SWGEmu - star wars galaxies emulator

[Vonkhan]

So some people have developed an emulator for star wars galaxies (SWGEmu) based off Pre-CU models and it's available to play for free ... any1 give it a shot?



We try not to encourage circumventing the TOS of companies around here.

Anandtech PC Gaming Moderator
KeithTalent

 

[rivan]

I assume this is as shady as the blizzard ones?

 

[Vonkhan]

I assume this is as shady as the blizzard ones?

Not at all, check out swgemu.com

it's quite a blast, bugs n all

 

[manimal]

The real question is it legal?

 

[Magusigne]

hmmm....heart says yes...brain says...no.

 

[pontifex]

TOS probably says no also.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Do they offer the emu as a download so you can run it yourself, or do you have to play on their servers?

 

[nsafreak]

Supposedly this particular private server is pretty legit. They require that you have a legit copy of the game with a legit CD key. Supposedly their server software was developed without using any of the code from the original game or server. Whether or not this is true I don't know but the site has been up for a few months now and I haven't heard any news of Sony Online Entertainment sending legal notices their way.

 

[manimal]

Supposedly this particular private server is pretty legit. They require that you have a legit copy of the game with a legit CD key. Supposedly their server software was developed without using any of the code from the original game or server. Whether or not this is true I don't know but the site has been up for a few months now and I haven't heard any news of Sony Online Entertainment sending legal notices their way.

Wow interesting. Man I have no idea where my keys are. Its been like what 5 years....

 

[paperfist]

I take it SWG is no longer running under Sony's power?

I never really kept track of that game after playing in beta and was wondering how a new Star Wars MMO was able to pop up.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

TOS probably says no also.

TOS violations are not against the law. Sony could ban your game CD for TOS violation but not fine you or sue you. You bought a legit real Sony product, it's fine.

 

[lupi]

In somewhat related SWG news, sony has a free to play clone wars coming out later this year.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Supposedly this particular private server is pretty legit. They require that you have a legit copy of the game with a legit CD key. Supposedly their server software was developed without using any of the code from the original game or server. Whether or not this is true I don't know but the site has been up for a few months now and I haven't heard any news of Sony Online Entertainment sending legal notices their way.

It is legit -- I've played it many times, though not recently. You have to own a copy of the game to play it and you install a special launcher they created which will load the proper files (I think it is at patch level 13, IIRC) and connect to their server. FYI, the site has been up for years, not months.

The server software was completely engineered from scratch and has gone through a few major revisions over the years. At this point, they are rebuilding the object models (called the Object Restructuring project) to better organize the code to allow future expansion and growth. Furthermore, there are teams of people already working on expansion material for the game.

Will it ever come to fruition? Hard telling at this stage, as it is taking forever. The EMU is fun and has most (but not all) of the core mechanics in, and it is complete enough that you can master many (most?) of the master professions. I loved the old game and hope it does work out, as I need a good MMO to play.

A couple of years ago, the EMU team did meet with both SOE and LucasArts about the project. They would never publicly reveal what went on in those conversations, and rumors were all over the place including one that said that LucasArts wanted to host servers when the code was done. Take that with a boulder of salt!

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I take it SWG is no longer running under Sony's power?

I never really kept track of that game after playing in beta and was wondering how a new Star Wars MMO was able to pop up.

It is still alive, but God only knows how.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Wow interesting. Man I have no idea where my keys are. Its been like what 5 years....

You can probably find it cheap online if you're interested in playing. Read my other post above for a few notes about the game.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Do they offer the emu as a download so you can run it yourself, or do you have to play on their servers?

Currently, only their test server runs the most recent server code IIRC. I believe that eventually, they will release the server core so other servers will be available.

In terms of the client, I think this has been covered in this thread.

 

[pontifex]

TOS violations are not against the law. Sony could ban your game CD for TOS violation but not fine you or sue you. You bought a legit real Sony product, it's fine.

I'm saying the emulated server is against the TOS. How can you play Star Wars Galaxies without copying any of the original game content? It wouldn't be SWG then.

7. You acknowledge that you are bound by the terms and conditions of the Software License and Limited Warranty that accompanies the Game. You acknowledge and agree that you have not and will not acquire or obtain any intellectual property or other rights, including any right of exploitation, of any kind in or to the software, artwork, music, and other components included in the accompanying CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (the " Software ") or the Game, including, without limitation, in any character(s), item(s), credit(s) or other material or property. You may not use any third party software to modify the Software or to change game play. You may not create, facilitate, host, link to or provide any other means through which the Game may be played by others, such as through server emulators; additionally, you may not engage in matchmaking for multi-player play over unauthorized networks. You may not decrypt or modify any data transmitted between client and server; you may not use or distribute macros or other programs which would allow unattended game play or which otherwise impact game play. You may not take any action which imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load (as determined by us) on our infrastructure. You may not buy, sell or auction (or host or facilitate the ability to allow others to buy, sell or auction) any Account or any Game characters, items, credits or copyrighted material or any other intellectual property owned or controlled by us or our licensors without first obtaining our express written permission.

http://starwarsgalaxies.station.son...tent.vm?page=Policies%20Eula&resource=tos