I would love to see the campaigns connected to the overall universe in some way. I am a big fan of long term planning/strategy/story lines.
They are I believe (waiting for confirmation from Hale), but it seems from set up that when you complete a campaign, depending on the outcome, your faction may gain control of the Target world(s) that particular campaign was set up for on the SWA:Yavin planet list.
So for instance, in starting a Rebel Alliance campaign, Hoppus and I could choose Mon Cal and Corellia as our HQ and SS worlds, and then say we pick Coruscant and Eriadu as our Target worlds for the campaign. We have now choosen 4 worlds that will be PLAYABLE/ACTIVE/LIVE for the given campaign.
The Imperials have to choose their 4 systems as well, there could be overlap if you were to choose the same systems we choose as HQ or SS systems, but the max would be 8 if you had all different worlds from the 4 we named. At the end of the Campaign then, if we conquer Eriadu for instance but fail to take Coruscant, then Eriadu will change to Red on the planet list.
The object being throughout campaigns from one to the next to turn the whole galaxy Red, or Blue if you're Imp.
Just a way of focusing a game so it's not entirely open world/open ended where a person with more free time can much more easily outpace all other players, sucking some of the ability to freely enjoy the game out for others. At least how I'm looking at it I guess.
Also I was/am apprehensive about the Crew aspect, but it's just a resource cost thing, and in story I suppose it makes cool sense in a way. It's not enough to afford a ship or munitions etc, but to have to rally people to your cause, another Story/Writing outlet. Rather than just more posts about standing around on a bridge?
We've done the chat it out rodeo a thousand times around here over last ten/fifteen years and it just sucks up time and ends up in endless development detours with multiple partys espousing their "like, ideal ideal". Hale drew up this system and as it sits it sounds like it will work and be cool once flowing. Once that stale fart pops his head back in and notices we're taking interest anyways =)...