The free character transfer service that was first mentioned in December kicks off tomorrow, Jan. 13, in an attempt to alleviate some players' concerns regarding server populations. The transfers will be offered to accounts with characters created on or before Dec. 11, 2008 on specific galaxies. The opportunity will end on March 31.

Here's some links to all the information you'll need regarding any transfers, including the list of eligible galaxies:

• Step-by-Step Guide to Transferring
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Notes on the Free CTS from the GM Team

You can also keep reading after the jump for a wealth of information on the topic, including the answers to the Frequently Asked Questions.

The Life Day celebration may have ended today, but Star Wars Galaxies players received Game Update 6 in its place. The biggest change with this update is the addition of the appearance window, which was outlined almost a month ago.

The Appearance tab has been added. All characters may now access a window that determines the outward appearance of their characters. This Appearance window allows you to equip armor, clothing, and jewelry that do not alter your stats, but instead are simply for show.

Now you're free to completely customize your characters without sacrificing any stats. Keep reading after the jump for the rest of the patch notes.

The Allakhazam team would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas today, as well as a safe and happy holiday season. We hope you're all able to spend some time with your family and friends. Also, if you get some time to log in to your game of choice today, we hope you get the chance to participate in its holiday festivities. After all, the grind never stops, but in-game events like these don't happen very often.

Holiday cheer is also being spread in most of our forums, so feel free to visit them and continue in the discussions. For Final Fantasy XI fans, members of the Allakhazam community have written "The 12 Days of Vana'diel." As I mentioned in a previous news post, the World of Warcraft community wrote "The 12 Days of Winter Veil." I'm sure somebody out there must have a decent singing voice and a microphone...

For you Star Wars Galaxies fans, Instigator has posted the official Allakhazam SWG holiday picture. If you have any festive in-game screenshots, we'd love to see them. Also, let us know if you got any good loot, both in-game and out.

Happy holidays everyone!

Most MMO players enjoy the ability to customize their characters. Well, starting in Game Update 6, the Appearance window will raise your customization options to the next level.

The Appearance window is a new UI system that allows a player to equip a second set of armor, clothes, and jewelry as visible items that will not affect your character's stats. You can create a look unique to your character without having to worry about being ineffective in combat, crafting, or any other game style you enjoy. Stand out from the crowd with the new Appearance window!

Any item that holds other items, such as backpacks, are not allowed in the Appearance window. Aside from that, start thinking of how your character's going to look in Game Update 6. You can read about the Appearance window here.

Squadrons Over Corellia, the first expansion for the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, has been released.

Squadrons Over Corellia adds more than 250 new playable cards and 22 new loot cards to the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, including new units, new iconic character cards, new loot, and new avatars. This set marks the debut of digital starship cards that will enhance your avatar! Support ground units, move units from quest to quest and even increase resources through smuggling runs.

Wookiees and Rodians have been added to the game, and so have Emperor Palpatine, Han Solo, Wedge Antilles and Jabba the Hutt. Find out all about the expansion here.

Also, Life Day has begun in Star Wars Galaxies. You can celebrate Life Day in the TCG by participating in the Wookie Life Day scenario for a promo and loot card until Jan. 12, 2009. Also, you can enjoy this desktop wallpaper of Chewbacca and his family to celebrate the holiday while you're not in-game.

Niklas "Swede" Johansson, a Star Wars Galaxies designer, posted a dev diary today taking us behind the scenes of this year's Life Day event.

I wanted more decorations in the cities, so the idea came to me that we place a bunch of smaller trees in the city, and then the players that sign up with the Rebel Alliance can go around and decorate them to make the city look even better. On the opposite side of the spectrum, players who sign up with the Empire can go around and stomp on present piles who they believe are filled with contraband. This enabled us to get the cities decorated and an event up at the same time, with the added bonus of letting me use the angry stomp emote, which is just funny.

Read the full diary entry, which is quite entertaining, here or below.

Many players have been voicing concerns regarding server populations, and the Star Wars Galaxies team has decided to address this problem by offering free character transfers starting Jan. 13, 2009.

Characters on 12 specific servers will have the opportunity to transfer to one of 13 destination servers at no charge.

... the only way to qualify for the Free Character Transfer is to be on one of the identified Free Character Transfer servers and move to one of the targeted galaxy servers and this is only available on a one-time/once per character basis. The Free Character Transfer service will end on March 31, 2009 at 11:59PM PST.

In addition, those who transfer will also get a relocation gift of a painting that is inscribed with the character's name and home planet. More information, including all the rules, can be found here or below.

The Life Day festivities will kick off on Dec. 16 and run until Jan. 12, and this week's Friday Feature gives us all the details exclusively from the Corellia Times.

Dearic, Wayfar, and Doaba Guerfel - In what has to be the most blatant display of Rebel attempts to gain sympathizers and civil support, sources are reporting that the towns of Dearic, Wayfar, and Doaba Guerfel have been decorated by the Rebel Alliance for the upcoming celebration of Wookiee Life Day. Beginning December 16, denizens of the galaxy will be able to partake in this annual celebration.

From presents to decorations to new Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game loot and promo cards, this event is sure to capture the spirit of the Star Wars Holiday Special, which celebrated its 30th anniversary on Nov. 17. Keep reading here or below for the full Corellia Times report on Life Day.

Ever wanted to work on Allakhazam? Are you a strong writer with knowledge about what makes the gaming industry tick? We're hiring!

The Editorial team is hiring two part-time editors to help improve the overall quality of our content. If you're interested in finding out more about the requirements, check our job opening page.

Starting tomorrow you'll be able to participate in a number of player-run Life Day and holiday events throughout the month. Life Day is inspired by the Star Wars Holiday Special, which turned 30 last month. Life Day is currently being tested on the TCPrime server and should be going live near the middle of the month.

Here's some upcoming events. More events can be found here or after the jump. Additional player events may also be added in this thread on the official Star Wars Galaxies forums.

Dec. 9 : Nomad Market and Planet Holowood celebration of Life Day on Tatooine (-4700 -350); 7 PM PST

Dec. 12: Europe-Chimaera: Exodus of the Wookiees on Naboo; 7 PM UK, 8 PM Euro, 2 PM US

Dec. 13: Intrepid: Life Day celebration in Wook's Rest, Corellia; contact Moya' or Gaarbacca for more information