It was part of a survey done several weeks ago - I know because I was invited to do it and completed it. It basically went through various different expansion pack scenarios with prices and said "Would you pay for X, Y, Z?" in various combinations. It was quite tedious, to be honest. They will probably eventually release a fully-paid expansion pack though, but this one will be free beyond the cost of normal subscription fees.

I have to say, I agree heavily with this. I've got a level 39 Sith Sorcerer that I play on The Ebon Hawk, and basically in one recent 'level 38' class quest (where the enemies were level 40, presumably scaling up? I was level 39) I died five times, and it was just one of those moments when it felt like it'd been designed around having help I'd like the option to solo some content - groups are fun, but they're not the be-all and end-all of Star Wars: The Old Republic.

I grouped with another Sage (the only two people on Quesh) and we did it fairly easily (okay, we died once in my instance (we ran it twice, for both of us), but that was due to poor planning.) although I admit that it would be hard to solo.

The spaceport's (and orbital station's) many hallways and lifts are designed for the ultimate Zen experience - allowing you and your companion a little 'me' time in between the harsh reality of flying all over the Galaxy doing your day job of -insert 'being a Jedi Consular/Knight/Bounty Hunter, etc.' here-. Why? Because Bioware felt there simply wasn't enough peace in the Galaxy: they decided to add more, in the form of spaceport/station hallways, empty chambers, and lifts. That'll be £9 per month from now on, please. The maintenance for these hallways and lifts is exorbitant, you know.

I believe when Palpatine gave his speech in the Senate Chamber, he was using his Force Persuade abilities on a few select influential Senators (obviously he couldn't do all of them) to gather support so that the rest of the Senate would fall in line with the cheering/applause/etc. (obviously apart from Bail Organa, Padme Amidala, and Mon Mothma, etc.) The Senate would not have picked up on his Sith robes - they were of obscure design and the fact that he has his hood up is explained by the fact that the Jedi 'made an attempt on [his] life' - he doesn't want to show the Senate his deformed face. They were also war-fatigued and scared of the Republic collapsing, despite the war ending -- they were prepared to trade freedom for peace and stability, and as Palpatine had effectively 'won' the war (because by then the Jedi were being wiped out), he was massively popular with the Republic, so they had no problem allowing him to become Emperor -- notice, however, that he doesn't actually say HE will become Emperor, merely that an august leader, chosen for life, will be appointed.

Name: Seranse Class: Jedi Sage Faction: Republic