If there's anyone here from SWG, they probably brought this up already, but...
What do you guys think about expanding each planet, one at a time, to include vast free-roam areas with an ability to buy and place structures such as town hall, personal rooms, walls, storage structures, cantinas, shuttle ports, mail boxes, taxable vendors, resource-gathering factories, etc. Could be a combat option as well--turrets, gates, hired guards/AT walkers (champion class being most expensive). Adding destructible vehicles/mounts with a combat option would be cool too.
Each structure would need "rent" in credits for an unlimited amount of time--rent runs out - structure disappears (prevents ghost towns).
Some kind of "war/peace" checkbox would prevent people's towns from getting rolled over and destroyed unless they want to pvp...
Areas like this would add a "free world" concept and eliminate the "follow the only road" pattern of every planet where enemies are everywhere and just stand around waiting to be killed.