Hey Wolfin, i too am a huge SWG fan before it was taken apart heartlessly and dumbed down. And like you I too am playing swgemu. It is legal as the dev's have completely started from scratch to emulate the game we knew and loved so dearly.
Right now they have Nova TC which is the test center where testers find any bugs still needed to work on, and they have another server which is in alpha phase but no alpha phase I'VE ever known is as advanced as this one's! This server is called Basilisk. You can only have one character on Basalisk and only one account so far. On Nova TC you can create up to 10 but only 1 per 24 hour period. You cannot have multiple accounts unless you gain approval that you have a multi-account need for instance you have 4 people at home sharing a computer etc. The official rules are listed.
Right now everything is working on Basalisk except the Bazaar is temporarily down. This has been up in the past but needed to be honed to include player vendors so it is expected to be working again soon. Housing, decor, professions are all working except I'm not sure creature handler taming is implemented, or Bio-Engineer sampling. They have honed the game better than day one of swg and talk about the relief from bugs! I'm so proud of these people who on their spare time without pay were dedicated enough to give us our beloved SWGemu back free of charge! Well, you must own an SWG disc to download. I think for the login abilities.
Oh for now, the basalisk server has a 1500 cap on it. Meaning, only 1500 people are allowed at once time on this server for now. If you don't get on, then log onto Nova TC where there is a frog, player cities, vendors, bazaar, housing, etc... I'm so elated my game is back the way I loved it. Pre-CU. They will eventually implement space travel/fighting but right now everyone online is giddy as they train each other. It is good to keep in mind, if you do start your character on Basalisk, that it is a slow grind at first in your professions. Then it gains momentum and like that you are an a** kicking machine. Crafting has been my fortay tho. Well happy continuation of your journey all! :D If you are only accustomed to NGE then please do me a favor, don't start complaining how the game is complicated blah blah blah. The game is superb the way it is. It has the most complex and satisfying crafting engine than any other mmorpg, it has the most extensive decorating system of any game I have yet to encounter. So if you don't like, go away. :) Later all... Go to swgemu.com to download the enhanced launcher and to play SWG preCU! :)
donyavangogh (eclipsian BE extraordinaire) aka Leelafwyn (my lotro name)
PS they are very close to beta then publish 1.0! and it is freeeeee.