Starwars Galaxies... woohoo!

[frog11983]

Hey guys, I was scrolling through the galaxies site and I found this info, it made me get all excited and stuff so I thought I'd share it with you all. mmmm starwars rpg.....

Game Features:


-Entirely new 3D engine designed to portray the Star Wars galaxy in the greatest possible detail

-A seamless universe spanning nine fully-realized Star Wars worlds, from the films and expanded universe, each with over 15 x 15 kilometers of explorable terrain

-Define your own role in the galaxy with 8 playable species and over 30 professions; become bounty hunters, smugglers, squad leaders and more!

-Many social skills including dancing, musicianship and image designer

-Advanced character customization tool that allows you to define nearly every detail of your character's appearance

-Grow your character with an in-depth and flexible skill-based system of advancement

-Highly configurable User Interface

-Highly cinematic and tactical combat system that focuses on blasters and other ranged weapons

-Ally and fight with the Rebel or Imperial sides of the Galactic Civil War, or remain neutral

-Rewarding faction system that allows players to gain special perks by fighting in the Galactic Civil War

-Battlefields, where players can square off against one another or NPCs to earn faction standing

-Placeable Minefields and Turrets

-Encounter and interact with 180+ unique creatures and hundreds of NPCs, including "named" characters like Darth Vader and Boba Fett

-Robust chat system including hundreds of emotes, moods, chat styles, persistent messages and player created channels

-Dynamic resource surveying and mining

-Advanced crafting system

-Completely player-run in-game economy that includes an in-game Marketplace that allows auctions and sales of in-game items

-Jabba's Palace, the Emperor's Retreat, a Rebel hideout, and other "theme parks" offer a variety of missions for and encounters with well-known Star Wars characters

-Dynamic Points of Interest that provide a huge supply of adventures

-Random Mission system for shorter play sessions

-Bounty Hunting skills and missions, with both PVE and PVP opportunities

-Player-based dynamic spawning system takes into account a player's relative strength and creates suitable encounters

-Natural AI behaviors, including herding, stalking and lair defending

-Player built and placed housing, shops and structures

-Player groups of up to twenty players

-Player run associations of up to 500 players

-Badge system that rewards achievement in various areas

-An in-game Matchmaking Service, helpful for identifying players with similar hobbies

-The chance to unlock the mysterious Force Sensitive character slot and attempt to master the most exhilarating and dangerous role in the galaxy...the Jedi.

-Full team support with future expansions and updates

http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com/

And it looks like to me they are in the Third Beta test... so the game "should" be out soon. I think the original release date was April 15th, but they wanted to do a third beta, so they said they will announce the new release date shortly. This is one of my most highly anticipated games... I can't wait!

[LongBow]

Wow.. that makes me want it really bad! Almost to the point where I drop my cheapskate ways and pay the double fee.. If I ever get LIVE! Arg!

Maybe its just me. But I think everone is going to want to be a Jedi or Bounty Hunter

[jake mcd]

you're probably right about the jedi and bounty hunter thing but i won't be one of them i'll take the path less traveled.

[frog11983]

I'm not really sure what I'm going to be, maybe a smuggler or something of that sort. So that way all of those bounty hunters have something to try to hunt.... I don't really mind at this point as long as I get some sweet mandalorian armor in my profession.

[Variation-XBA]

Im still deciding on PC or Xbox....but the Voice has me leaning alot to xbox atm

[frog11983]

The PC version will probably have the advantage over Xbox with the expansions, but I personally don't like using a keyboard and I would rather play sitting on a couch in front of a TV too, so I'm going to get the Xbox version for sure.

*edit was just for a word i left out

[Slayer02]

Im picking up xbox version because that way my mom won't yell at me for sitting on the comp so much. I WANT GALAXIES *CRY*

[preetz16]

Well in response to some of your concerns, I bet lucas arts makes it really hard to be a jedi and bouty hunter (not too hard, but just enough to deter massive amounts of people from doing it). This wouldl definetely be the thing to do so you dont have 44% bounty hunters 44% jedis and then 1% or > as mules. I'm going to go look at the professions though....

[frog11983]

I wonder if we'll get the chance to actually kill main characters like darth vader, or maybe even Boba Fett. It will be interesting to see how they handle that.

[CarGuy]

I cant wait for this game. Im not a big star wars fan but the game still seems very, very appealing.

[Blind-RazoR]

I know I will probably get this game even though they are going to be charging a monthly fee on top on the live charge in order to play that is one reason I got live was because I knew that I would not have to pay any monthly fee towards one game. I figured one charge for every game is how it was going to work. Or at least that is what they advertised.

[Blind-RazoR]

Originally posted by frog11983
I wonder if we'll get the chance to actually kill main characters like darth vader, or maybe even Boba Fett. It will be interesting to see how they handle that.

Unfortunatly no, and another thing is that you will not be able to become any major leader like in the position of Darth Vader or Yoda.

Well in response to some of your concerns, I bet lucas arts makes it really hard to be a jedi and bouty hunter (not too hard, but just enough to deter massive amounts of people from doing it). This wouldl definetely be the thing to do so you dont have 44% bounty hunters 44% jedis and then 1% or > as mules. I'm going to go look at the professions though....

Yep, From what I have read and heard, You will have to put in about 6 hours a day to become a Jedi and you have to be on everyday, and the tasks you will have to do to be declared a Jedi are so time consuming and dificult, most people would say But knowing the star wars genre, Everyone will make an attempt to become a Jedi.

[preetz16]

Originally posted by frog11983
I wonder if we'll get the chance to actually kill main characters like darth vader, or maybe even Boba Fett. It will be interesting to see how they handle that.

The really cool part is from what i understand actual people will be playing vader and yoda (obviously they will be the people that are employed by lucas arts) but still thats cool.

I'm glad to hear jedis will be rare...the uber time dedication makes perfect sense in terms of the starwars universe. I hope for the bouty hunter they don't make it insanely time-intensive, but hard.

Oh yeah, and don't under-estimate star wars fans...rest assured, no matter HOW hard it is there WILL be jedis and bouty hunters, not a lto though

[Blind-RazoR]

Originally posted by preetz16


The really cool part is from what i understand actual people will be playing vader and yoda (obviously they will be the people that are employed by lucas arts) but still thats cool.

I'm glad to hear jedis will be rare...the uber time dedication makes perfect sense in terms of the starwars universe. I hope for the bouty hunter they don't make it insanely time-intensive, but hard.

Oh yeah, and don't under-estimate star wars fans...rest assured, no matter HOW hard it is there WILL be jedis and bouty hunters, not a lto though

Where did you here that people will be playing yoda and Vader? I just assumed that those characters would be NPC's. Just like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. I do know the game will have all the characters in it from after Star Wars Episode 4. That means Obi Wan will not be in it.

[Blind-RazoR]

Here is an article I found with some info about the game.

Any avid gamer knows that Lucas Arts has pumped out countless games based on the very successful Star Wars franchise. Now, nearly thirty years after Star Wars' conception, Star Wars is jumping into a realm of endless possibilities - online gaming.

Sony went straight to a formula that equals success - bringing in the former lead designer for arguably the most innovative game of its time, Ultima Online's Raph Koster, along with Verant, the development team that helped bring EverQuest to the top of the Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Gaming (MMORPG) pedastal. Throw in a dedicated Star Wars fanbase that has lasted for nearly thirty years and you have quite possibly a recipe for what could be one of the best online games ever created.

Star Wars Galaxies promises to bring the depth of the Star Wars universe and combine it with an EverQuest type of feel. The game takes place between the destruction of the first Death Star and the Battle of Yavin. The backdrop of this setting is a perfect stage for a massive MMORPG to take place - you'll even find characters from your favorite Star Wars movies in the game (except for Obi Wan, poor Obi Wan).

Playing in Star Wars Galaxies, you will have eight different races to choose from including Humans, Rodians, Mon Calimari, and even those fuzzy Wookies! Within those races there will be different features you can choose from, whether it be skin color, texture, gender, and of course, all the facial features and hair selections you can imagine. That is, if your race even has hair.

The popular question when it comes to the idea of playing a MMORPG Star Wars game is whether or not you can become a Jedi. The answer to this question in Star Wars Galaxies is yes, you can become a Jedi. But the path to becoming a Jedi is not an easy path, and will require dedication by the player. And yes, it is possible to become a "Dark Jedi" by straying from the path and using your Jedi powers to kill other players. But, to the dismay of many, players cannot become Darth or Sith Lords, nor can you play as any of the characters from the actual Star Wars movies.

For those of you who enjoy listening to the Star Wars soundtracks will be happy to know that most of the music is similar and in some cases the same as the classic Star Wars tunes.

Star Wars Galaxies will include Player v.s Player (PVP) combat. The exact nature of how combat will work is yet to be seen, but the system is similar to a 'PVP switch' style. Players can engage in PVP combat either by declaring with a certain faction in the game, being a bounty hunter, or simply picking off characters in certain areas. And if none of those suit your fancy, you can always become a galactic trader, explorer, or a simple adventurer, exploring the dangerous places of the Star Wars Universe!

The game is currently scheduled for a late 2002 release for the PC, and will eventually have a release for both the PlayStation 2 and the X-Box, taking advantage of their online-play features. There's also an expansion already planned which will include more planets for you to explore and more perils that await you.

by Chris Boothroy

And This is an article That may **** some people off.

In a move certain to anger some hopeful fans, the staff of Star Wars Galaxies have announced that a number of features will be delayed until after launch in an attempt to meet their projected date of release. Included in the features to be delayed will be the ability for groups of players to found and operate cities, the existence of player controlled ground vehicles, the capacity for player sponsored missions, and the choice of Dark Jedi as a profession. Many of these decisions will cause stark changes to initial gameplay; however, the designers have mentioned that other aspects of the game, such as NPC cities and bounty missions, will be increased in number to compensate for the loss.

In its comments to the SWG community, the staff emphasised that cuts were made with the intention of maintaining overall game quality at launch. "Rather than attempt to do everything at once and have it all turn out mediocre", stated Hayden Blackman, "we wanted to focus on fewer features and do them all really well." Blackman went on to mention that those features which were delayed were selected mainly upon the coding load they represented and their ease of insertion after launch, which is now expected to be sometime this April

[Ugunnalose]

when does it come out? I heard june

[Blind-RazoR]

Originally posted by duschbag
when does it come out? I heard june

Yup, it is supposed to come out June 1st 2003

edit: I lied Kotor comes out June 7th. I don't know about SWG. Sorry about that.

[frog11983]

Yeah, actually I think it may be in june. They are doing the third and "final" beta test right now. So we can hope to see this in the summer. However... I wouldn't mind if they waited a little longer on the console versions, and went on ahead and stuck the expansions in with it. i.e. the space expansion, and vehical ability.

besides, we'll have kotor to play this summer!

[Blind-RazoR]

Yeah, Acctually I am more excited about Kotor then Galaxies, because I really do not want to have to pay a monthly fee on top of XBL.

[frog11983]

That part is gonna suck a little, but i'm hoping that it will be worth it. How much is it by the way... while on the swg forums, I saw someone say 15 a month... but that sounds a little high?