Finally, the wait is over! Well, for some people anyway. Early access for The Old Republic is in its very first hours. For three years, we've been following the development of one of the most anticipated Star Wars gaming titles ever announced. In the earliest days after BioWare's initial announcement, we had to settle for concept art images and developer blogs, but as time progressed, cinematic trailers and in-game footage crept its way onto the world wide web. Summits and gaming expo's were used to advertise the game, and BioWare eventually found themselves absolutely smothered by an audience that was ever-so-passionate about their product – and still is for that matter. During that long and drawn-out wait, SWTOR-RP was born and roleplayers began flocking on to what could eventually be – and what the staff hoped would be – the roleplayer's hub for The Old Republic. Now here we are, in early access, and that long three-year wait is just about over. 

BioWare have begun sending out waves of email invitations for early access to the game. Depending on when you submitted your pre-order code, you'll be able to play the game before it launches within the pre-launch seven days of access. Be sure to keep an eye out on that email inbox, as Stephen Reid posted on his Twitter account that "a lot" would be getting invited initially. Once early access ends however, you need to ensure you register your product registration code to keep playing the game. There will be no "grace period" for early access players, so until that code has been entered in, you'll be locked out of the game after the 20th of December. 

If you haven't pre-ordered the game and you're eagerly awaiting the official launch date – which would probably be very few of you – we'll see you in seven days. Enjoy the game ladies and gentlemen. It has been a long time coming. 

Although the note at the bottom of the article about having seven days early access might seem like an error, Stephen Reid has confirmed this to be correct via Twitter, effectively stating that players who pre-ordered the game will now be able to play as much as a full week in advance of launch on December 20th. I don't know about you but this was a big relief, I've been having withdrawal symptoms!

That's right. We're so close. In less than a month, early game access will kick off. Those of you quick enough to register your pre-order code the moment the announcement for pre-orders were made, you should be fortunate enough to get in amongst the action on the first day of early access. The rest of you, BioWare plan to do a progressive handout in regards to early access over a five day period. Then finally, on the 20th of December, just five days before Santa comes to visit us and eat our cookies, The Old Republic will be officially released! 

Leading up to release, however, BioWare have made a number of announcements in regards to what game systems and features will and will not be making it into the launch product. For those of you that follow SWTOR-RP regularly, you would have noticed an announcement made yesterday about the ability to now sit on chairs within the cantinas across the many planets in BioWare's rendition of a Star Wars universe. Additionally, there have been many talks with the BioWare developers as to what they plan to do post-launch. Unfortunately, to the dismay of many roleplayers, speech bubbles won't be introduced to the game until after launch. BioWare have many other awesome features, such as interior and exterior customisation for players ships, as well as the idea of capital ships for guilds, on what they call their "wall of crazy." 

With the release ticker on our site counting down the days, what we'd like to know in today's Force Reflection is what feature you think BioWare should definitely implement into the game before it hits store shelves. We can probably guess that speech bubbles is amongst the most important for roleplayers. If this is the case, let us know. Otherwise, tell us what other features you'd like in the game before release in the comments section of this Force Reflection. The wait is almost over!