ome examples of features from both games and how they differ in Repop:

Crafting: Similar to SWG we feature a complex crafting system that has a lot of variety. But the mechanics behind the system draw from various other games with our own twists. The mechanics drew as much inspiration from Vanguard as they did from SWG.

Harvesting: Harvesting works completely different from SWG. I'll hold off on the details here as the new latest revision's details have yet to be released to the public or hit the alpha server. But for the most part your looking at manual harvesting instead of automated harvesters, though there may also be some automated harvesting (there is currently) it is a slower version that gives lower quality results. Players certainly shouldn't expect to see a world filled with harvesters, as it will not be the case.

Combat: Combat is significantly different from pre-CU SWG. I didn't play much of it in the later years so can't comment there. But combat has a lot of different twists in comparison to SWG such as: Fittings, Momentum, Action Mode, and Openings. In the original pre-CU integration you had the long combat queue system with very few abilities, and our system works more similar to later games (or how SWG was post-CU).

PvP: The military works similar to SWG with the active/inactive military and military perks. Rogue Nations add a new wrinkle though, as do engagements. Also in SWG you didn't have to join either side. In Repop you start as one of the two main factions right off the bat. PvP wise it is designed more similar to Dark Age of Camelot than to SWG.

PvE Mechanics: The den system works similar to how SWG's PvE worked. Mobs are spawned dynamically when players enter into areas. It is a more complex system though allowing for multiple waves and rule sets. Engagements are another wrinkle that was not available in SWG, however, and are designed to provide more team oriented goals and provide more dynamic content.

Skills: While both games are skills based, Repop's skill system is similar to Ultima Online's system in that your skills primarily are gained through use rather than manually selecting boxes. The ability's are not earned through just attaining a new tier (in SWG that would be filling a new box), so two players who have mastered the same tree may have different special abilities. We also use an uncapped system with checks and balances, rather than SWG's capped system.

Cities/Housing: You can build houses in less parts of the world in Repop as opposed to SWG, and they are either attached to a player created city or are part of the instanced housing system. In many ways the system is similar, but we player created cities can include defensive elements and can be sieged in PvP. They are tied into Nations which player a large role in Repop. The mechanics behind placing homes and objects are very different between the two.

Missions: While both games featured a generated mission system as well as some static missions, our mission system is significantly more complex than SWGs. In SWG you'd go to the appropriate mission generator (combat, scout, bounty, etc) and choose from generated missions available which would generally all be the same just with a different target. In Repop generated missions are mailed to you, and feature quite a bit more variety with lasting consequences and NPC reactions. Some of the things that were handled as missions in SWG are instead handled as Engagements or Dens in Repop.

So while the two games have a lot of similarities, the mechanics are pretty different and overall feel of the game is different. If someone comes in expecting an SWG clone, they may be disappointed because the game is not that. What we instead have tried to do is take the spirit of SWG and other sandboxes, and meld them with other elements as well as some things that worked well in theme park oriented games that we haven't seen much in sandboxes. The experience of the game feels like a sandbox. There is no linear progression, your not forced into specific roles (won't have to go out and level up combat so you can craft etc), and there are a lot of non-combat oriented things you can do. But you'll also things like engagements that generally don't exist in sandbox games, and you'll see missions and other more theme park oriented features being used in a more sandbox oriented style (generated, optional).

SWG was a great game. Many of us hold very fond memories of it. But MMOs like anything else evolve. I think the key for MMO developers is to try to find the things that worked in older games and integrate them. Meld those with more modern features. Then try to find things that didn't work and either eliminate them or try to rework them in a way that they feel might work better. Our goal with Repop is certainly not to clone SWG. We're happy that former SWG players have interest in the game, and since we personally loved many of the features in SWG there are some similar features in Repop in some cases. But we've also drawn inspiration from many other games, and we've tried to add as many unique wrinkles as we could, as well.

So I guess similar to what Holland and Cavadus have both already mentioned: There are similarities between the two, but players should not come in expecting an SWG clone, because if they do they'll be disappointed.