Once I've purchased these do I need to install them or do they automatically upgrade my ship?

I'm really liking your blog. I've never played an MMO before. I came strictly for the Star Wars. I've struggled to pick up all the lingo and stuff but found your blog to be very accessible and understandable. Keep up the good work.

Thanks joenewbie. Anyone got any hints on space combat? Other than practice.

Ok, my next question. Having just discovered space combat and discovering that I suck at it, do I keep the xp from failed missions?

I've made the mistake of not completing all side quests and being under leveled when I arrived on Ord Mantell. I've had to backtrack and get those quests sorted. Another lesson learnt.

Ok cool. More good answers. And these inevitably bring more questions. What's endgame gear? What's a crit? And a surge? And one that's less important from a play point of view: as a light Jedi will I be able to wield a different coloured Lightsaber at any point? Blue and green are ok but how about Purple? Yellow?

I can't say thanks enough for the help & encouragement. I hope I bump into people like yourselves in game. Btw I'm on the Nightmare Lands server, if any of you are on there and see a Miralukan Sentinel called A'skarn bumbling around, that's me.

Ok cool. Good answers. You are good people. My next question, say I group with people for flashpoints etc as a Jedi Sentinel, what do I do? I'm a melee DPS right? So do I just go from enemy to enemy smacking damage on them rather than focusing on one at a time?

Thanks again. I guess what appealed was my love of SW & that it's kind of KOTOR 3. I'm not massively into the idea of getting too much into PvP and really just want to get through the story. If I find some cool people to group with then all the better. Another question. I've heard about CC. As a Jedi Sentinel do I have any CC abilities? Or do I need to rely on companions/groups for that assistance?

Another question. I read somewhere about changing my companions stance so they fulfill different roles. How do I do this?

Thanks for those replies. Glad to hear credits increase big time after lvl 15. I guess it's going to be a lot of trial and error for a while. PvP scares the bejesus out of me but I'll give that a go. If I lose, does it cost me credits/gear?

Hi there. I'm brand new to MMO's but couldn't resist the pull of SW any longer. I've done the free trial and finally bought the game last night. I've read all the new player help threads and while I'm still struggling with much of the lingo I'm getting there on a lot of stuff and will surely pick it up as I go. 3 things I can't get my head round though: 1) Credits? I always seemed to be broke on my trial characters. I know I'm low level but still seemed to have nothing. How do I gain/make money. How should I spend it? 2) Crafting? What's it all about? Should I be doing it all the time? 3) Modding? Should I be modding gear or just upgrading to better gear? I'm a little scared of getting into the game full on, as I feel my skills are pretty lame right now and I'm worried that other players may resent my noobism! Anyway, hopefully some of you seemingly nice people can offer some advice.