Since our last update on authentication, we've been hard at work building the core systems that will power SWGRealms. This update focuses on two critical areas: keeping communities safe through intelligent content moderation, and establishing the technical foundation that will support a universe of galaxies.

User Migration Made Simple

We've completed the user migration system that lets existing SWGEmu community members join SWGRealms while preserving their community history. Your veteran status, forum activity, and community identity all carry forward seamlessly.

Two Easy Ways to Join:

  1. SWGEmu Forum Integration: Log into your SWGEmu forums account and visit swgemu.com/registration/swgrealms for one-click account creation. This secure process:

    • Uses your existing SWGEmu username and email
    • Sends a temporary password to your registered email
    • Lets you set a new SWGRealms-specific password
    • Keeps your original SWGEmu account completely unchanged

  2. Direct Login: Visit swgrealms.com/login and sign in with your existing SWGEmu username and password. You'll be required to change your SWGRealms password (your SWGEmu password remains unchanged) and can login when complete.

Both methods require access to your SWGEmu email account and preserve your community history and veteran status while maintaining the security of your original SWGEmu account. If you don't have access to your SWGEmu email, contact SWGEmu support to update it first.

Developer Interview

For those interested in a deeper dive into the vision and technical details behind SWGRealms, I recently did an extensive 90-minute interview covering:

  • My background and motivation for this project
  • The origin story and philosophy behind SWGRealms
  • Multi-accounting policies and galaxy owner flexibility
  • AI-powered NPCs and content moderation possibilities
  • Cross-server features like tells and character transfers
  • Migration paths for existing servers and their communities
  • Why this unifies rather than fragments the community

You can watch the full interview here to learn more about the motivations and long-term goals for the project.

Community Safety First

Online gaming communities thrive when players feel safe to express themselves and build friendships. Unfortunately, toxic behavior, spam, and inappropriate content can quickly destroy the welcoming atmosphere that makes Star Wars Galaxies communities special.

Rather than leaving each galaxy owner to handle moderation alone, SWGRealms now includes an intelligent content moderation system that works behind the scenes to keep communities healthy:

  • Automatic Detection: Harmful content is identified and flagged before it reaches other players
  • Smart Learning: The system gets better over time by learning from community patterns
  • Galaxy Owner Control: Each galaxy can set their own community standards and moderation preferences
  • Transparent Process: Players understand what happened and why, with clear appeals processes

Think of it like having a helpful community moderator who never sleeps, never has a bad day, and consistently applies your community's standards fairly to everyone.

Seamless User Experience

For players, this all happens invisibly. You sign in, join your favorite galaxy, and play - just like you always have. The difference is that toxic players and spam are filtered out before they can disrupt your experience, letting you focus on the adventures and friendships that make SWG special.

Galaxy owners get powerful tools to shape their community culture without spending hours manually reviewing every forum post or in-game message. You set the standards, and the system helps enforce them consistently.

Building for the Long Term

Behind the scenes, we've been establishing the technical foundation that will support SWGRealms as it grows from a handful of beta galaxies to potentially a universe of thriving communities.

What This Means for You:

  • Reliable Performance: Your galaxy will run smoothly even as the platform grows
  • Data Protection: Your community data is secure and properly backed up
  • Easy Migration: Moving your existing SWGEmu community to SWGRealms is straightforward
  • Future Features: New capabilities can be added without disrupting existing galaxies

For the Technical Crowd

Content Moderation Architecture

Our content moderation system is built on a microservices architecture using Rust for performance and safety. The system processes content through multiple analysis pipelines:

  • Pattern Recognition: Advanced text analysis for detecting harmful content patterns
  • Context Awareness: Understanding of gaming terminology and SWG-specific language
  • Real-time Processing: Sub-second response times for live chat and forum posts
  • Audit Logging: Comprehensive logging for transparency and system improvement
  • Core3 Integration: Direct integration with SWGEmu server patterns for seamless operation

Database Architecture & API Services

We've established a production-ready database architecture using PostgreSQL with schema-per-service isolation. Key improvements include:

  • Smithy Code Generation: Type-safe API definitions with automatic Rust SDK generation
  • SQLx Integration: Compile-time SQL verification and schema binding
  • Graviton Optimization: ARM64-native compilation for cost-effective AWS deployment
  • Zero-PII Storage: User privacy by design with minimal data retention
  • Automated Migrations: Database schema updates with zero-downtime deployments

Infrastructure Highlights:

  • 50+ database migrations establishing core platform schemas
  • 8 microservices handling authentication, content moderation, user management, and analytics
  • 3,000+ lines of production Rust code with comprehensive error handling
  • Automated deployment with rollback capabilities and health monitoring
  • Multi-environment testing with staging and production isolation

Security & Compliance

Building on our "Security is Job Zero" philosophy, we've enhanced the platform with:

  • Enhanced Error Handling: Detailed logging without exposing sensitive information
  • Secrets Management: Proper credential rotation and access controls
  • Audit Trails: Complete activity logging for security and compliance
  • Input Validation: Comprehensive sanitization and validation at all API boundaries
  • Dependency Management: Regular security updates and vulnerability scanning

Looking Ahead

This foundation enables the next phase of development:

  • Galaxy API Integration: Complete Core3 integration for seamless server management
  • Galaxy Management Dashboard: Comprehensive tools for community administrators
  • Galaxy Invite Process: Streamlined onboarding for new galaxy communities
  • Advanced Analytics: Insights into community health and engagement
  • Custom Integrations: API access for third-party tools and bots
  • Cross-Galaxy Features: Optional shared experiences while maintaining community independence

Ready for Expanded Beta

With these core systems in place, we're preparing to expand our beta program to include more galaxies and communities. The platform now has the reliability, security, and scalability needed to support real communities with real players.

If you're a galaxy owner interested in joining the beta program, or a player wanting to explore what SWGRealms offers, visit swgrealms.com to get started.

Questions about our content moderation approach or technical architecture? Reach out at [email protected].