Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed Q&A
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Q: Could you discuss the changes that the expansion will make both to player crafting and to the economy? We know that spaceships will require costly equipment like weapons and shields, and we've also heard that space battles may yield fabulous treasures. How will these changes affect the larger game, and how will adventuring on terra firma be balanced out to make sure it remains worthwhile?
A: The substantive change to player crafting (as it's known to Galaxies players) will be the addition of the shipwright profession. In general, the crafting processes will all remain the same. As for the impact on the economy, that's a matter of pure speculation...for the moment. One thought is that this will really open trade, making it much more efficient for people to travel to far reaches to find, trade, and buy rare resources and items. Another plausible addition resulting from Jump to Lightspeed could be intergalactic taxi and tourism services. Players are extremely opportunistic, and they've often found ways to make money and develop the economy that we never expected. Once folks start playing the beta, we'll know things (lots of them) for sure.
Loot is important (and lots of fun), but it doesn't damage the shipwright's role in our economy. This is mainly due to the fact that we've built a robust "reverse engineering" system that involves shipwrights extensively. Some of the very best, most exotic starship components will come from this process.
As far as keeping the ground game compelling, it's important to note that updates to Star Wars Galaxies after Jump to Lightspeed launches will include content for both the ground game and space. Jump to Lightspeed is both an extension of the game and the completion of the vision of the gameplay mechanics, but is not a stand-alone game.
