Dawn of a New Era

With all the excitement surrounding the imminent release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, it is easy to forget that for the last 8 years there has been another Star Wars MMO that some of us spent some time with. Star Wars Galaxies was released in North America on the 26th of June in 2003 and has since then seen several expansions, updates and overhauls, some more appreciated than others. Today the twin suns of Tatooine will set for the final time in the world of Star Wars Galaxies and in a short 5 days time they will officially rise (and technically never set) in Star Wars: The Old Republic. This makes for the perfect opportunity to take a look back at Galaxies, reflect on the things we enjoyed and take those moments and game elements and see how The Old Republic can use the experiences of its predecessor to improve…

One of the coolest aspects of Star Wars Galaxies was player housing. Let’s face it, MMO players are collectors and hoarders, and we like to show off our stuff. There was something immediately impressive about walking into another player’s home and seeing Boba Fett’s armor mounted on their wall. A collection of Krayt dragon skulls staring down your home’s entryway let people know you weren’t someone to be taken lightly, and just having someplace you can call home in a galaxy far, far away makes you feel good. It is readily apparent that in The Old Republic, just like in KotOR, the player’s ships are intended to be their homes, but with the lack of variety, it doesn’t really feel like its your own. It would be nice to see another level of customization for both the exterior as well as the interior and hopefully that is something we will see in the future.

The best guilds in Star Wars Galaxies were all about the fostering of their community and the shared interest and investment in the guild by their members. Few things proved to build up and encourage that community aspect of a guild as well as the guild running its own player city. For those unfamiliar with the concept and how it worked in Galaxies, you have to start out with how the worlds and planets were laid out. Each planet was basically a square map with not many corridors or fixed paths that weren’t contained to instances; in terms of gameplay they were true open-world maps. Player housing and cities in Galaxies started with a player acting as mayor and plopping down a City Hall on a free portion of the map then then recruiting citizens to plop their homes within the city limits. As guilds gained more members and they moved their houses in, the city limits expanded and you could see the growth and development of your guild as well as your city.

For those that have seen The Old Republic through play testing or other means, you’ll realize that the player cities setup for Galaxies cannot be applied to TOR. The way the planets are laid out and designed makes them much more intimate and creates a greater sense of immersion, but it also prevents players from being able to just plop down structures. The commonly suggested solution to this would be the inclusion of Guild Capitol ships, and while the level of customization wouldn’t be the same as the development of a player city, all the fundamentals could be included. Guild leaders could collect fund or dues to make improvements to the ship, add various forms of interactive elements for members, guild vendors, cantinas and socialization areas. It would give players and guild members another area to hang out, interact, share stories and prepare for adventures.

With the Jump to Lightspeed expansion released for Star Wars Galaxies on October 27, 2004, a major piece of the Star Wars puzzle finally made its appearance in the MMO. Players were finally able to freely explore and take their adventures to the final frontier instead of being restricted to hopping planet to planet via shuttles. Pilot professions were added to the game and players jumped into the cockpit of the classic X-wing and TIE fighters. A mix of arcade and simulator, Jump to Lightspeed was easy to jump into, but offered a challenge to master. With The Old Republic’s current iteration of space combat, it is more of a mini-game or distraction and with the Starfox style corridor combat, it really doesn’t give off the feeling of freedom that space offers. BioWare keeps touting their intent to create that heroic feeling throughout the entirety of the game and the current space missions don’t have that same feeling as a Death Star trench run. Without a doubt, BioWare is looking to expand their space offering in the future, hopefully adding co-operative space through turrets or otherwise as well as maybe space PVP zones and free roam flight. Only time will tell.

The Old Republic can learn the most when it comes to how the major updates and expansions were released for Star Wars Galaxies. Perhaps the two most polarizing events that occurred during the life span of Star Wars Galaxies were the introduction of the Combat Upgrade and later the New Game Enhancements. The Combat Upgrade was a shock to some people, but the New Game Enhancements really turned the game on its head and created a drastic player backlash. Featuring major changes to both the class system and a combat overhaul that changed combat from traditional MMO-style to a more Diablo type of point-and-click action, perhaps the most aggravating change for veterans of the game, was turning Jedi into a starter class. Turning Jedi into a selectable class really didn’t fit with Galaxies’ time period and many saw it as a way to boost subscribers by trying to bring in a more casual gaming crowd. Around the same time frame as the NGE, the expansions Rage of the Wookiees and Trials of Obi-Wan hit the scene, both of which introduced content tied heavily to Revenge of the Sith further, distancing the game from its original timeline and drastically splitting the player base. Let’s hope The Old Republic avoids the same pitfalls.

Let’s not focus too much on the negative though; Star War Galaxies definitely had its shining moments. You never forget that first player bounty you spent an hour tracking and spend half a minute cutting down to size as he fights off the local wildlife. Kiting a huge Krayt Dragon in circles and finally extracting a pearl from his lifeless corpse leaves you with a rare and unique feeling of accomplishment. Surely those of you that have experienced those moments have many more to share from your time with Galaxies. Let us know, leave your stories in the comments and let us send off Star Wars Galaxies with fond memories and a smile as we prepare to embark on our next adventure in a galaxy far far away.