What is there to do before you join a faction and how do you do it?
Is there a page with general instruction on what to do in the game and such?
How do you buy stuff?
If this is posted in the wrong place or something then i'm sorry (but i don't think it is) THank you for your help.
“What is there to do before you join a faction and how do you do it?”
Not a whole lot. You can wander around on the planet and visit message boards, but you really need to join a faction to get anything done and make any money. You might be able to find a speeder rental NPC in the city you started in, in which case you can travel around with a speeder, but there isn't much to do on planets aside from traveling, and the XP isn't very good.
“Is there a page with general instruction on what to do in the game and such?”
First you need the credits, typically obtained as faction salary. (: You need to buy directly from players, so basically anywhere you find players, you can buy things. The main venues are:
1. The Galactic Market (GM): swc-gm.com
2. The RPG Centre's Commerce forum.
3. #swc-traders on IRC
Prices are going to be pretty high for everything but stocks, though, so it may be a while before you can afford anything.