Memories of Star Wars Galaxies Episode II

Tonight, I'm going to post some more memories I gleaned from my past in classic SWG and entertain you all. This time I will be gleaning a few from my Bria toon. First a little background about how I started out on Bria. Like I mentioned in the previous SWG memory post the CU had hit and driven most of my friends to quitting or migrating to busier servers. Eventually, I decided I was bored hanging around the quiet Cantina in FarStar with nothing but the occasional AFK Entertainer bot for company so I created my toon on the busiest and more notorius server SWG had.That server was Bria. Bria was infamous for several things, it was the first and laggiest server SWG has ever had and it was big on PVP. It was also an AmericanWest Coast server which operated on a different time zone to my previous European server.

I cared not and created my human male (I regret not making any interesting alien toonswhen SWG finally bit the big one) named Akrady Renko. I heard that for once, The GalacticEmpire on Bria was the top dog in the GCW and from the very start when I got SWG I decidedto become an Imperial. I was finally determined to grind up and get a full suit of Stormtrooperarmour. I also decided to grind up a Ranged toon, Pistoleer, Carbineer with a mixture of Scout.
I made the toon my main after the effects of the CU became fully apparent and began playing Ak more than Rom.

I joined the Imperial Navy instead of the Army and worked hard in my training TIE Fighterand soon was wearing the full gear of an Imperial Navy TIE Fighter Pilot. Sadly, I didn't feel Imperial enough. Then I spotted groups of more than one player wearing Stormtrooper armour all around Tatooine, which was once again my playground planet. I asked earnestlyif I could join and it turned out to be an RP guild. I cared not, and begged. I was givenan interview with one of their Officers in the City Cantina where their PA Hall was.

I passed and became a fleging member of Stormtrooper Gamma Company in its glory days.With ST-G, I worked hard and RPed with them to my hearts content even getting the hang of the CUeventually and began hanging around exclusively with them in general. Several members workedhard and helped me slowly earn the FP for purchasing Stormtrooper armour (Before the CU you just neededFP to get the stuff from a recruiter) but eventully one of my friends gave me a lucky break and boughtme a full post CU crafted set of Stormie armour. I was most impressed, But I still needed an assload ofFP to equip and wear it.

One of the interesting things we did in ST-G when we got together and formed a nice littleImperial Platoon full of immaculately armoured Stormtroopers and Officers was either RP PatrolMos Eisley or help the Empire in general on the server by scouting out and removing PVEor rarely, PVP bases on the planet. The experince of storming the first base, getting into cover and shooting out the defensive turrets and then charging in ready to take on the Rebel Soldiers inside with aims to activate the self destruction sequince still is in my fond memories now.

I remember a Veteran, Clad in Clonetrooper Expansion Pack Fodder armour giving me an entireset of Scouttrooper armour for free, much to my friends envy. I loved that armour and I stillwish I wore it, even only just once before I left the game. Sadly, I needed 20k fp to wearand bind each individual piece to me. Towards the late CU, a friend in the Guild also gave me his TIE Interceptor which I never got a chance to equip up and fly.

Apparently, Our PA had to leave the city we were stationed in because the New Mayorwas Pro-Rebel and ST-G resettled on the green Gungan and Spider infested swampy plainsof Naboo in a player city known as Central Dogma. One of our PA Allies, COMPNOR had createdthe city and welcomed us with open arms. From now on, Naboo and Theed Cantina would be mynew home but the Patrols on Mos Eisley never stopped then. I got my favourite home for free for joiningCentral Dogma, before once more it was another small Tatooine Mudhut. The Medium sized Naboohome was huge and I decorated it finerly with furniture, memoirs of my travels and loot.I even kept a Pet Dewback which I couldn't ride because of the CU in the basement. I named him Billy. I used Imperial butter to get him through the doorway.

I remember as the Episode III Hype was getting big that SOE forced LA to unleash a prequal-tastic Expansion called Rage of The Wookiees. With that expansion, we got an entirelynew planet (Kashyssk) which was basically just a huge, laggy and slightly bug filled theme park.I remember reading in the Bria forums the Ryatt Trail Controversies between the ever growingnumber of J3di and Bounty Hunters. I remember myself how laggy it got on this planet for myPC and when the novelty of the new place wore off I rarely went.

The J3di Rift that swallowed the whole game even hit ST-G, A few Commanding Officers and 3rd generation ST-G members began grinding Jedi despite the fact the already anti-canonicalpresence they had on the game and the fundemental rule of nothing BUT Stormtroopers being in a PA based on Stormtroopers. A lot of bad words were said between the Jedi Guys and theFundies and rifts opened. Old school PA members leaving the game or losing interest becausethey were free trial players was also getting common.
The PA needed rebooting and became much more strict after the storm passed.

I rememberwhen players were finally allowed to be passengers in other players speeders, severalnew Landspeeders were introduced into the game including a people carrier that could holdeight people. Two of these were adopted into ST-G and painted Imperial Colours. Our bestcampaign on Corellia involved fourteen of us blasting three PVE Rebel bases and hittingthe Alliance hard on its traditional homeworld.

I had grown to love my Stormtrooper armour so much, I rarely took it off and was eithereither wearing that or the Grey Imperial Officer uniform. I occasionaly wore my casualclothes (Especially during the rift era of the PA where I was removed temporarly) butlike with my other toon I had solidified my 'style'. I also grown attached to theE-11 Mark II Combine, Which you needed to Master Carbineer to wield.

I remember taking part in Mr Bria 2005 at Club Shim on Lok (In SWG slang, A shim is usually a female toon played by a male toon) and wearing nothing but hawtpants, Stormtrooper booties,gloves and my helmet. I sadly did not win, but I got to the semi-finals much to peoples amusement.

Another memory is receiving the Interesting Person Badge from the guy in charge ofall the events, Pex, while touring a little spice party on Tatooine with a small crowdof semi-RPers. Don't ask why an Imperial Stormie was there, he just was. Perks you know?

I remember trying out different physical features with Ak too. At first, he was pale dueto the fact he was going to wear a Pilot suit/Stormtrooper armour all the time. Eventuallyan ID friend made him less pale, gave him a tan and a new haircut. For a while, this wasAk's lady killer look. Eventually, I bored of the tan and asked for a normal pink skin pigmentation. Towards the end of the CU era I experimented and gave Ak a moustache and goatee.

Another fond memory of mine with Ak is defending Bestine during one of the infamous Sand PeopleAttack. Pre-CU Sand People were HARDCORE. I mean it, You'd have trouble with them unless youhad a decently branched skilled Combat Toon or a decent group. The Imperial City of Bestine onTatooine would be flooded with every type of Tusken Raider NPC, from the basic grunts tothe deadly Warlord Chieften who could have pwned my n00b ass easily with one hit. However playersflooded Bestine and pushed the scum back. The fighting came to a climax in the Bestine TownHall building, as small army of every type of players took on the Warlord and his body guards, followedby attacking the mighty Dark Jedi behind the invasion. I remember kneeling on the top of the raised portionof the room firing down into this massive melee with a Tusken Rifle (Oh the irony).

On the night before the NGE was going out, Me and some reformed ST-G buddies armoured up and decided to join in several mass PVP raids while we still could. It was great fun, crushingthe Rebels in Bestine and seizing the Shuttle Port before they could rally enough men to defend it.I remember even getting my first and only PVP kill in my history of the game.

Sadly, My memories with Ak ended painfully once and for all with the sudden mound of poop thatwas the NGE. One of the first blows was having to choose one of the lame 8 classes after losingall my skills from the FOUR diverse classes I had grinded hard for. I choose Officer, whichwas a mistake because it was one of the most gimped classes. Much to my annoyance most ofmy guns which I carried in my pack as a Mini-armoury did not work with Officer and all I couldwield was this piddily generic looking slug pistol. This, along with other stupid changes of the NGEmore or less made my urge to play SWG die inside me.

ST-G had to move again because the NGE sadly killed off the dwinding population of Central Dogma.Infact, ST-G formed a new city on Naboo and our HQ went to its third and final transformationinto the Mustofar bunker. I remember coming back from the little party we had opening the place, sitting downin my Naboo Medium houses bed and logging out. I never logged back in again. I sadly simply lostinterest and did something else. I really sometimes faintly miss Bria, Theed Cantina which instantly emptied after the NGE and my fellow ST-G members including the friends who stuck close to me all times. Thesame goes for my comrades on FarStar.

Maybe one day, we'll meet each other when SWG-Emu is finally completed next year. I would certainlyre-equip my Stormtrooper armour once more for the Galactic Empire.