SWG was my first MMO. I came in Post-NGE and even though I'm sure it was inferior to pre-CU it was still ridiculously fun, the sheer amount of exploration and customization (houses, ships, cities etc) was amazing.
Admittedly there were more than a few problems, such as the world being too big for the dev's own good, by which I mean they didn't fill enough of it up, the combat was more or less just a kite-fest, and the drop in players irreparably damaged the community.
The last two can be blamed on the NGE though.
Got to admit, all this talk of SWG has got me a little misty eyed.