I first bought SW:G when it first came out in 2003. I hadn't actually seen the gameplay, but a friend of mine, who I trust about games, really talked it up. Galaxies is set in the time between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back.
I was devastatingly disappointed.
The game was extraordinarily complex, the combat system was difficult to grasp, and money was difficult to come by. I was not exactly certain how to get rid of junk. There were very few things to buy as the economy was designed to be player-driven. And there was no flying. I quit after about a week.
The game underwent several changes, including the Jump-to-Lightspeed flight battle expansion pack, the "Publish 9" Combat Upgrade patch, and another expansion pack, Rage of the Wookies, which added Kashyyk as planet to travel.
I tried it again.
Although combat had improved, it still felt turn-based and acting seemed fairly slow. The game's class system was still extremely complex: there were 36 classes, including Entertainer, Armorsmith, Pistoleer, Bounty Hunter, Jedi, and Politician. To level in your selected profession required specific types of experience; for example, if you wanted to be a Master Pistoleer, you'd start out as a Marksman -- a general ranged attacker. As you fought with certain strategies, you'd gain particular experience: at level 1, if you fought a creature with your pistol, you'd get X General Combat Experience and Y Pistol Combat Experience. For non-elite professions (like Marksman, Artisan (which was the entry class for all crafters), etc.), specialized XP (like pistol combat exp) counted at some ratio to standard experience. Once you got to your elite profession, though, no amount of General Combat XP would level you up.
I got all the way to level 8 (out of 80) before I retired again. Oh, and Jedi were difficult to get -- they took about about 6-8 weeks, at best, of grinding.
Another friend started telling me recently about this new, extremely controversial publish to Galaxies. He said that some people were saying it made the game like WoW, and a LOT of veterans were upset with the changes. SO.... I sucked it up and went to try again.
It's sooooo much more fun.
They reduced the game's 36 professions to what they call 9 "Iconic" professions (let's see if I can remember them all): Bounty Hunter, Officer, Spy, Trader (with 4 specializations), Smuggler, Commando, Entertainer, Jedi, and Medic. Entertainers and Traders are non-combat classes; entertainers provide buffs, and traders are crafting and merchant players. Combat classes gain experience and combat level by fighting and completing quests; non-combat classes gain experience by providing their wares. For traders this means that you craft quite a bit; for entertainers, that means you're dancing or playing music in cantinas and bars across the galaxy. In addition to the iconic professions, you can also choose to become a Pilot. This was called NGE, or "New Game Enhancements."
I started out a new character as a Jedi. The story of my character is that he's a dark Jedi, but he's choosing to side with the Rebellion because he thinks they'll be just as blind to the Sith as the Old Republic.
You gain new abilities (or upgraded abilities) just about every four levels. Progression is usually pretty fast, and is very much oriented to being able to follow solo play or group play. Along with NGE, they created a new intro storyline where you wake up being rescued from the Empire by Han Solo (I think they had Harrison Ford voice-act the new storyline). He takes you to Tansarii Point Station, where you get various quests from people. When you're ready to leave, he takes you to Tatooine and puts you in touch with a friend.
This begins the long chain of quests called the "Legacy Quests." So far, the Legacy Quests had me run all over Tatooine, including to a large Krayt Dragon fossil, the escape pod used by R2-D2 and C-3PO, and the pit of the giant Sarlacc (you get a disease debuff from being too close to it for any length of time from the toxic air fumes). Along the way you're directed through your first "theme park" -- a series of quests designed to complete an objective -- to become one of Jabba the Hutt's most trusted workers. In my first 28 levels, I worked on Jabba's themepark, and then went to Naboo and worked my way up to Lieutenant in the Royal Security Forces to complete the next stage of my mission. I still haven't finished the legacy chain.
Oh! They now also have junk vendors, so when you pick up some items, you can sell them off. Handy!
But the coolest thing about Galaxies: it is truly massive.
I had a character already on the server (he made it to level 8, remember?) that I chose to roll my Jedi on. Following NGE, they prompted everyone to choose their new iconic profession. I chose to become a Structure Trader. Along with structure crafting, you also make furniture and ships.
What does this do?
In Galaxies, the planets you can explore are massive; there are cities, but the entirety of planets are not populated. You can buy a house and plant it on a planet. Or, if you're in a guild, you can plant a house in your guild's city. Besides my awesome underground bunker (a reward for purchasing the latest expansion pack, The Trials of Obi-Wan, which opens Mustafar as a playable planet), my trader just opened a new building in our city for our Guild's Mall.
You can decorate your house with furnishings and store extra items there.
The absolutely COOLEST thing is that there are multiplayer ships. A reward you get for having owned Jump to Lightspeed for 60 days or more, you get your own multiplayer noncombat ship, a Sorosuub Luxury Yacht, like Lando Calrissian's
Lady Luck. I've decked this ship out as well, and hope that my guild will use it for a Guild Event one day.
But non-combat ships aren't the only thing you do. You can also walk around multiplayer combat ships, like the YT-1300 ship (like the
Millenium Falcon) that you can also decorate. When you go into battle, you have a pilot and gunners, and anyone else who is around can assist in repairing equipment.
The other cool thing I've found is roleplay. The first night I was wandering around Tatooine, I met up with three members of the Ghosts of Ashla. They invited me into the guild, and I've slowly learned the art. Last night, I was with one of the Guild Councilors to go recruit a new player. He said he just woke up four days ago, and only regained his sight a day ago. He said he was on his way to relieve commanders.... from the Clone War. We had to explain to him that he'd been in stasis for about 22 years.
All told, the game is worth your time. The Starter Kit (which includes Jump to Lightspeed) is $20, and the "Total Experience" package which includes Rage of the Wookies is $30. Sure, the game is a bit old, the graphics aren't top-notch, and there are some funny pathing things (for instance, you can't walk up the non-stair entry to a building, but you can run up a mountain), but these are easy to overlook once you get involved.
I'm on the Eclipse server.
Ysae -- a combat level 32 Zabrak Jedi Initiate. (Zabrak is the same race as Darth Maul).
Kerrad Tol - a Zabrak Master Shipwright, Architect, and Furniture Crafter (level 90 Structure Trader, non-combat).
/w doesn't work -- /tell Kerrad!
