Star Wars Galaxies Restoration, the fan-made revival of the Star Wars MMO that closed its doors in 2011, has taken a major step forward with the release of a new update adding "planetary control mechanics" that promise to add new depth and complexity to the Galactic Civil War.
The planetary control system allows players to assign themselves regions of a planet, from where they can capture objectives and defend against enemy attacks. Successfully completing missions will enable players to rank up, with higher ranks conferring special abilities like air strikes and reinforcements, as well as exclusive armor and weapon skins and factional vendors. Commanders control local planetary regions and bases, Colonels control planets or the space above them, and Generals are in charge of entire systems.
But as Admiral Ozzel taught us all those years ago, if you want the glory you have to take the heat, and if you lose your region, you lose your rank and any bonuses it confers. (On the bright side, you probably won't be brutally throttled by your boss for parking in the wrong spot.)
The Star Wars Galaxies Restoration 1.1 update makes a number of other significant changes to the game including an overhaul of combat aimed at slowing some aspects of battle in order to "better reward strategy," the opening of a new Humanities Society Menagerie where players can bid on "new high-end custom artwork," some new profession names, and more than 100 fixes and tweaks.
The development team also announced some changes to the SWG Restoration development roadmap, which it said "gives our volunteer project the necessary space to breathe" and prioritizes features that players are most excited for. The 1.2 update will focus on Jedi and the "Force sensitive experience," which will feature a new world, enemies, and the appearance of a character who's apparently well-known to fans but hasn't been seen previously in a Star Wars game. A 64-bit client is also in the works, although there's no time frame on when it might be ready for release.
The big changes in the Star Wars Galaxies Restoration 1.1 update are below—the full line-by-line patch notes with all the fixes and tweaks is available at swgr.org.
- Planetary control mechanics are in place for Senior Officers with a focus on Base Busting. Players can now assign themselves regions to defend and are demoted upon losing control of the area.
- Reworked combat system that gives you more control of your character with emphasis on locomotion and combat states. Damage has been tuned to slow some aspects of combat down and better reward strategy.
- GCW Officer Ranks are now activated which include high end abilities such as Stasis Laser, Air Strike, and calling in reinforcements. Factional vendors at higher ranks now have exclusive armor & weapon skins.
- Across from the Bestine Museum, the Humanities Society Menagerie has opened. For an entrance fee, players can now bid on new high end custom artwork.
- Certain professions have been renamed to remove gendered language.
- Marksman is now known as Sharpshooter.
- Rifleman is now known as Sniper.
- Pikeman is now known as Lancer.
- Swordsman is now known as Berserker.
- Over 100 other fixes and tweaks to base gameplay have been added.
