"Star Wars" in the name helps players put up with whatever die mechanics are in the game.
Star Wars has had no bad systems. Even the 3 WotC versions. Just systems that had limited success at replicating the feel for many.
D6 was fine for doing the Original Trilogy feel with no Jedi or young jedi; character gen was unable to provide Kenobi like prowess as PCs, without GM tweaking. At least for a range of about 300 XP....
By most accounts, D20 Star Wars 1st and Revised wasn't good at the star wars feel for combat nor force, but was a pretty good general SF RPG for D&D 3.X players.
Star Wars Saga Edition (SWSE, essentially d20 3rd) is said by its fans to be great for single-type parties - it's only when mixing force users and non-force users it strains. Note that I say this as someone who does NOT care for it much - but it's also the prototype for the excellent but unpopular D&D 4E¹.
FFG Star Wars is an excellent system - I'm running it at the moment - and at the "Knight Level", starting Jedi are actually somewhat competent. Mixed parties are, after 100-150 XP in, generally not too imbalanced. The non-jedi were keeping up in a mixed game over 1000 XP in, and everyone was contributing. It's got a learning curve, requires a light touch on the difficulties², and a willingness to improvise.
There is the unlicensed
Scum & VIllainy, a variation on Forged in the Dark, which is highly regarded as a go-to for doing non-Force-user games; it's not licensed, but avoids the trademarks.
The best known unlicensed fan versions also use well loved systems: Fate Core, Fate Accelerated, Savage Worlds, GURPS, Classic Traveller. In fact, one of the magazines had a bunch of clearly Star Wars gear, including blasters and laser swords, for CT; it lacked the races.
On to less nitpickiness...
Recent systems that show Traveller influences in tone, subject, and rules....
Free League's got two games that are Traveller Adjacent in setting:
Coriolis and
Alien. Both support merchant campaigns, merc campaigns, and a third type - coriolis has various pilgrims and travelling carneys; Alien has Colonists. Alien also has a "cinematic mode" with pregens and secret info.... And the range bands are clearly inspired by Traveller (and remain so in most YZE games).
Twilight 2000 4th - double inspirations - T2K 2E is a Travellerized T2K 1E (and T2K 1E and CT both show influences from En Garde); And 4E is a YZE game, with it's inheritances.
And of course, Cepheus and its close derivatives are to MGT1 as Pathfinder 1E is to D&D 3E.
There is said to be some Traveller influence on Stars Without Number, but I can't personally attest to it.
Similar Feel, but not Traveller Inspired
FFG Star Wars Edge of the Empire - very nicely handles tramp freighter work and merc work. Often described as "Firefly in Star Wars," I find that actually apt, and it's core mechanics can easily be adapted; the 1-5 stat range and skill range ... divide the traveller att by 3, keep the skill level as is (except in T4/T5 - divide by 2)... use the standard 5 difficulties from CT to TNE as 1-5 purple. The tone and materials are from the SW EU, rather than being Traveller influenced... but Traveller's been affected by Star Wars from early on.
Older Games still in print
Savage Worlds is readily available, has suitable ship rules, and can easily support the Traveller feel. It's got several SF setting books that can be used for doing Traveller.
Same can be said for GURPS & Hero, but the officials are available from FFE on CD...
SpaceMaster's still in print; it's tropes differ slightly (FTL is LY/hour), but it can support a Traveller campaign just by changing to Jump Drive.
EABA - use the MT difficulty NUMBERS... and it's perfect. Even includes a jump drive. (Greg Porter has written for T4, as well.) As an MT fan, it was a wonderfully smooth transition. The EABA playtest I ran Traveller using it, as a full port of the T20 characters.
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¹: D&D 4E is a great system... just not a great D&D flavor. It didn't feel like D&D; 4E fans made similar complaints about 5E, but many 3E and older D&D fans, including me, find 5E feels like D&D. My play of 4E was limited - it was good. It was clear, and simple, and limited the number of powers... which is partly why it felt so unlike 3.X...
²: pick purples based upon ideal situation or purple and red by opponent skill; modify by adding black dice for increases, and blue for decreases, as the difficulty steps of the d6s (Blue/Black) is finer than purple and green.
