Star Wars Galaxies

• 1. Species And Skill Trees

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  A Twi'lek stands in the bustling market of Mos Eisley, adjusting their lekku with a hired Entertainer. The game offered ten species to choose from at creation: Human, Zabrak, Wookiee, Trandoshan, Rodian, Mon Calamari, Bothan, Sullustan, and Ithorian. Players could not change their species or gender after making that initial choice. However, they could hire an Entertainer to alter almost every other visual aspect of their character. This system allowed for deep customization beyond the static racial traits. Before the New Game Enhancements arrived, players had access to 34 distinct professions. Six basic paths included Artisan, Brawler, Entertainer, Marksman, Medic, and Scout. Each profession featured a tree-like structure of skills. A Novice level sat at the base, followed by four independent branches with four levels each. Reaching Master status required completing all four branches. Characters purchased these skills using experience points gained through related activities. Specialization options like Beast Mastery allowed further depth within primary roles. Only the healer role remained restricted to a single profession without hybrid options.

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• 2. Cities And Ballot Boxes

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  Players gathered around a ballot box on Talus to vote for their new Mayor. Elections occurred every three weeks, allowing citizens to replace incumbents who failed to meet expectations. Elected mayors granted permission for members to place structures within city limits. As populations grew, cities became eligible to add vehicle repair garages, shuttle ports, cloning facilities, hospitals, cantinas, and garden displays. These player-built settlements appeared on planet maps alongside canonical locations like Theed and Mos Eisley. The economy relied entirely on player creation. Citizens crafted blasters, starships, clothing, armor, food, housing, furniture, and droids. This division of labor produced results similar to real-world economies. Social institutions functioned as dynamic systems rather than static backdrops. Players organized into communities that managed resources and infrastructure without direct developer intervention. The game design aimed to mirror realistic social phenomena through complex interdependencies between professions and services.

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• 3. Announcement And Delays

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  LucasArts Entertainment announced the project in 2000 during a partnership with Verant Interactive Inc. and Sony Online Entertainment. The initial press release included an expected release date of 2001. On the 17th of May 2001, developers announced the first expansion before public beta testing even began. The base game launch slipped to the second half of 2002. A staggered schedule for space-based gameplay followed shortly after. An official website launched that same day featuring screenshots, movies, concept art, and development team profiles. By December 2001, the site had reached over 100,001 users. Closed beta tests started in July 2002. LucasArts stated in 2002 that Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions were planned, but both were eventually cancelled. The intended retail release date was the 15th of April 2003. On the 20th of December 2002, creators revealed the base game would be titled Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided. At that time, the online community had grown to over 400,000 users since its inception in November 2000.

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• 4. Combat Upgrade And Refunds

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  Sony Online Entertainment implemented the New Game Enhancements in November 2005, drastically altering ground combat mechanics. Players now aimed a targeting reticule and left-clicked to fire in real-time action similar to first-person shooters. Auto-aim features existed, but skilled players who disabled them gained higher damage potential. Characters gained access to specials activated by the right mouse button or toolbar as they leveled up. These abilities healed, buffed, debuffed, or crowd-controlled enemies. Subscription cancellations rose sharply after these changes arrived. John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, defended the decision as necessary to reverse subscriber deterioration. SOE offered refunds on the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion because it released two days before the overhaul announcement. Media outlets criticized the reduced depth and complexity of the new system. In July 2012, Smedley admitted to making stupid decisions regarding the combat upgrade policies during an interview with Reddit.

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• 5. Security Breaches And Shutdowns

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  On the 3rd of May 2011, SOE issued a press release stating all accounts were temporarily isolated due to massive security infiltrations. Security teams and the FBI investigated the breach affecting various games and databases. Initial reports indicated personal data for 20 to 30 million customers outside the United States from 2007 had potentially been compromised. On the 14th of May 2011, SOE declared data safe and reopened all servers. They offered established members a free 30-day membership and in-game decorations. The final closure occurred on the 15th of December 2011 at 9:01 PM Pacific time. Servers shut down, disconnecting players and preventing entry into the game. A live stream by Giant Bomb broadcast the final five hours of service. The last events included a player versus player finale between the Galactic Empire and The Rebels. The Force Ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared as depicted in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Twelve servers closed permanently on the 15th of October 2009 after character creation was disabled on the 15th of September 2009.

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• 6. Emulation Projects And Code

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  The SWGEmu project founded in 2004 aimed to recreate the Pre-Combat Upgrade version of Galaxies from scratch. By 2020, the team announced near completion of the base game colloquially known as version 1.0. Jump to Lightspeed might no longer be included due to system complexities. The server code base called Core3 has been open source since before 2010. Volunteers could easily contribute to its development. In 2019, SWGEmu also open sourced its engine known as Engine3. Any member can launch their own server for their community under the GNU Affero General Public License. Community-run servers like Awakening, Dark Rebellion, and Infinity develop content beyond the 14.1 publish goal. Project SWG began in 2011 to emulate the New Game Enhancements version. Their current server Holocore remains under development by a small team. A former SOE employee leaked the 2010 production release source code in 2013 to players involved with Project SWG. This code later became available online beyond intended recipients.

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