisted of a tree-like structure of skills, with a single Novice level, four independent branches of four levels each, and a Master level which required completion of all four branches. Characters purchased these skills with experience points gained through a related activity. For example, an Entertainer could purchase skills to get better at playing music, but only with Musician experience points. Dancing experience points were entirely separate and could only be used to purchase dancing skills.

In addition to the basic professions, characters could specialize into advanced professions such as Bounty Hunter, Creature Handler, Ranger, Doctor, and Musician. There were a total of 24 advanced professions, although there was no way for characters to obtain all of them at once. Each advanced profession had certain skill requirements from the base professions that had to be met, some more restrictive than others.

Jedi were not available as a starting profession, or even as an advanced profession. The developers stated only that certain in-game actions would open up a Force-sensitive character slot. The actions required were left for players to discover. It eventually turned out that characters had to achieve Master level in five random professions. The identity of four of those necessary professions could be learned via looted holocrons, but the fifth had to be found via trial and error. The first Force-sensitive character slot was unlocked on November 7, 2003.^[27]

[edit] Jump to Lightspeed

This first expansion was released on October 27, 2004. Two new races were added: Sullustan and Ithorian. The expansion added space combat. Characters could choose one of three factions in the new Pilot sub-profession: Rebel, Imperial, or Freelance. The playable sectors include the space surrounding the ten planets of the game as well as Kessel and "Deep Space." Combat is real-time and twitch-oriented like a first-person shooter and can be played with a joystick at the player's option. A new Artisan profession, Shipwright, was also introduced. This profession created ships, shields, armor, weapons, etc for players. They also have the ability to take looted components from space and reverse engineer them into better components.

[edit] Rage of the Wookiees

This second expansion was announced on March 9, 2005 and released on May 5, 2005. It added the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk and its corresponding space sector. Kashyyyk is different from the previous ten planets: rather than being 16 square kilometers of openly navigable area, it is divided into a small central area with several instanced "dungeon" areas. A new space zone was also added. Unlike previous travel to other planets, players must launch into space, fly to the Kashyyyk space system and dock with the station in order to get to the planet surface. There is a loophole here, however. At a starship terminal, a player can select "Kashyyyk" from the drop-down planet list, then click "Travel" to go to Kashyyyk with his or her ship. This function, while quick and useful, does not grant the badge stating the player has visited the planet. Players must still use the space station to land in order to obtain the badge. Other content added in this expansion included the ability to add cybernetic limbs to a player character, quests for three new creature mounts and two new starships. A substantial portion of the content for this expansion was adapted from the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith which was released to theaters at approximately the same time as the expansion release.

[edit] Trials of Obi-Wan

The third expansion, Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan, was announced on August 19, 2005 and released on November 1, 2005. This expansion added the ground planet of Mustafar to the game, and was designed to capitalize on the DVD release of Revenge of the Sith and its final fight sequence between Darth Vader 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 to help him "correct an imbalance in the Force" present on Mustafar. No new space sector was added with this expansion. Like the previous expansion, much of the content is related to Revenge of the Sith, which was released to DVD on the same day as the expansion was released.

[edit] SWG compilations

On top of the expansions, SOE released several compilations of their games:

Star Wars Galaxies - The Total Experience

This pack included the original SWG (An Empire Divided), Jump to Lightspeed and the Rage of the Wookiees expansion packs. Customers who bought this pack also received a BARC speeder as a gift.

Star Wars Galaxies - Starter Kit

The kit was the first version of the New Game Enhancement (NGE). It contained An Empire Divided and Jump to Lightspeed. Customers who bought this pack also received a X-Wing or TIE-Fighter instant transport vehicle as a gift.^[28]

Star Wars Galaxies - The Complete Online Adventures

This included the original game with all expansion packs, a DVD of never-before released bonus features, a slide show of more than 800 pieces of Star Wars Galaxies concept art and screenshots, all set to more than an hour of beautifully orchestrated Star Wars Galaxies in-game music, excerpts from the popular “From Pencil to Pixel” book that chronicles the art of Star Wars Galaxies and interviews with the Star Wars Galaxies producers, and all the cinematic trailers for the game. It also included an exclusive in-game item for use while playing – a personal AT-RT vehicle as seen in "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith".^[29]

[edit] Expansions

[edit] Jump to Lightspeed

(Boxed Expansion Pack)

Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed.

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 Fighter]s, 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.

Jump to Lightspeed is now automatically included upon the installation of the game, regardless of which version. Prior to the release of the Starter Kit, Jump to Lightspeed was also available in The Total Experience compilation pack.

[edit] Episode III Rage of the Wookiees

The second expansion for Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars Galaxies: Episode III Rage of the Wookiees, was announced on 9 March 2005 and released on 5 May 2005 to coincide with the 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 player mount from the digital download or a BARC Speeder if they purchased the box set.

Rage of the Wookiees is also available in the The Total Experience and The Complete Online Adventures compilation packs.

[edit] 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.

Trials of Obi-Wan is also available in the The Complete Online Adventures compilation pack.

[edit] Major game revamps

[edit] 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 restricted 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.

[edit] New Game Enhancements (NGE)

On November 15, 2005, there was a complete overhaul of all game aspects, reducing the number of professions to nine from the old 32 professions. (bounty hunter, entertainer, smuggler, trader, medic, Jedi, officer, spy and commando). New patches have come out emphasizing on balance and individuality of each profession. These included:

• Publish 27—Focus on the Commando, Spy, and Jedi professions (as well as re-introducing Heavy Weapons and Traps into the game).
• Publish 28—Reinstallment of the "Player Bounty" system (with changes) as well as changes in the PvP community.
• Publish 29—New Targeting system, groundwork laid for the 'expertise system', promising future character customization comparable to the talent system in World of Warcraft.
• Chapter 1: Battle of Restuss

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 three new badges.

• Chapter 2: The Talus Incident

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.

• Chapter 3: Smugglers & Scoundrels

This chapter expanded upon the expertise system by adding skill trees for the Smuggler and Officer professions. Though there were no new additions to the Legacy Quest added during this update, a long-awaited Smuggling system was introduced to the game that functions along with the Smuggler expertise tree to give the character additional benefits. In addition to this new smuggling system, a revamp to the Galactic Civil War ranking system was implemented.

• Chapter 4: Armed & Ready for Action

This chapter expanded upon the expertise system by adding skill trees for the Commando, Spy, and Medic professions. Chapter gifts included a random holo pet.

• Chapter 5: An Entertaining Enterprise

This chapter saw the completion of implementing expertise by introducing expertise trees to the Trader and Entertainer Professions. Traders were given a 'Reverse Engineering' system allowing them to upgrade crafted weapons, clothing and armor using Skill Enhancement Attachments gathered by 'reverse engineering' items that currently hold stat modifications. Player made camps also made a return in this chapter. The Build-A-Buff system was introduced to entertainers, allowing them to add or remove various modifications to inspiration buffs, allowing them to perform custom inspirations based on the wants and needs of their clients. As part of their expertise tree, entertainers were also given a wide range of combat abilities which closely resemble the old Teräs Käsi Artist profession. Combat levels were also granted to Trader and Entertainer professions. Chapter gifts were a custom, one-use camp site, and a painting entitled 'Around the Campfire'.

• Chapter 6: Masters of the Wild

This chapter brings an homage to the former Creature Handler system with Beast Mastery. Players can design, grow and raise pets to assist them in the game. The Beast Mastery expertise draws on elements from both the former Bio Engineer and Creature Handler professions. Also included in this chapter is enhanced storytelling. The Storyteller Event System unifies the features previously included in player event perks, as well as adding new features for role-playing.^[31] The chapter gift was "Wim Magwit's magic Painting", a controller that randomly generates a painting below it.

• Chapter 7: A Collection of Heroes

This chapter introduced the collection system and heroic encounters. Aurilia was also reintroduced to the game, as a township. The chapter gift was C-3PO's comlink, which, when activated, started off a new quest.

• Chapter 8: The Nova Orion Crisis

This chapter introduced to the game Nova Orion Station in the Bright Jewel system and the Star Destroyer Heroic Encounter mission, set aboard the rogue Star Destroyer, Blackguard. It also introduced four new ships, the Imperial Ye-4 Gunship, the Rebel X4 Gunship, the Black Sun AEG-77 Vigo and the Naboo N-1 Starfighter. The chapter gift was R2-D's comlink, which, when activated, started off a new quest.

• Chapter 9: The Fury of Exar Kun

This chapter added to the game the Exar Kun heroic encounter, storytelling blueprints and a new PvP Galactic Civil War collection system. The chapter gift was a war terminal, a device that displays progress in the Galactic Civil War.

• Chapter 10: The Search for the Meatlump King

This chapter introduced the Meat Lumps themepark quest series which is playable by all players at CL55 or over. There were two chapter gifts, a painting of the Meatlump King and a chair shaped from the stones of Corellia.

[edit] 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)
• November 22, 2006, Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures (boxed compilation of An Empire Divided, Jump to Lightspeed, Rage of the Wookiees, Trials of Obi-Wan and New Game Enhancements)

[edit] Boxed compilations and editions

The Total Experience

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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—An Empire Divided, Jump to Lightspeed and Rage of the Wookiees—into one convenient package. Customers who purchased this package received a limited-edition BARC Speeder as a player mount.

• Compilation pack in Star Wars Galaxies series
• Includes An Empire Divided, Jump to Lightspeed, and Rage of the Wookiees
• Adventure through over 100 story-driven quests
• Visit and discover points of interest and adventure zones

Starter Kit

• All-new combat system with new weapons, armor, effects, and more

[edit] 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.

• All new design of the first 30 levels
• Includes complete content from Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided and Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed
• Customize your character's appearance—body types, facial features, tattoos and more
• Take on one of over nine iconic professions, including Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, Commando, or a Jedi
• Inspired by all the George Lucas films, including all the trilogy and prequel movies

The Complete Online Adventures

[edit] The Complete Online Adventures

Released on November 22, 2006, Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures features:

• In addition to the unlimited exciting game play, The Complete Online Adventures includes a DVD of never-before released bonus features
• A slide show of more than 800 pieces of Star Wars Galaxies concept art and screenshots, all set to more than an hour of beautifully orchestrated Star Wars Galaxies in-game music
• Excerpts from the popular "From Pencil to Pixel" book that chronicles the art of Star Wars Galaxies
• An exclusive in-game item for use while playing—a personal AT-RT vehicle as seen in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
• Interviews with the Star Wars Galaxies producers, and all the cinematic trailers for the game

[edit] Appearances

[