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Star Wars Galaxies updates players on the end
December 15th. That's not the end of the world -- it's the end of multiple worlds because it's the day that Star Wars Galaxies will have its last hurrah followed by silence. But there are still a couple of weeks left, and considering that one of the game's big pushes has been the Galactic Civil War, we think it's only fair for the ending of the game's service to be accompanied by the ending of the war with a decisive victory. On December 14th, at 9:00 p.m. PST (midnight EST), the Civil War scoreboards will close, with a final winner declared overall. This will be accompanied by server restarts, followed by a number of optional battles and skirmishes in the 15th. So spend the next two weeks getting ready for the last push to grab all the marbles because when the shutdown comes on December 15th, the war will be over... for good.
Winning the Star Wars Galaxies GCW
We sometimes joke about the impossibility of "winning" an MMO, but in the case of the doomed Star Wars Galaxies sandbox, it's an impending reality. A brand-new dev post today divulges the details of how the Galactic Civil War that's been raging across the game's servers for the last eight-plus years will be won. In short: "Whoever controls the galaxy at the end will win the war." The Rebels-vs.-Imperials PvP conflict will be settled through the existing planetary control system, in which each side vies for control over key cities on most of the game's planets. The team plans to tweak that system, weighting contributions and important regions to ensure that cheating and early landslide victories are simply not possible. As Mepps himself notes, "a smaller faction fighting smarter still has as much of a chance as a larger faction that assumes it will win." He also promises additional events and methods of GCW point gain as the finale approaches. Star Wars Galaxies is due to close down mid-December, so players have only a few months left to save or dominate the galaxy once and for all.
Off the rails: Star Wars Galaxies introduces atmospheric flight
If you're still on the fence about reactivating Star Wars Galaxies in order to participate in the sunset events from now until December 15th, today's news just might push you over to the dark side... er light side. One of those! This morning, Sony Online Entertainment published Game Update 21, the highlight of which is atmospheric flight. For real. With atmospheric flight, you will be able to travel the skies above and see the worlds of Star Wars Galaxies in a new way. To launch into atmospheric flight, or to return to the ground, you can use your ship's icon in your datapad. Whether you are looking to host a peaceful event in your yacht with the Theed Waterfall as a backdrop or prove your piloting skills against another player over the desert of Tatooine, atmospheric flight will offer a unique way to experience Star Wars Galaxies. The patch notes indicate that players can launch directly into space while piloting through planetary atmosphere, and you'll need some skill to navigate as ships will take damage if crashed into the ground. GU21 also heralds the "Final Battle," which presumably is another stage in the ongoing Galactic Civil War sunset events. Remember, today is literally your last chance to reactivate and give the game a proper send-off.
Star Wars Galaxies' GU20 brings the GCW to space
Star Wars Galaxies may be due for a tragic space opera death come December, but that doesn't mean the devs are twiddling their thumbs in the meantime. This morning, Sony Online Entertainment's sci-fi sandbox received a major faction and space update, making the ongoing Galactic Civil War content truly interplanetary. According to the patch notes, players can now "participate in dynamic space battles and fight alongside or against Ace pilots including Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Boba Fett" above iconic planets like Tatooine, Corellia, Naboo, Lok and Dantooine. The patch offers new duty missions for player Pilots as well as awards for participation in the new content, and recurring station events ensure that players can always find some action in the cold black of space. Medics and Smugglers also received profession tweaks to bring them into balance with the other classes, and Shipwrights will be happy to learn that the update's new starships are in fact player-craftable.
Newest producer's letter released for Star Wars Galaxies
Despite the layoffs and restructuring that has recently hit Sony Online Entertainment, Star Wars Galaxies is still going strong and improving. Producer Teesquared has chimed in for this month's producer's letter, outlining some of the planned additions to the game over the course of the next year. And what will that entail? Outlined in the letter are updates to the ongoing Galactic Civil War. Players can look forward to Galactic Civil War 2 being split into three updates to allow for faster release, with part one adding more objectives in space and three new fighter ships to help achieve those objectives. Part two will bring the war more directly to player-run cities and guilds, while part three will be a general balancing pass aimed at improving the game all around. While Teesquared spends a great deal of time looking back at the past year and outlining the changes that have been made to the game, it looks like Star Wars Galaxies players can look forward to a mix of system tweaks, PvP improvements, and content additions. Fans should take a look at the full letter for more details.
Star Wars Galaxies producer's letter talks space bounties, new player ships
Star Wars Galaxies just launched its 19.12 Entertainer update, but that doesn't mean the dev team at Sony Online Entertainment is taking it easy. Tony "Teesquared" Tyson has posted a new producer's letter to the official SWG forums that offers a hint of what's to come over the next few patches. The main thrust is the ongoing development of Galactic Civil War 2, and Tyson says the update will be released in three parts. Part one will focus on the space game, part two will involve player cities, and part three will be "a balance pass on the different GCW systems including planetary control." The space update looks to be particularly juicy, with a new player ship and space-based bounty hunting on the way. The new hardware is a Scurrg H-6 prototype bomber, an example of which is the heavily modified Havoc flown by the Feeorin pirate Nym in Star Wars lore. The Scurrg will be available to freelance pilots, and Tyson says the team is also planning to add new craft for Imperial and Rebel pilots in a future patch.
Star Wars Galaxies producer's letter talks galactic civil war, Officer updates
Despite the old "make love not war" saying, Star Wars Galaxies' January producer's letter is making both, and it's also crammed full of update news for a galaxy far, far away. Tony "Teesquared" Tyson talks about various high-level design concepts currently in the works for SWG's galactic civil war system, including player city invasions, space-based scenarios, and balance issues. There's also a sizable update for the Officer profession in the works, including a new melee special ability, increased viability for carbine users, increased troop strength, and the oft-requested ability to equip Mandalorian armor. Teesquared also mentions upcoming Galactic Senate nominations, tweaks to the game's bazaar, and the Ewok Festival of Love which kicks off on February 10th and runs for a month. This year's festival features new storyteller props, a new badge, and new rewards to tickle your fancy. Last but not least, new veteran rewards are on the way, the Tyson says they favor function over form this time around. "One will have something to do with profession respecs and the other will be resource related. And they will be tradable in case none of those ideas interests you," he writes.
SWG producer's note talks rare loot, GCW changes
Tony "Teesquared" Tyson, producer on Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies, has posted a producer's letter on the official SWG website that mentions a few noteworthy additions in store for the long-running sandbox title. He also takes a brief moment to tease some new content in the works, hinted at in the screenshot above. The letter talks about everything from Galactic Civil War and profession tweaks, to no-trade removal, to a new rare loot system. "The Rare Loot System will allow us to add some really cool loot to the game that players will have a chance to loot off of any mob they encounter. There are restrictions however. The restrictions are in place so that farming mobs or generally killing trash mobs (AOE FTW) won't give you a chance to get this new loot. You have to play the game and fight challenging mobs to earn a chance to find this loot," Tyson says. Visit the official website for all the details.
SWG producer talks vehicles, no-trade removal
The team behind Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies have been busy little bees as of late, and the game has taken on a few significant changes that are neatly summarized in a Producer's Note released yesterday on the official forums. SOE's Teesquared details two changes to the Galactic Civil War mechanics. "We have two new changes coming out for the GCW. The first change will be ground Factional Presence scaling. We heard the complaint regarding gaining FP when you were not at risk. To prevent this, the amount of FP you gain will scale relative to the "FP eligible" players of either faction around you. The second change will be for player placed GCW bases. We're working on tying player placed GCW bases into the GCW scoring system," he writes. He goes on to summarize the recent Bonus Everything Weekend and Empire Strikes Back 30th anniversary events before dropping a couple of noteworthy nuggets. First is the possibility of new player vehicles, long rumored (and hoped) to be the traditional AT-ST walkers as well as the AT-XT pictured above. Finally, Teessquared discusses the removal of the reviled no-trade mechanic (your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough...but it's no trade!) Check out all the details on the official forums.
Star Wars Galaxies pushes Galactic Civil War live and calls for recruits
There's a war brewing in Star Wars Galaxies. Well, to be quite technical about it, the game's setting is right in the middle of a war, but the most recent update brings that war even further to a head. In terms of storyline, the Empire is fighting a pitched battle against a renewed Rebel offensive to take key strategic points across the galaxy. The gameplay side of things sees a number of cities with capturable objectives, defensive fortifications to be built, protected, and demolished, and vehicles to use in the assault and defense of three volatile cities. It's a big update, and for understandable reasons Sony Online Entertainment wants to show off what they've done with the game. So they're giving players a chance to jump back into the action. Between February 1st and March 1st, former players will be allowed to come back for free, with their accounts automatically reinstated for the month. Those who decide that toppling the Empire -- or defending it -- is worth re-subscribing will be rewarded with a special in-game painting. Star Wars Galaxies still has quite a bit of life left in it, and players should be more than happy with the amount of content in this new update.
