Over the past couple of weeks, rumours have been flying around about a Server or group working on a Pre-CU/NGE coding for Star Wars Galaxies and that they also have source code etc to make this happen.

SWGalaxies.net can reveal that this is indeed true and the community has voiced its support for the project. Other details and infromation will be coming soon, as soon as we know more. But, until then, you can join the debate in the forums

It's been a long wait for actual real combat in Galaxies but that wait is now over.

Beginning this week, guards will be stationed in major cities throughout Star Wars Galaxies to give players more information on the brewing conflict. Guards will be found in Theed, Mos Eisley, Bestine and Coronet, and will direct players to Restuss, a small city on the planet Rori. There, players who have dedicated their allegiance to the Rebels or the Empire will work together with their fellow faction members to build up their base and arms in preparation for the upcoming conflict.

Players of all levels in Star Wars Galaxies can participate in building up the factions? forces, along with discovering the backstory of this escalating conflict, by accepting gathering, mining and assassination quests in-game. Once tensions reach a breaking point, the final battle will commence, and Restuss will never be the same.

The Battle of Restuss will happen only one time in the Star Wars saga, and players must be present to participate.

Galaxies fans around the world finally have something to look forward to as a series of new updates and stories hit the servers. Despite the huge changes with NGE (New Game Enhancements), some minor improvements have been made to the combat system - namely targeting and of course a new round of veteran rewards have come online.

However, the biggest additions of all is the welcome introduction of some new content - without the need to pay extra for it! The Corellian Captives (Chapter 1) is the first of ongoing content to the game every six weeks. Four all-new quest series will lead players on an adventure to discover the whereabouts of a missing Corellian man?and right into the heart of a slaving ring hidden in plain sight. Players level 37 to 41 will find that a simple missing person assignment turns into much more as they work to infiltrate a massive operation and help those affected by unspeakable crimes.

An Escalating Galactic Civil War:

Beginning in late June, players will start to see (and be the instruments of) many changes to the galaxy. Soon, the Rebel Alliance and the Empire will begin to converge around the city of Restuss, building up their bases and armies to prepare for a final showdown. More information about the Battle of Restuss, this multi-stage, server-wide event, will be released in the very near future. You can tell us your throughts about these improvements on our forums

The official website has posted information about the recent game summits held across the USA. From the feedback we have, it seems that the Dev team were taking alot of notes. After a couple of years, have SOE run out of ideas to improve the game, or are they so far de-tatched from the community that it resorted to these summits?

Providing that this new information is followed up, anything like this can only be good news for the game as we can look forward to a full year of bug fixing.

PvP Enhancements: Change Duty Command

A command is now available that allows you to switch from ?Combatant? to ?Special Forces? in the field. This change in duty status will take 30 seconds to complete. Changing from ?Special Forces? to ?Combatant? however, will take 5 minutes.

This command is executed from the toolbar. You can find the toolbar button in your command browser (Press ";" to open your ability window).If you prefer to use the slash command, simply type /pvp in the spatial chat window and the command will change your status.

Players that are not Factionally aligned:

You must be aligned with the Empire or the Rebellion to use this ability. Players that were never aligned with either of the two primary factions cannot use this command to change their faction status. Players who were never aligned with the Empire or the Rebellion and try to use the Change Duty command will receive the following message: You can not change your duty status because you are not aligned with any faction.
If you would like to use this ability, you will need to seek out a faction recruiter in order to join a faction.

Factionally Aligned Players:

Can use the /pvp command in the spatial chat window or the Change Duty Status icon (which is available in your command browser) will receive a message informing them of their changing status.Will receive a system message update every time their status has changed.

Factionally aligned players can change their combat status:

If a player is On Leave, he or she will become an active duty combatant in 30 seconds.If the player is a Combatant, he or she will become Special Forces in 30 seconds. If the player is Special Forces, he or she will become an active duty Combatant in 5 minutes.

Upon Death:

Combatants and Special Forces will be automatically placed "On Leave."

Going On-Leave:

To go from Combatant to On-Leave, you will still have to see a Faction Recruiter to change your status.

Since my account expired, I didnt renew it simply because of NGE and the way that SOE delivered it to the community. However, I still keep an eye on what is going on and it does feel that all this talk of game improvements and revamps is just the same old story and full of hot air.

It also seems to be very clear, that some of the old Galaxies is creeping back into NGE, with recently announced 'Expertise' system, bringing back weapon damage, dependant on the weapon you actually use - and even more of a worry - reducing the impact that your level has on damage and other areas.

I'd be keen to hear from those still playing about these improvements because again, it seems that SOE are making changes that the game really doesnt need and that they should focus on actually delivering content - something that hasnt been added to the game in almost 2 years!

Should the game be given sometime to actually settle before even more sweeping changes are made? Or is the game still in such a poor condition that it needs all the help it can get? Post away!

Updated 1 minute ago