March 8, 2005 - This May George Lucas will release the sixth film in his Star Wars series, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. That same month, players of Star Wars Galaxies will be able to download a massive expansion pack that adds some of the content from the movie to the popular online roleplaying world. That same month brand new players who want to try Galaxies will be able to buy a new compilation pack that includes the original game, Jump to Lightspeed and Rage of the Wookiees.

The new expansion features the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk. There are 100 new missions for players of all types on this Wookiee homeworld. Most revolve around the Wookiees' fight for freedom from their Imperial and Trandoshan predators. The Empire is worried that the Alliance is gaining a foothold on the planet and willing to fight to prevent the population from going over to the Rebels. They've also backed a number of Trandoshan slavers who capture and sell Wookiees to buyers throughout the galaxy. Wealthy Rodians have also set up safari stations across the planet to serve as base camps for their own hunts.

Though Rebel players can make a name for themselves by fighting against the Empire on Kashyyyk, the actual Rebel presence on the planet is very limited. Imperial players will enjoy the company of other Imperials on Kashyyyk but if they find themselves helping out the Trandoshan slaver faction, they'll quickly find themselves with many powerful Wookiee enemies.

Wookiee players won't be at a natural advantage in this environment. There are different quests and conversation outcomes for Wookiee players, of course, but the team wants to create a fun experience for players of all species. The developers will start to add more Wookiee-specific content later on.

There are some new additions in space as well. Rage of the Wookiees will allow players to mine asteroids in every space zone. Asteroids will yield up raw materials that can then be sold to artisans. We're not entirely sure what types of resources you'll be able to collect but we do know that the more valuable resources will be located in more dangerous areas. Although any ship in the game can be modified to mine asteroids, there will be a new, as-yet-unnamed ship specifically for mining. The new mining ship will also double as a party ship since it can hold up to 20 players at a time.

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In addition to the new mining ship, the expansion will also introduce the Jedi Starfighter II featured in the prequels. There's no information on what this ship can do but, given its reputation, we imagine it will be reserved for more experienced players. A new mount from Episode III will also be included but LucasArts isn't revealing its identity.

Fans of the films are aware that some of the characters have cybernetic body parts. Luke's hand and pretty much Darth Vader's entire body have been replaced with robotic versions. The ability to create and implant these cybernetic limbs will be included in the Rage of Wookiees expansion. Unlike the films, you won't need to have a Jedi slice off your limb in order to install a cybernetic replacement. To preserve the player's freedom of choice, the cybernetics aren't permanent; you can remove them at any time to regain your regular biological limb. Players can choose to replace one or both arms and both legs with cybernetic versions. We're not sure what specific abilities the new limbs will grant but we do know that you'll gain access to some cool combat bonuses by installing them.

Though we don't have any details yet, we also know that the new expansion pack will feature plenty of new weapons and new armor types. It will also use a new interface. We'll have more details on those features and others in the near future.

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