It's hard for me to place my RP after the storyline wrap-up because I am nowhere near there yet, I don't know how what happens happens and prefer not to be spoiled. OTOH, it is frustrating not to have a date ATC in-game to work from, to know how old my Mirialan was during the Hydian Way Blockade (his reason for disliking Mandalorians, a failing he acknowledges and attempts to overcome, so far with mixed results). Because new players will be entering the game from Lvl 1, from here out, I think it makes much more sense to keep RP on the "Cold War" baseline beginning level, Jedi somewhat on the outs with the Republic, and so on. It's the situation everyone has access to from the word go. And I don't believe in waiting until endgame to RP.

Maul was a Sith Lord. That's all. Warriors, Inquisitors, Juggernauts, Marauders, Sorcerers and Assassins are all elaborations after the fact, made for game purposes and not applicable to the films. Classes get what they get. I wanted an astromech for my Consular, rather than a Trandoshan. Well, too bad for me. Knights get the astromech, not Consulars. It's pointless to fret over these things. You look at the pros and cons, and go from there. Want to dual-wield? Go Sentinel or Marauder. Want a double-ended lightsaber? Go Shadow or Assassin. That's just how it is with character classes in SWTOR. Maybe later, we'll have the opportunity to expand our proficiencies. For now we don't. You pay your buck, you ride the ride. That's all.

Is it established how many years it has been in the game since the Treaty of Coruscant? I have not been able to find any clear reference.

That was nice, but it would be better to hear from Bioware regarding - loosely - when they expect to honor this commitment and interesting to hear how they are considering going about it. It is not a matter of "should they or shouldn't they". They have said they will. So, when and how? I understand that the ways in which companions enter the story does make this hard for Bioware to easily implement, but I would prefer more choice in the companions I receive. And rather than feed the trolls, I will leave it at that.

I have always had a fondness for the unsung workhorse of the early Rebel Alliance fighter squadrons, the Y-Wing. It is hard for me to figure out where this affection arose. Surely, in the original screen run of Star Wars in 1977, I was all about the X-Wing fighter - the one that Luke flew to save the day. And the Millenium Falcon had an iconic status as well. Perhaps it came from playing with my die-cast model Y-Wing (by Kenner). Or by the Y-Wing flown to a crash landing on Mimban in Splinter of the Mind's Eye when we were hungry for more of Star Wars before The Empire Strikes Back was even a glimmer on the horizon. Maybe it came in part from the animated short feature which was the sole redeeming moment of the ineffably awful Star Wars Holiday Special - toxic even to those of us eager for anything more from the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Luke Skywalker piloted a Y-Wing there to another crash landing on the bizarre, jelly-like moon of Poona, to be rescued by... Boba Fett! The Y-Wing doesn't get a lot of love. But it's like the extras who only get a line or two, but nonetheless give the GFFA its own life. Could the Y-Wing belong anywhere else? Can we imagine the Rebel Fleet without it? I can't, certainly.

From the collector edition crystal vendor at Fleet, I believe.

I play on Lord Ieldis, and my RP guild seems to have a fair number of night-owls. It is a Pacific server, but many of us are on the east coast, or in the Central time zone, and play on into the wee hours. That said, it seems too soon in the game to have developed a robust and integrated RP community. But if you came to Lord Ieldis, at least you would know that there are roleplayers on late, who are working to build a broader presence of roleplaying at all hours.