Star Wars Galaxies - Chapter 2: The Talus Incident Wrap Report

Key Strengths

The Jedi Expertise System - Players are now able to customize their Jedi characters, and follow a path down either the light or dark side of the force. This is incredibly cool as both sides have interesting strengths and weaknesses, and give players more of an opportunity to feel like a real Jedi.

it is very valuable to hear what they have to say, and to learn what they have to teach us about our own game. Our fans are very dedicated, and for that, we are very grateful. The fans rock.

The Bounty Hunter Expertise System - Again, more customization, this time for Bounty Hunters. Players can pick the type they want to be, specializing in various rifles, traps, carbines or heavy armor. There is a ton of options for the bounty hunter, and these trees allow players the chance to explore this profession in new ways.

Static Galactic Civil War Bases - Our PvP game received a nice enhancement in Chapter 2 with the implementation of the Static GCW bases. Players can battle each other for control of various bases placed throughout the galaxy to receive a series of high-end rewards.

Areas for Improvement

Because Star Wars Galaxies is an online title, we have the luxury of constantly upgrading and enhancing it as we go. This also benefits players, as they can always expect new content, features and fine-tuning. The biggest thing that we need to keep an eye on as we move forward is the balance of the Expertise System, especially as we roll it out for more and more professions. It's a constant challenge to balance characters in an online game, so we'll evaluate this on an ongoing basis, and make the appropriate tweaks at the appropriate times. Our community is brilliant, and constantly provides us fantastic feedback on what is working and what isn't. Keeping our ear to the community for Chapter feedback is an ongoing process.

Lessons Learned

Our biggest lesson was learning how to implement our profession expertise system and what to look out for in future iterations of it. Getting the first implementation out of the way is priceless, as we now know exactly how to test our ideas to make sure that they are in fact coming to life exactly how we intended. A lot of times, what you think you are making and what you are actually making are a bit different, and having the experience of developing this Chapter will guide us in the future.

Audience Response

We are certainly pleased with the response. Our community seems to be responding extremely well to Chapter 2, and that's all we can hope for.

Looking Ahead

We will continue to implement our Profession Expertise system and focus on the Galactic Civil War over the coming Chapters.

Personal Thoughts

The most fun and interesting part of Star Wars Galaxies is the people... both the ones who make the game and those who play it. I would say we have some of the most intelligent people in the world playing our game, and getting to interact with them on a daily basis is pretty cool. We are constantly receiving private messages through our forums, and it is very valuable to hear what they have to say, and to learn what they have to teach us about our own game. Our fans are very dedicated, and for that, we are very grateful. The fans rock.

Jake Neri

Producer, Star Wars Galaxies

LucasArts

[Wrap Reports are intended to complement reviews by providing a post-release viewpoint that often isn't seen, the developer's. Since introducing this format in November of 2003, it has been our pleasure to publish quite a few, primarily within the RPG and online world categories, with selected action and strategy games also represented. A complete list of the previous ones may be found on the next page. - Ed.]