Pre-release FAQ

[GalaxiesBook]

10. Structures and Territory

10.01 Will I be able to own a house or building in SWG?
Yes, they intend to allow players to place and own buildings and structures, and control access to them.

10.02 Will it matter where I build my house in the game?
they're putting a fair amount of emphasis on economic drivers of intelligent building. They're providing direct incentives not only by allowing them to form towns, but also by reducing the maintenance costs of houses that are near other houses.

10.03 Will I be able to move my house to a new location after I've built it?
You should be able to, yes.

10.04 Can I own a shop?
If you own a suitable structure, you can hire an NPC to run a shop there for you. You will need to supply the stock for the shop, and you get to set the sale and purchase prices for the goods you sell and wish to buy. You'll have to pay the NPC out of the shop earnings, however, or they'll quit.

10.05 Will I be able to throw people out of my cantina or shop?
You can eject people from your structures, and you may also permanently ban unwanted people from you structures as well.

10.06 Can we ransack houses and shops?
No. Houses and shops cannot be ransacked.

10.07 Will I be able to break into bases undetected with the right equipment?
there will be slicing skills and there are currently some missions that require players to sneak into installations or other spots using these skills.

10.08 Will there be player-run cities in the game?
Yes. If enough players colonize a portion of the map, they will be able to declare themselves to be a city, elect city officials, decide what powers officials can have, and determine local laws and factional alignment.

10.09 If a group of players settles a town, will they be able to set up defenses for it?
Yes, you can build walls, turrets, minefields, etc., to defend your towns.

10.10 Who owns the land inside a player city?
Nobody, unless someone has built there. The only land that is owned is land that someone has built something on.

10.11 Can I hold Territory in the game?
Yes, you can. By building structures on the map, including automatic defenses, walls, and turrets, players can work together to build towns or bases.

10.12 Can I clear rocks or trees in an area I want to build, or will they prevent me from building in that location?
When you place a structure, it clearcuts the land under it automatically and removes the trees or rocks. If the structure is removed, the terrain returns to its previous state (the trees spring back fully grown, etc.).

10.13 What will happen to my structures when I log out?
Your house or shop remains on the map when you are not logged on. In the case of a shop, it even stays open. You can also have your house open if you so choose, or have a specific list of people you allow to access it.

10.14 What will prevent player-building from overrunning a planet, turning a forest moon into something like coruscant, for example?
There will be areas where players can build and areas where they can't. They also plan to have some rudimentary "zoning restrictions" that allow only certain types of buildings in certain areas. they're likely to have a few planets where players can build anything anywhere, and a few planets where they can't build anything anywhere, and then a series of worlds that reflect everything in-between those two extremes.

10.15 Will we be able to rent, lease, or buy buildings from NPCs in established NPC cities?
No, not currently.

10.16 Can I build multi-story buildings? Or buildings that extend underground?
Yes, you can build multi-story buildings. They haven't finalized the exact floorplans for all player-buildable structures yet, but the technology exists for them to extend underground.

10.17 Will we be able to build large scale, turbolaser sized guns?
Yes, there will be some large military installations available in the game, but they will require certain skill and faction pre-requisites to construct.

10.18 Will player buildings vary in style?
On many planets, architecture for player housing will be designed to match the surrounding architecture. For example, the player buildings on Tatooine will look like they belong side-by-side with other Tatooine buildings. We’ll also have some “generic” architecture that can function on a variety of less well-established worlds.

10.19 In player-run towns and cities, will we be able to move buildings to make room for new structures?
The mayor of a player town or city will have the power to make room for new structures.

[GalaxiesBook]

11. Community

11.01 Will you support Player Guilds?
Yes. they are called Player Associations (PAs), and they intend to offer lots of game mechanics to help players manage their associations.

11.02 In player associations, can we designate officers and delegate administrative powers to those officers?
The selected leader will have various powers such as ejection, recruitment, etc, and will be able to grant powers to other members of the guild, in effect building their own hierarchy. So, if you want a treasurer, for example, the leader can name one and give him the appropriate powers for that office.

11.03 Are players going to be able to maintain a "friends list" in-game to help keep up with their online friends?
Yes, there will be a friends list.

11.04 Will there be an "ignore list" which will block messages from players I can add and subtract from the list?
Yes. they plan to include all the conventional chat filters, so you'll be able to ignore specific players if you feel the need.

11.05 Will you support global chat systems and an equivalent to /tell?
Yes, they will, through your datapad. Given the accessibility of ICQ/IRC, it's a losing battle to try to keep people from communicating long distance instantly with each other. In addition, the social benefits of global communication are enormous. They will however work to reduce spam as much as possible, and will make all channels optional, and supply user-configurable ignore filters.

11.06 Will text appear over the character's head or in a chat box?
You get to choose which you prefer.

11.07 Will player names float above our characters' heads?
Bringing up the names over people's heads will be an option.

11.08 How can I look up other players that are online?
they are planning on having a "who's online" list you can access via your PDA, with a bunch of filtering options for it. For example, you'll be able to filter by types of profession the player chooses to be listed as, by planet, etc.

11.09 Can I remove myself from the 'who list'?
You can take yourself off the 'who list', or choose what profession titles you want to have visible.

11.10 Will there be features that help players find groups?
You can set a flag on the WHO'S ONLINE screen you access via your datapad. That lets you sort by various criteria, one of which shows those looking for a group. You can see what professions the people are (if they choose to show that to others) and communicate with them to build a group.

11.11 Will there be support for chat channels?
Yes. they have auction channels and channels for specific professions and factions (among others).

11.12 What type of chat modes will be provided?
Players will be able to select from three modes: raw, chat, and prose. In raw mode, all chat appears as a simple message, exactly as typed. If Luke types "Hello. I'm a Jedi," everyone around him sees "Luke: Hello. I'm a Jedi." In Chat mode, players will read a slightly more elaborate message. In the above example, players might see: "'Hello. I'm a Jedi,' says Luke." In prose mode, we're including emotions, grammatical variations, and other additions. Again, using the above example, players might read. "'Hello, I'm a Jedi,' Luke says happily." You can also use alternate verbs like "mutter", "grumble" or "whine" if you like.

11.13 Will I be able to communicate and interact with players who are part of factions opposite my own?
Yes, you can definitely converse and interact with them.

11.14 Will there be in-game bulletin boards?
Yes, they plan to support several in-game boards that range from political discussion forums and Q&A forums to notice boards and social forums. Some boards will be considered restricted; access to these special boards might be based on faction, skill/profession, species, etc. PLayers can also creat, and maintain their own boards.

[GalaxiesBook]

13. External Testing

12.01 Will there be a public Beta Test?
Yes, beta will begin during the summer of 2002. Initial phases will involve mostly internal testers. They are presently accepting applications for consideration in beta. Most people won't be able to enter until Beta III or IV.

12.02 How do I sign up for the Beta Test?
To sign up for the Beta, please answer all of the questions on the official Beta Application http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com/beta_questionaire.jsp . Note, you must be a Station Member (free registration) to sign up for the Star Wars Galaxies Beta.

12.03 How are the first Beta participants selected?
There are many factors in selecting potential first round beta testers. In the process of trying to make the best possible use of test, they will primarily be hand-selecting people from their community. Beta selection will not be based on number of posts (at their boards). Please do not be discouraged if you are not selected for an early Beta. Eventually everyone will have the opportunity to participate.

12.04 Is that fair? Why not a random selection?
The purpose of the first round of beta test is not to be fair or reward loyalty. The purpose is to test specific aspects of the game. A later stage of Beta will open up to all fans.

12.05 Will Beta testers be able to talk about the game to others?
They will have a very strict Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that all Beta testers must agree to. They take violations of the agreement very seriously and they will result in banning from Beta and possible legal action. In a later stage of Beta, the NDA will be lifted and people will be able to talk freely about the game.

12.06 What are the stages of the Beta?
The Beta will be broken up into four official stages. Beta I will be primarily internal with a select few extra people in it. The game will be extremely unstable, unpolished and unbalanced. Beta II will open the doors a little wider for some more people from the community. Beta III will include several thousand coming from different sources, but mainly from the community. Beta IV will essentially be an open beta, though there may be some qualifications. This last Beta will primarily exist to stress test the servers and systems.

[GalaxiesBook]

------------------------------> Profession List <---------------------------
This is the Official final Professions list. It does not include a list of skills, that will come later, but these will be the base for the skill trees you have been reading about.

*Thanx to jackattack1 for bringing this list to my attention.

**Note that certain professions are considered "Elite" and will not be available to starting characters.


Architect
This profession combines skills from the architecture and general crafting disciplines. A player in this profession can build structures including player venues, installations, and municipal structures.

Armorer
This profession combines skills from the armor design and general crafting disciplines. A player in this profession can create armor for players and structures.

Bounty Hunter
This elite profession combines skills from the investigation, slicing and combat disciplines. A player in this advanced profession can hunt down other players with bounties and is an accomplished combatant.

Chef
This profession combines skills from the cooking and general crafting disciplines. A player in this profession can create all kinds of foods. Foods are not necessary but are quite useful for temporarily improving a player's attributes

Combat Engineer
This profession combines skills from the engineering and combat disciplines. A player in this profession can both hold his/her own in a fight and repair items that are broken or damaged in combat.


Combat Medic
This profession combines skills from the medical and combat disciplines. A player in this profession can both hold their own in a fight as well as heal those who are injured in the field.

Commando
This profession combines skills from both the ranged and melee combat disciplines. A player in this profession is dangerous both at range and up close.

Creature Handler
This profession combines skills from both the combat and creature handling disciplines. A player in this profession can tame and train animals. A tamed animal can be sold to other players who have sufficient skill to control the creature.

Doctor
This profession combines skills from the medical and chemical design disciplines. A player in this profession can cure all kinds of damage including shock wounds.

Droid Engineer
This profession combines skills from the droid design and general crafting disciplines. A player in this profession can design droid components, instruments and droids themselves.

Entertainer
This profession includes skills from the dancing and musicianship disciplines. A player in this profession can play musical instruments and perform dance routines for the benefit of others.

Explorer
This profession combines skills from the linguistics, outdoorsmanship, and combat disciplines. A player in this profession can “solo” as well as translate for group members.

Farmer
This elite profession combines skills from the farming and facility management disciplines. A player in this profession can grow plants and animals for foods and medicines.

Gunsmith
This profession combines skills from the ranged weapons design and general crafting disciplines. A player in this profession can design ranged weapons and their components.

Image Designer
The Image Designer profession combines skills from the body customization and tailoring disciplines. A player in this profession can modify the way other players look as well as create clothing.

Jedi
Jedi is a special case profession that requires considerable prerequisites (such as being Force sensitive). A player in this profession has access to considerable Force wielding skills, but they would be wise to keep that information to themselves as the Galactic Empire aggressively hunts the Jedi.

Marksman
This profession combines skills from the ranged combat disciplines. A player in this profession is extremely dangerous in ranged combat.

Melee Weaponsmith
This profession combines skills from the melee weapon design and general crafting disciplines. A player in this profession can design melee weapons and their components.

Merchant
This elite profession combines skills from the merchant, facility management, and general crafting disciplines. A player in this profession can operate vendors and run player-venues.

Miner
This elite profession combines skills from the mining and facility management disciplines. A player in this profession can extract valuable resources from the environment.

Politician
This elite profession includes skills from the politics and linguistics disciplines. A player in this advanced profession can run for office and manage a player city.

Ranger
This profession combines skills from the creature handling, outdoorsmanship, and combat disciplines. A player in this profession can “solo” as well as find creatures for the food or taming.


Smuggler
This profession combines skills from the smuggling and ranged combat disciplines. A player in this profession can move “illicit” materials past “faction police” with greater ease and are useful to players involved in commerce.

Squad Leader
This profession combines skills from the leadership and combat disciplines. A player in this profession provides combat and movement bonuses to anyone that is grouped with them.

Teras Kasi Artist
This profession combines skills from the melee combat and melee tactics disciplines. A player in this profession is extremely dangerous in melee combat. Teras Kasi, or “steel hands”, is a Bunduki martial arts discipline focusing on weaponless combat.




Well, I hope this helps out some of you who might be new to SWG. feel free to append new information, but please keep the information realevent (nothing about IGN city should be posted in this thread), and reletively official (no rumors please)