From TheBestLinks.com
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (SWG) is a Star Wars themed MMORPG for the PC developed and released by Sony Online Entertainment in conjunction with LucasArts Entertainment on June 25, 2003. With several hundred thousand subscribers, it is one of the most popular MMORPGs in the United States.
With a Star Wars license and veteran designer Raph Koster at the helm, expectations among gamers ran high during the development of SWG. Many industry professionals expected that these forces would push the subscription numbers past the one million mark, a feat accomplished only thus far in Asia by MMORPGs such as Lineage. As development wore on, the release date was delayed, features were cut, and Sony removed mention of the planned Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions.
After release, the developers continued working on the features cut during the delay. In November 2003, two of those most anticipated features, creature mounts and player-created cities, were enabled. Also, on November 7, 2003 it was announced that the first player had unlocked a Force-sensitive character slot needed to become a Jedi.
In the game, players choose a profession, from bounty hunter to musician. Through the use of a "skill point" system, players can only master a certain amount of professions. Professions are designed to be interdependent, where, for example, a commando can kill things quickly but might need a doctor's aid, should a combat medic enter the scene. In addition, the Galactic Civil War aspect of fighting for the Rebels or Galactic Empire enters the scene. A survey of the official message boards, however, reveals that several players are unhappy with current implementations. Indeed, game reviews have lamented bugs and broken features that have plagued the game.
Of course, SWG receives a monthly shot in the arm in terms of real-world money, with players paying $14.99 USD per month for the privilege of playing the game. There are other price plans as well, including a 3 month plan($13.99 USD per month), 6 month plan($12.99 USD per month), and the yearly plan ($11.99 USD per month).
Jump to Lightspeed
As of 2004, SOE is developing the first expansion Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed for release in October 2004. The expansion will allow players to explore and battle in ten new sectors of outerspace in more than a dozen types of starships from the era between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, including familiar X-wings, TIE Fighters, and YT-1300s (same type as the Millennium Falcon). This will add real-time space shooter elements to the game, which might make an interesting combination with the MMORPG. Jump to Lightspeed is also expected to add many space missions, four space-specific professions, and two new playable species.
External links
de:Star Wars Galaxies
Related links
Top visited
0 of
0 links
[no links posted yet]
>> place link >>
Discussion
Last posted
0 of
0 messages
[no messages posted yet]
>> post message >>
Watch
You can
add this article to your own "watchlist" and receive e-mail notification about all changes in this page.
