Star Wars: The Old Republic Preview

The editors at GamesRadar have conjured up their own preview of Star Wars: The Old Republic, and it looks to be based on the hands-off demonstration presented behind closed doors at E3.
Daniel Erickson, lead writer at BioWare Austin, explains: (Every player will get their own starship, and there are different starships for all the different types of class. So there's a Trooper ship, a Smuggler ship, and a Jedi and Sith ship.) From this description, we can assume that the recently-announced advanced classes won't be receiving unique ships when you pick a path at high levels.

(The Jedi ship and the Sith ship evoke the Ebon Hawk from the Knights of the Old Republic series, although they are much larger and much more evolved.) But what part do they play in the game? Are they simply glorified mounts? Not at all: (They're your base of operations, where your companions live, that take you from planet to planet. They're everything the fans have been asking for, in terms of the fantasy of owning your own starship.) Basically, you can walk around in them. When we ask whether you'll be able to play holochess, we're not told no: the rules are out there, and a board has been seen in the artwork so far.

So, do the classes' home worlds serve as tutorial worlds, a starting area from which you earn your wings and fly free? (Not exactly. There are other ways to get around, so you won't feel restricted when you start out. We're not talking too much about how these travel systems work, but eventually you get your ship and you can go wherever you like.) The ship grows with you, and more than just your companions can use it you can invite other players aboard. It certainly sounds interesting, even if we're not certain how it'll work, yet.