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FAQ and tips for playing Star Wars Galaxies from the UK

Thanks to everyone who has contacted me about this section of the site. I hope sums up most of the answers I have given you. Thanks also to Matt Jones who pointed out that this page is the first useful result when searching Google for 'Star Wars Galaxies UK'. If there is anything not covered in this section, please contact me and I will do my best to help. My email and instant messenger addresses are at the bottom of the page. I'll continue adding to this as people ask questions and I find the answers.

How much does it cost?

Importing is expensive compared to living in the US. It cost me $135 to get the game. That includes collectors edition, postage and package, and import taxes. This currently works out to just over £84 - I worked it out on www.xe.com, a great currency converter.
Prepare to pay UPS £20 of that on your doorstep when they deliver it, this is an Import Tax charged by the UK government.
Additionally, anyone in the EU pays 17.5% VAT on their monthly subscription, making it about £10.

Where did you get your copy from, and how long did it take?

I ordered my copy from www.gamestop.com, and it arrived in 4 days. I ordered Monday night and they delivered Thursday morning. Their international delivery service seems very good. I tried many other sites, and found them more expensive or slower. Most simply will not ship internationally. I have discovered that some require faxed copies of your credit card, proof of your address, or some strange process of contacting your credit card company to 'internationlise' your credit card. Gamestop does not do any of these, and myself and others have had prompt reliable delivary from them. I should point out I have nothing to gain from recommending them, I am not attached to them in any way, merely a satisfied customer.

How does the monthly billing work from the UK?

A UK VISA card is fine for the billing, they are not bothered whey your money comes from for that one.

Will the different time zones cause me a problem?

I do not find time zones are not too much of an issue, there are already many European players online and lots of US players who keep weird hours.
I find plenty of people on 7-10pm UK time. I play on the 'Eclipse' server, which is the unofficial European one.
You may need to do a bit of quick maths when working out times to meet US players. Here's a quick guide:
Eastern Time (EST) is GMT - 5 hours
Central Time (CST) is GMT - 6 hours (this seemed to be the most used)
Mountain Time is GMT - 7 hours
Pacific Time (PST) is GMT - 8 hours
Daylight saving time seems to run concurrently with ours.
Prepare to stay up late if you wish to join with large US events such as parties, weddings and Krayt hunts. These typically run from 8-10pm CST on Fridays and Saturdays, which is 2-4am GMT.
There is lots to do at more reasonable times however so I have never tried to attend any of these events.

How good is the connection time to the servers?

I find ping times very good. I use 512kb/sec ADSL, supplied by Demon Internet, who have been excellent in the last year I have it. I would recomend them to anyone. I have not tried playing on a modem but I would imagine it is not nearly as good!

Is it worth waiting for the UK release?

That depends on your opinion. I don't think so - and nor do many others. The European release date has recently been set at 31st October. On release, the RRP (Recommended Retail Price) will be £39.99. Many sites are offering pre-order deals in the region of £25-30. This represents a saving of up to £65 - with additional savings possible on lower monthly fees. However, you will have to wait six weeks at time of writing to get the game. You decide. I did not regret spending the money in June.

Any other advice?

I don't think there is any special advice for playing SWG from the UK, just be nice to everyone and don't be afraid to ask dumb questions, particularly to people with 'HELPER' on their name tag. Be yourself, and act like you would in real life. Send me an in-game email or a /tell, and I'll help you too. Playing a MMORPG is great fun - you may find yourself spending lots of time in the SWG Universe. Some players are known to spend more time playing than sleeping! Fortunatly SWG caters well for the casual player such as myself, and you can drop in and out as you please.