While writing the several long-form pieces I’ve contributed to this site about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, I keep almost forgetting (and sometimes flat-out forgetting entirely) to mention the Star Wars Datapad program on the free-to-download Play Disney Parks app. Is that because I already mostly exhausted the app’s in-area offerings at launch, or because they’re not all that memorable to begin with? The truth is probably halfway between those two, and the bottom line is I’m not terribly interested in staring at my phone while trying to enjoy an amazingly detailed new area at my favorite theme park in the world.
That said, the Star Wars Datapad does offer a decent amount of supplementary content at no additional cost for those looking for a reason to extend their stay on Batuu beyond the requisite ship-piloting, shopping, and snacking offered around Black Spire Outpost. With that in mind, let’s go through a rundown of the functions available to guests who make use of Play Disney Parks in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
TOOLS
- Hack – This function allows users to access the inner workings of the many control panels and droids scattered around Black Spire Outpost. After solving a quick puzzle, you’re often rewarded with a schematic or other item. You can also use this feature to play an ongoing game called Outpost Control, which pits the Resistance and First Order against each other to claim certain areas of the city.
- Scan – Use your phone’s camera to read QR code labels on crates around the Spaceport, Merchant’s Row, and other areas to virtually claim the item inside and add it to your collection within the app. This function comes up a lot when completing jobs for various characters (see JOBS section below).
- Translate – Confused by the strange alien symbols you see on the buildings around you? This is the fictional Star Wars alphabet called Aurebesh, and you can use the app to translate it by typing in each character individually and then pressing a button to transform it into English. At first there was also a way to use your phone’s camera to scan in the text, but that function was removed almost immediately after Galaxy’s Edge opened, as it wasn’t functioning as intended. Hopefully it will be updated and returned to the app soon.
- Tune – Find a broadcast signal, move your phone to pinpoint its location, and solve a quick puzzle to intercept a transmission from one of the many denizens of Batuu.
JOBS
This is where you’ll go to get tasks to complete around the streets of Black Spire and out into the surrounding wilderness where the Resistance base sits. A number of characters from the Star Wars saga have items they need you to seek out, and they’re usually hidden in one of the crates in the land. You’ll also have to scan ships like the TIE Echelon and A-Wing Starfighter to achieve your goal and receive your reward of credits and increased affiliation to a certain group (see PROFILE below).
MAP
Pretty self-explanatory: this is an interactive map of Batuu with points of interest and app-activated locations indicated. You also get a handy “You Are Here” marked by the red circle as seen in the following image.
PROFILE
This is the only part of the Star Wars Datapad that is still accessible while you are off-planet (read: anywhere but within the borders of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge). It displays your name, affiliation levels to the Resistance, First Order, and Scoundrels groups, and finally all the costumes, equipment, star maps, schematics, droid data, transmissions, and titles you’ve accumulated by completing the above tasks.
It’s difficult to say what you achieve by collecting everything available within the Star Wars Datapad, as I’ve found some of the QR codes to be inaccessible due to rerouting of the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run queue and thus am still missing a handful of items.
I’d also love to say that the powers that be have followed through on their promise that your “reputation” as reflected in the Play Disney Parks app (or your success rate in the Smugglers Run attraction, for that matter) would affect how characters and other Galaxy’s Edge Cast Members treat you in physical space, but that is not something I’ve experienced yet. It’s possible we’re still in a play-testing period of the Star Wars Datapad, in which case I’m curious to continue playing around with it as it continues to evolve through the future of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. For now, I think it’s a moderately amusing source of busywork in-between checking out the more interesting qualities of this amazing new land.