Ships are iconic to the STAR WARS experience as a whole. They are also a cool feature to an already awesome game. As we already know, they serve many functions in game....Travel, Crafting, Combat, Base Ops, ect. But I have to say, the thing I'm looking forward to the most are the Housing Features. Since it's safe to assume we won't be getting Ground Based Housing, our Ships will be the only place we will rest our heads at the end of the day.
As with any other MMORPG, players are going to want ways to set themselves apart. Players want to be different and will spend a lot of time in game in the pusuit of such things. So much is still unknown about this system. I'm sure they will address such things in the near future but I feel the need to speculate a bit here.
1) Can I change the outside hull of the ship? Paint it another color or add decals of my own choosing? Will every single ship be forced to look the same as the rest. Not good for MMOs, however these are for the most part "Military Vessels" and as such should be somewhat "uniform". I for one, hope this isn't the case. I want to be different!
2) Can I change the color scheme inside the ship? Choose different paint for the walls or go with Blue lights instead of Red? I noticed that in the Sith Lord Ship, they use a lot of Reds and Purples. I'm sure this is done to fall in line with the traditional Sith Colors displayed on Characters. While I do understand what they are doing, I can help but hope we can in fact change the look of such things...make it our own. You know what I mean?
3) Can I replace and even add to the Furniture? Can I replace or upgrade the look of my electronics? Not sure how hard this would be to accomplish. I know Players won't be crafting such items and that's cool. Regardless, I would love the ability to buy some other types of items from an NPC vendor. It would be nice to have a more diverse look to the environment. I don't want to go on my friends ship and not be able to tell the difference between his and mine. Diversity is key in any MMORPG.
4) I want everyone to see my Ship. Can my friends come along for the ride to Hutta? If so, how many? Say we are a tight group of players and enjoys doing flashpoints together. Can we all just planet hop on one ship all night long. I really hope we don't have to go to the local spaceport and all board individual ships to move to our next leg of the journey. If we want to hang together, we should be able to do that. It's an MMORPG. Players should stay together.
5) What about Social Areas on our ships? Bars, Canteens, and Mini-Games? We used to do things like that in SWG with the Yacht Ship. It was like having your own Bar in space. As far as player created content goes, this was something very easy to put together. It was fun and light hearted. It was a way to relax and know you were safe from Bounty Hunters. Players need things to do together beside hack-n-slash combat in MMORPGs. This is how communites are built...it's how they grow strong.
6) If I'm a Bounty Hunter, can I display my Trophies? I think we've all seen the guy frozen in Carbinite in the Crew Skills video. I want to have a Trophy Room to show everyone what I have accomplished. Lightsabers of the Jedi I have killed and the Helmets of Troopers I have slaughtered...MOB Boss Heads and rare treasures. This room should be a testiment to my skill and power. I had a room like this in my SWG Villa on Tattooine. In my opinion this is a must have feature for any MMORPG.
Truth be known, this might also be a way for EA/LA/BW to make a little extra cash. To sell such Non-Combat features as part of some DLC package could make them an assload of loot. Just look at the WOW flying mounts. They made Blizz Millions of Dollars in just a few hours. This could be a driving factor when it comes to the implementation of such features. It would be nice to be able to get all these items through in game adventure and exploration, but I wouldn't mind paying a little extra to make my ship a real home. Just my opinion..