Did you play Star Wars Galaxies? We’ve talked about it a lot here before because it is still one of the most popular Star Wars games to date. If you missed out on it back then, there’s still a way for you to play it now, which we will add at the end. For now, let’s take a look at all that this video has to show us about SWG. In this video below, The Positive Gamer talks about what made SWG so popular, how it was different from other games when it first came out, and how it differed from other Star Wars games up to that point. There was player-built housing, within player-built cities, and it was an entirely new concept from other games of the type. It didn’t have tons of NPCs to fill roles within the world. Instead, the expansive world of SWG had players fill these roles…
star wars galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies Legends – A Day On Tatooine
We loved Star Wars Galaxies and if you loved it, too, there are still servers where you can play with an emulator. Details for that below. If you played, you might find the video below nostalgic and even if you didn’t play, it’s still fun to watch. You can check out three friends just enjoying a nice day on Tatooine in Star Wars Galaxies Legends. Give it a watch and see their gameplay and even learn a little more about the game if you never had the chance to play it. It’s just under 30 minutes of play time, so enough to give you a good feel for the combat and playstyle. If you did play, what were your favorite parts? What did you play? What did you love the most about it? Does this video bring back memories for you? CaptainShack, Tabby and Morph takes a look at the…
Revisiting Star Wars Galaxies
If you have fond memories of Star Wars Galaxies, here is a video that will take you back. If you’ve been playing over at SWGEmu, then you’ll also appreciate this video. If you’re a Star Wars or Star Wars game fan who has not played SWG, you will still find this interesting. The video below takes a look back into the very popular game. While the official servers closed before SWTOR launched, you can now play the game once more if you still have an original copy of the game. The emulator allows you to experience the game as it was before, despite the official servers being dead long ago. So whether you wish to wax nostalgic about SWG or learn more about this defunct game that Star Wars gamer fans keep talking about, you will appreciate this video. It’s going to take you from the very beginning of explaining…
Death of a Game: Star Wars Galaxies
Many of us remember, with differing degrees of fondness, Star Wars Galaxies. The 2003 MMORPG underwent many substantial changes in its lifetime before its close in 2011, and YouTuber nerdSlayer chronicles the rise and fall of the game in his recent video, “Death of a Game: Star Wars Galaxies.” nerdSlayer breaks his video down into two parts: first, he narrates the game’s timeline from its creation to its demise, and second, he analyzes what went wrong that caused the game to die. In the case of Galaxies, it’s interesting to reflect upon what should have been a very sound pedigree for the game’s development. LucasArts partnered with none other than the distinguished talent of Verant Interactive, best known for EverQuest. In addition, one of the lead developers on Galaxies was Raph Koster, lead designer from the other well-known MMORPG of the time, Ultima Online. Despite this, Galaxies had a very…
Last Player in the Galaxy
Here’s a fun, if not somewhat bittersweet, old video from Star Wars Galaxies. For those who played back then, it might bring some nostalgia, or even some sad feelings about the official shutdown of the game. While it’s now available to play again thanks to SWG emu, there was a time when we thought we’d never see this game again and it was sad for the players who had made this game their home for so many years. If you’ve ever experienced a game shutdown like this before, you know that it can really affect you personally. You put a lot of time and energy into the game. You meet friends and you invest time with these friends. You create characters and you time, attention, and even love into building those characters and leveling them up. The experiences of the characters are like your own experiences. So for all of…
Star Wars Galaxies – Evolution
Here is a fun video for any SWG fans out there, or just anyone who wants to see something interesting from an MMO perspective. Anachroschism has compiled a video of the evolution of their Star Wars Galaxies character. It’s a lot of fun and set to some great music and it really makes you reflect on the time and work that goes into making a character like this. This is an old-school video that will really take you back to the heyday of SWG if you were a fan and player at the time. If it doesn’t bring back the nostalgia feeling for you as a player, it’s still very interesting to anyone who enjoys this style of game even today. There’s something magical about creating a character and then watching it grow and progress throughout the game. Players spend many countless hours on these characters and it’s often a labor of…
Footloose (Star Wars Galaxies video)
Taken from one of the biggest hits of the 80s, this video recreates the last dance scene, using images taken from Star Wars Galaxies (MMORPG). It’s actually really well done and spot on with the scene from the movie. I’m not sure how many people were involved in making this video happen but they did a fantastic job. I can’t imagine the choreography and planning but it’s so much fun to watch. If you played SWG and you didn’t see this before, it’s a fun little blast from the past. Even if you did see it before, it’s fun to watch again. I love seeing how people would use an open game like SWG to create mini movies and scenes like this. It was also really common to see people recreate scenes from popular movies. So here we have two things you might never have thought would come together: 80s…
TOR TV: Star Wars Galaxies Trailer
Who remembers the excitement of Star Wars Galaxies for the first time? For many of us, this was an exciting time. We were going to get to experience Star Wars for ourselves, become immersed in the story, create our own characters… we were getting to BE Star Wars! It was awesome. If you never played SWG, you’ve probably at least heard us talk about it here. You probably have heard people in SWTOR talk about it. There’s a reason this game was so popular and still has a cult following even to this day. It’s no surprise, really, that fans would decide to pick it back up and revamp the project. If you never had the chance to see the trailer that sucked everyone in, or if you’re just looking for a piece of nostalgia today, check out the video below and experience it once again. We love SWTOR, of…
SWG “Winter”: A Review
Have you been wondering what people are thinking of the SWG server “Winter”? This isn’t meant to be a space to bash on other servers or things you don’t like but definitely a place to talk for a bit about Winter and see an opinion from someone who used to play in the SOE days. So far, the consensus seems to be very positive about this server. That said, let’s take a look at what one player thinks of the server. This review from Kimaria, who is not a dev or biased person, but just a player getting to test things, is very helpful if you’ve been wondering if you should try it for yourself: I’ve been testing there for over a month now and am floored by the amount of work that has been done. Server stability is excellent. Bugs are being addressed on a daily basis and staff…
Star Wars Galaxies Fan Fest (2005)
Back in the day, there were two Fan Fests for Star Wars Galaxies. LucasArts hosted these events as a way to honor and celebrate the many fans of the game, and also to provide a way for them to all come together and meet. The 2004 Fan Fest was held at the Hilton Anaheim in June. It was a great time to be in California as the weather is great and of course, the venue was wonderful. Players had the chance to meet one another and also to talk to developers, participate in panels, and play in in-game and live events. Tickets ran from $89-100, depending on if you pre-purchased or got them at the door. It was a lot of fun, as these types of fan events tend to be. If you played SWG back then, you will remember how close-knit the community was. In addition to it being…
TOR TV: Star Wars Galaxies – Duel of the Fates
Fan projects are so much fun. That’s one reason I write so much about them here. We love being able to share with you the cool, fun, and sometimes funny stuff we find from other fans online and around the globe. Sometimes you send it to us via Facebook or email and we love that too. I think Star Wars fans are some of the most creative people around. Seriously, I write about a lot of fan stuff but it’s the Star Wars fans that really put their heart and souls into things and seem to come up with some of the best and most creative ideas. Here’s a little project we found that recreates the Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace using Star Wars Galaxies. It’s a fun little watch even if you never played the game but bonus enjoyment if you were a fan of SWG, too. It’s…
A Look at Star Wars: Galaxies EMU
We have talked a lot about Star Wars Galaxies here. It was a huge favorite of many before SWTOR and some fans just didn’t want to let go. I can completely understand why, and this is why it’s great that we have the SWG EMU to allow you to still experience the game you knew and loved so much. So, if you have not tried Star Wars Galaxies EMU, then this video might help you know if this is something you want to try for yourself. If you’re missing the “good ole’ days” and one of the last sandbox experiences where you truly had the ability to make nearly anything you wanted, then you might want to give this a go. In this video, he tells you all about modding graphics and whatever else you need to know about SWGEMU, the styling, what’s good about the game, what kind of…
TOR TV: The World We Wrote – A Cinematic Tribute to Star Wars Galaxies
The World We Wrote: A Cinematic Tribute to Star Wars Galaxies [Globus] We love fan films. I loved SWG and since it was shut down in December of 2011, I have enjoyed seeing the various ways that other fans pay tribute to our beloved game. If you have not seen this video tribute to the game from Third Age Films, it’s really worth it. I feel a bit of nostalgia every time I go back and re-watch it. If you played SWG at all, you’re probably going to get some of the same warm and fuzzies when you watch this short film. It’s just over 5 minutes long so don’t feel like you have to give up a big portion of your evening to watch it. It’s hands-down one of the best SWG tribute videos ever. Check it out here: The MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies, launched in 2003, was shut…
TOR TV: Fett’s Vette (Original) featuring Mc Chris
Hello Star Wars Galaxies fans. When it comes to great Star Wars games, you cannot get past how awesome SWG was. As excited as we were to see SWTOR nearing launch, it came with the bittersweet news that SWG was going to close up shop. Thanks to the fans who love it enough to want to keep it alive, the game is not only still alive, but experiencing a new height of popularity with certain crowds. This makes us really happy! So with that, we want to bring you a little oldie but goodie from the YouTube vault. If you somehow missed this from the earlier SWG days, check out Fett’s Vette. This is a classic! What does a bounty hunter like Boba Fett need to keep taking those jobs for? Well, to finance his vette, of course! Here it is! Star Wars Galaxies is still available on Amazon, if…
Star Wars Galaxies – Returned
Released in 2003, Star Wars Galaxies was a Star Wars themed MMORPG by Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. For those who can remember when the game first came out, it was unlike other games of this genre we had seen. This game put the player in the driver’s seat and gave you more control of things, like never before. Over the years, we’ve seen SWG rise in popularity and fanbase, then fall (and many would say it had failed) and then return and rise again, a big part in thanks to the volunteers who keep the project going since it is no longer officially sponsored. In “The rise, fall and return of Star Wars Galaxies”, Dennis Scimeca talks about Doug Rush and his history with the game. It’s an interesting look at someone who saw the Star Wars films but didn’t consider themselves a die-hard fan, and someone who also didn’t…
SWG How To Series from SWG Restoration
SWG Restoration is a completely redesigned SWG server with improved balance, new content, items, effects and abilities all in the pre cu engine. There are several SWG servers out there today growing in popularity but they are not all created equally. We know that SWG fans want to find the best servers, maintained by devs who know what they are doing and also who love the game, and where they have enough fellow fanbase to have people to enjoy the game with. So if you have not already, Restoration might be one to look into. They also have some useful guides up on YouTube as part of a SWG How-to series. Here you can find the full list of SWG Restoration Jedi guides. Here are a couple of the guides: And: Just some things the server has: -Perma death Jedi -Jedi are automatically TEF’d to the world when lightsaber is equipped…
SWGEMU: Vendors Disappearing and Basilisk Rollback
Something bad happened over with SWGEMU today recently. They were quick to update to the forums and Facebook to let members know what was going on. No excuses, no twisting of the facts but just a simply notification of what was happening and how they intended to fix it. As many members of the community have said, a roll back is better than vendor loss. They worked hard and quickly to try to correct the issue. Here’s the update in case you missed it. From SWGEMU forums: Well something got messed up pretty bad. Unfortunately bunch of vendors, shuttleports and starports went poof. While we are investigating the issue, we are making backups and trying to find the underlying cause. At the moment the worst case scenario would be a rollback. If that happens, and we are hoping it wont have to come to that, all characters created in the…
There is an Upset in the Force within SWG Community
Last month there was some drama in the SWG community. We hesitated to even write about it right away, lest we stir the hornet’s nest. It’s also not completely clear what even happened. We suspect only the parties directly involved know all of the truth. That said, there are recordings of the Teamspeak conversation that took place on this subject and people who have come forward since the big blowup to add details. Here are the basics of what we can unfurl. Apparently there was a mass hacking, or what was believed to be a mass hacking, in SWG Reborn but then later Aconite came onto staff Teamspeak (allegedly) and said it was a takeover. That he, seefo, levarris and singe (Vlock) were taking over. There are some recordings of the entire event you can find here if you want to have a listen: The recording starts off with Aconite…
An Afternoon with the Star Wars Galaxies Emulator
One day, James Currie, wrote a story on his blog, destructoid.com, about crafting and he used Star Wars: Galaxies as an example. He then realized that the old Star Wars MMO had an emulator and he had to give it a whirl right then. Depending on your age you may or may not remember that before microtransactions came to be, there was pre-NGE Star Wars Galaxies and players played roles like smugglers, bounty hunters and gunslingers. However, Sony purchased the game and then introduced Jedi with the ‘New Game Enhancements.’ Many players hated the new update and the Star Wars community was in a rage. After several years of no improvement, SWG shut down but the emulators rose up. Because NGE dropped the SWG, the emulator project grew. It was a huge hit and he has been playing it ever since. The one thing that is captivating, according to Currie, was…
Darjani SWGE Goes Open Source, Too
We’re seeing a trend here these days in the Star Wars: Galaxies community. Following the lead of SWGEmu, they are going open source. After a year of silence and the complete death of their website, Dajarni Emu has finally announced that they will be up and running this summer. This post here on their Facebook page explains: After long silence, here is a heads up.Currently there is a new situaion with SWGEmu, since they finally decided to go… Posted by Darjani SWGE Galaxy on Sunday, May 3, 2015 Now with this in mind, you can expect to see some good things coming to the community. As always, we can expect to see some shifts and growing pains as a game ages and as the community around it grows and shifts. This is just one more example of that. The top sites/servers will rise above the rest with the changes and good things will…
Following SWGEmu’s Lead, ProjectSWG Goes Open Source
There are some changes happening over at ProjectSWG and it might be good for everyone involved. Following the lead from SWGEmu, they are going open source. Here is some information from the official post that also explains what their plans are for the future. Greetings citizens of ProjectSWG, In an effort to get the community actively involved in the development of ProjectSWG, we have decided to make some major changes to how we’ll be approaching our code. Below are the various changes that we’ll be making in regards to the further development of the core. Expect to see these changes pushed through soon. Core name change: In order to not be mixed up with SWG Emu’s Core 3 code we have decided to change the name of our core to Holocore. Change of license: Inspired by the announcement of SWG Emu team to go fully open source with their engine (http://www.swgemu.co…ad.php?t=159544) we have…
Did Star Wars Galaxies Fail?
We have talked at length here before about Star Wars Galaxies. A good number of our readers were Star Wars: Galaxies fans for sure. So if you have yet to read Raph Koster’s write-ups on SWG, you are missing out. His final post in the series is Did Star Wars Galaxies Fail? and brings up some good points about the game, the community and what has become of it now. A snippet: So, was it a failure? Well yes, of course. And also, no. It depends how you ask the question. There are a lot of assumptions out there about how the game did, particularly in its original form. So, let’s start by tackling some of those: Galaxies actually had the best one-month conversion of any game at SOE, by a double-digit percentage. More new players decided to stick it out past one month. Given the one-month period, you can’t…
The amazing ‘Star Wars Galaxies’ Jedi mode that never was
Raph Koster, creative director for the 2003 MMO Star Wars Galaxies game began his discussion on the problems that the design team were up against was this: “Well, my opinion is Jedi are evil.” Many fans decided to give up on the game back then because a third major patch added a Jedi as a character. The problem is that Jedi’s are too powerful and rare to be successfully added in. Before the game ever launched, the design team went over many ways to make a Jedi playable in the game and Koster said that there was one solution, “the crazy idea I still wish we had done.” Inspired by Diablo’s Hardcore mode, the system was “that affectively gave a different way to play the game. A method that kept Jedi rare, powerful, and yet allowed everyone a shot,” Koster stated. However, this solution was not a solution after all….
Playtesting for SWGEmu – What You Should Know
Have you played SWGEmu yet? We’re looking for your thoughts on it as Star Wars and SWG fans. Late last year I wrote a post about the SWG emulator and what SWG fans could expect from it. Guest Tosche Station actually posted a comment to that original article recently that we thought deserved its own post since it was so lengthy and well thought-out. You can see the original comment here: If anyone reading has an interest in playtesting for SWGEmu, there are a few things you should keep in mind; 1). If you’re never played Star Wars Galaxies at all, you’re gonna have a bad time. The SWGEMU community is comprised of diehard SWG players who put on a good show of being friendly and helpful, until you start asking questions they don’t know the answers to. Then you’ll discover just how insular the SWGEMU community is, and the fact…