Jump to Lightspeed: Beta Impressions Company: LucasArts Much to the dismay of my editor, I was recently invited to participate in the beta tests for the first expansion to Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed. Though this opportunity has contributed to a slight delay in my usual work load (even these impressions are a day late), it has also resulted in this really cool preview and a chance to get my hands on one of my most anticipated games of this year. I have been playing Galaxies for about a year. I?ve endured the hologrind and the resulting Jedi onslaught, as well as delays, setbacks, and just about every other growing pain an MMO can go through during its infancy. I?ve even endured playing as a character comprised of two of the most broken professions in the game (proud to be a Master Smuggler/Master Pistoleer). Through it all, only two things have kept me going: the always interesting drama on the Valcyn servers, and the promise of one day having the opportunity to jump in my own star fighter and take on all comers on a massive scale. As a big fan of X-Wing vs TIE Fighter and Alliance, I couldn?t wait to once again get the chance to fly with and against other human players. Other gamers opted for taking out friends with their BFG, I felt more comfortable behind the flight stick of an X-Wing. Jump to Lightspeed provides just that experience. Above all, Jump to Lightspeed completes the puzzle that is Star Wars Galaxies. With the expansion, the game finally reaches the stars and gets away from the ground-based game. Though that portion of the game still remains intact, the idea of jumping into your own star fighter or grouping up with friends on a multi-passenger ship is too easy to pass up. Your flight career begins with a simple series of in-game emails. Your first contact will be from the Empire, encouraging you to join the academy. You?ll also be approached by the freelance pilots? guild, which will let you fly for groups like Corsec and the Hutts. Soon after, a scrambled message will display, offering you an opportunity to fly for the Rebellion. The initial set up is really cool and really helps to draw you into the game. Which faction you choose to fly for will, for the most part, depend on who you are aligned with in ground game -- which means Imperial players won?t be able to jump into an X-Wing and Rebels won?t get their hands on a TIE Fighter. After joining up, it?s time to get a starter ship. After talking to your particular recruiter, you?ll be awarded with your own ship. The story behind how you acquire your ship is different for each group. When playing as a Rebel recruit, I was reluctantly given a ship to borrow, after all, the Rebellion isn?t swimming in credits. As a Privateer, I had to acquire my ship through ?other? means. The setup is within the same context as missions that come from terminals -- with lots of dialog that translates into little action -- but it?s still a nice setup and adds to the game. The starter ship is pretty basic and doesn?t offer much. This is mainly meant as a way to get you into space quickly. New ships are acquired by visiting a shipwright and picking up a new ship along with components to upgrade it with. In addition to the requisite X-Wing and TIE fighter models, more than 15 different vehicles are available to players. These include faction specific ships like Y-Wings, B-Wings and a crop of TIE Fighter Models. Other recognizable craft from the Star Wars universe like the YT-1300 (know in some circles as the Millennium Falcon) and Firespray (Boba Fett?s ship) are presented. New ships, like the Hutt Fighter and Devastator are also available. Access to ships is gated and based on how far up the piloting trees each player is. Rookie pilots will be able to access basic craft like TIE Fighters and Headhunters, but higher level pilots will be able to fly A-Wing and B-Wing star fighters, the TIE Advance, and even the YT-1300. As previously mentioned, which ships players have access to all depends on which faction they align themselves with. Jump to Lightspeed also introduces new loot, which can be used to repair and enhance your ship. Enhancements include the option to enhance the handling of your ship, as well as its outward appearance. Loot items are pirated off of destroyed ships and automatically added to a player?s inventory. This loot can either be immediately added to a ship for a slight performance boost, or be taken to a Shipwright to be reverse engineered. Reverse engineering a part allows players to get more of an upgrade out of parts. New parts improve the handling, power, and durability of ships. Once in space, the experience is completely different from that on the ground. The entire system is real-time and relies on player skill more than how good of a template you build your character into. Players who enjoyed the X-Wing series, like myself, will get into the swing of things a little quicker -- but things are kept simple enough that anyone can jump right in and play. Ships can be controlled either by the mouse/keyboard interface or by a joystick. Either way works well, although improvements late in the beta have made the joystick a much more viable option. In-space missions are taken in a similar fashion as ground-based missions, but are strictly story-based and gated. You can only take certain missions in a certain order -- all of which build up a nice little story for your character. Some missions will even allow players to select from a few options, such as search and destroy or escort. Completing missions will earn you experience and unlock sets of boxes for players to train in. Leveling up will not only grant access to better ships, but also improved power management controls and better loot components. After mastering a piloting profession, players can still earn Prestige Points that will allow them to access high-level areas. It?s been a long time coming, but judging from the beta, Jump to Lightspeed is on track to be a great addition to an already addicting game, and is a big step in the right direction towards getting Galaxies back on top. -Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker Related Links: Jump to Lightspeed: Official Site Star Wars Galaxies: Station Site LucasArts