I know this is a question with a thousand answers if just left lying on its own, so I am gonna try and refine it a bit.

How long do you think factory/mass produced stuff lasts in the SW universe? If I took a blaster in good condition and stuck it in a relatively airless vault for 4000 years would it still work? Could it still work?

How long do you think the running life of the average Corellian Engineering Corporation's stock light freighter is assuming regular maintenance but not severe overhauls? I know that things in the SW universe can be "carbon scored" but is that their version of rust or is it just staining?

How would you handle wear and tear or just the effects of time on what must be more advanced alloys and materials than we have?

Well the falcon is seen in TPM and the new movies coming out... so that's what? 60-70 years?

Seems like this sort of question has a nebulous answer; Sith & Jedi holocrons are sometimes thousands of years old, and then there's Centerpoint Station in the Corellian system that's what, a hundred thousand years old.

Carbon scoring is certainly common it seems.

I'd handle it on a case-by-case basis based on the make & model of the item in question; a well-maintained Nubian cruiser from the Old Republic days would probably hold up better than some mass-produced cheap planetary shuttles made just a few years ago, for example.

I find that blue milk goes bad in about a day if you leave the carton open.

There's instances of ancient stuff working all the time - Xim's battle droid army worked as well 10,000 years later as it did the day it landed on Dellalt, Thousand year old lightsabers turn up now and again, R2 is at least 150 years old (from TPM to Legacy) and still works fine.

So I would go with "Would this item be made cooler if it was a thousand years old" and run with it. Suddenly your bog standard hydrospanner is now from the toolkit from Arden Sin, legendary swoop mechanic who worked the outer rim racing circuits when your grandfather's grandfather watched.

How long do you think the running life of the average Corellian Engineering Corporation's stock light freighter is assuming regular maintenance but not severe overhauls? I know that things in the SW universe can be "carbon scored" but is that their version of rust or is it just staining?

Carbon scoring isn't rust or staining, it is the after effect of damage. The quite from Luke to C3PO is about being in or near firefights.

"Lots of carbon scoring here. You've both seen a lot of action."

I know this is a question with a thousand answers if just left lying on its own, so I am gonna try and refine it a bit.

How long do you think factory/mass produced stuff lasts in the SW universe? If I took a blaster in good condition and stuck it in a relatively airless vault for 4000 years would it still work? Could it still work?

How long do you think the running life of the average Corellian Engineering Corporation's stock light freighter is assuming regular maintenance but not severe overhauls? I know that things in the SW universe can be "carbon scored" but is that their version of rust or is it just staining?

How would you handle wear and tear or just the effects of time on what must be more advanced alloys and materials than we have?

There isn't going to be a definitive answer, depending on the preservation efforts one exerts even with our tech, things could last indefinitely. I read archaeologists thousands years from now will be digging up our toilets, which will still be around, porcelain is very resilient, brittle but tough. Even one of our weapons packed in a proper container to last will function after ages. So it's really mostly up to you.

In regards to the ship itself, it would depend entirely on how hard it is used. Space isn't in and of itself corrosive, and any vessel built to transit the stresses involved in shifting into an alternate reality such as hyperspace is going to be very robust imo.

I think in general if stuff isn't exposed to the elements it will last indefinitely.

Some things will have a definite shelf life. Batteries might go dead after a time, but a computer or blaster that's not allowed to rust or corrode is going to work perfectly fine if its left alone. The Blaster's power pack might run out of juice but it would still be able to be recharged and fire.

Honestly, if anything is given the proper maintenance it can last a very long time. A ship will still likely need to have its parts replaced every hundred years or so depending on how much its used.

I could see a stock light freighter, if given 100% proper servicing, lasting for a couple hundred years before you absolutely must give it an overhaul. And with regular overhauls the freighter itself could last indefinitely, although at some point it won't have any of its original components.

Well the falcon is seen in TPM and the new movies coming out... so that's what? 60-70 years?

And I believe she was built even before The Clone Wars. So, closer to a Century or more of existence, but then the question becomes how much of her current state is original equipment? The Falcon has had smuggler compartments put in, a military grade hyperdrive installed, 2 quad turrets installed, an upgraded sensor system (more than once as the Alliance military overhauled the sensor system in the EU during the New Republic era), the shields were significantly upgraded, the plating has been replaced with newer/better armor, etc... Which means that the Falcon probably has just the bare skeleton untouched, unless she's been holed before...

How long do you think factory/mass produced stuff lasts in the SW universe? If I took a blaster in good condition and stuck it in a relatively airless vault for 4000 years would it still work? Could it still work?

I’m going to hazard a guess here, but I would say that I think most things in the game age at plot speed — i.e., whatever makes sense for your plot in your game.

How long do you think the running life of the average Corellian Engineering Corporation's stock light freighter is assuming regular maintenance but not severe overhauls? I know that things in the SW universe can be "carbon scored" but is that their version of rust or is it just staining?

How would you handle wear and tear or just the effects of time on what must be more advanced alloys and materials than we have?

Speaking only for myself, I think I would be inclined to say that things in the Star Wars universe have been made more and more cheaply as time has gone by, so things that are older are more likely to last longer, relative to things that have been made more recently. Lots of old techniques for building high quality components have been lost over time, or manufacturers have realized that it makes more sense for them to make cheaper things that don’t last as long and that helps them stay in continual business replacing all the things that they made last go-round.

Obviously, there would be exceptions to this rule, especially with regards to stuff that is custom-made.

But whatever works for you in your game.

Well the falcon is seen in TPM and the new movies coming out... so that's what? 60-70 years?

And I believe she was built even before The Clone Wars. So, closer to a Century or more of existence, but then the question becomes how much of her current state is original equipment? The Falcon has had smuggler compartments put in, a military grade hyperdrive installed, 2 quad turrets installed, an upgraded sensor system (more than once as the Alliance military overhauled the sensor system in the EU during the New Republic era), the shields were significantly upgraded, the plating has been replaced with newer/better armor, etc... Which means that the Falcon probably has just the bare skeleton untouched, unless she's been holed before...

New canon dude, we don't know what's stock and what's not anymore, remember?

Carbon scoring isn't rust or staining, it is the after effect of damage. The quite from Luke to C3PO is about being in or near firefights.

"Lots of carbon scoring here. You've both seen a lot of action."

It's not just damage....

Well the falcon is seen in TPM and the new movies coming out... so that's what? 60-70 years?

And I believe she was built even before The Clone Wars. So, closer to a Century or more of existence, but then the question becomes how much of her current state is original equipment? The Falcon has had smuggler compartments put in, a military grade hyperdrive installed, 2 quad turrets installed, an upgraded sensor system (more than once as the Alliance military overhauled the sensor system in the EU during the New Republic era), the shields were significantly upgraded, the plating has been replaced with newer/better armor, etc... Which means that the Falcon probably has just the bare skeleton untouched, unless she's been holed before...

New canon dude, we don't know what's stock and what's not anymore, remember?

We know the ship was fully up and running in the Prequels and so the novel Millennium Falcon still fits in. We know it is in the newer trilogy just from shots from JJ Abrams and the trailer. So, what's your point? I was just listing an example of a ship undergoing changes throughout its possible life.

Wouldn't R2 be mostly rebuilt after the blasting he took during the Death Star trench run? They must have had that victory ceremony weeks later, cause R2 comes dancing out there bright, shiny and polished.

(I think they just downloaded him into a new body - without the leg rocket booster-model)

Don't know if they explained that in the EU (ew) and don't care.

New canon dude, we don't know what's stock and what's not anymore, remember?

Wouldn't R2 be mostly rebuilt after the blasting he took during the Death Star trench run? They must have had that victory ceremony weeks later, cause R2 comes dancing out there bright, shiny and polished.

(I think they just downloaded him into a new body - without the leg rocket booster-model)

Don't know if they explained that in the EU (ew) and don't care.

I don't think droids are nearly as simple as our computers when it comes to how they operate. They are a mix of hardware and software, so just "downloading" the software to a new body won't transfer the rest of the droid. You can wipe them back to factory without having a copy of the factory brain as that is the hardware level hardcoding that already exists in the droid. Anything beyond that (learned, programmed, etc...) isn't just a simple series of 1s and 0s, but a mixture of new internal wiring and software. Just like a human mind is the internal programming of each neuron (DNA) and the way each neuron is interconnected to the rest of the network of neurons.

In one story in the EU, Luke finds out that R2 has physically destroyed pathways to certain areas of his memory core to make sure he can't access the information that was there. And he didn't do it with his arc welder, but by overloading the circuit to melt the wiring, IIRC.

New canon dude, we don't know what's stock and what's not anymore, remember?

FFG, dude. They're not sticking to New Canon, remember?

Pretty much. Honestly these books are almost a swan song for the Legends canon. Probably why I like them so much.

I would say that with maintenance, or a preserving environment (frozen, airless, and/or dry) technology will be very long lasting. Look at today's technology. We still have operating aircraft from the 1940's. We have at least one wooden fighting ship from 1797 still floating (USS Constitution). If we can keep a wooden sailing vessel going for 200+ years in a salt water ocean, there should be no problem keeping a spaceship in deep space around as long as you want.

Well the falcon is seen in TPM and the new movies coming out... so that's what? 60-70 years?

And I believe she was built even before The Clone Wars. So, closer to a Century or more of existence, but then the question becomes how much of her current state is original equipment? The Falcon has had smuggler compartments put in, a military grade hyperdrive installed, 2 quad turrets installed, an upgraded sensor system (more than once as the Alliance military overhauled the sensor system in the EU during the New Republic era), the shields were significantly upgraded, the plating has been replaced with newer/better armor, etc... Which means that the Falcon probably has just the bare skeleton untouched, unless she's been holed before...

New canon dude, we don't know what's stock and what's not anymore, remember?

We know the ship was fully up and running in the Prequels and so the novel Millennium Falcon still fits in. We know it is in the newer trilogy just from shots from JJ Abrams and the trailer. So, what's your point? I was just listing an example of a ship undergoing changes throughout its possible life.

Point is just that. We know how long it's been flying, but I wouldn't make any assumptions about when/who/how any modifications or overhauls took place. This time next year everything could be wrong.

Even with FFG's take on things I wouldn't make any assumptions until after they've printed a stat block for it.

Still, we can say with reasonable confidence that the Falcons' been around for a very long time. Far longer then any real world aircraft not in the hands of a museum or private collector anyway...

We have at least one wooden fighting ship from 1797 still floating (USS Constitution). If we can keep a wooden sailing vessel going for 200+ years in a salt water ocean, there should be no problem keeping a spaceship in deep space around as long as you want.

There’s a serious potential for a Ship of Theseus problem there. Not sure that we can claim that really is still the same ship.

Please note, I’m not disagreeing with your basic premise, just not sure that this particular example is relevant to the discussion.

Just imagine an Explorer: Archaeologist/Driver who specializes in locating ancient vehicles, repairing them, and selling them to high-society collectors. Voilà, my next Edge character.

The problem with finding said vehicles is just the shear volume of space to go finding an old or missing vehicle.

There are numerous cases of designs centuries old remaining in use in the EU and even a few cases of designs that are thousands of years being used by military forces though IMO that is either desperation, or cheapness and the military's government not being willing to buy anything more advanced because they see no need for it.

That's why she gets paid the big bucks.