Originally Posted by
Stir
You can buy all of those things on the GTN for credits.
So the F2P model is really a great way to get a feel for the game, and see if you want to play preferred/subscription. Aside from that, it offers all of the fun of the class storylines and such, which are quite good and enjoyable, if you ask me.
TOR is a great game. If you want to subscribe, you get more, much more than a free player ever would, indeed, but instead of comparing it to a full F2P mode, I think it's better to compare it to WoW's 'F2P' mode, where you can only level to 20, cannot use chat, cannot use mail, cannot do... Well; anything other than LFG, really. All of a sudden, TOR's introduction mode is pretty good, huh?
Edit: So yeah; give TOR a try, see if you like it. Other recommedations from me: Rift and Dungeons and Dragons Online. Rift has by far the most honest F2P model out of any MMO (though it takes a hell of a grind to unlock the necessary things in it; you'll have to buy a credits pack for in-game gold from someone who bought it off the online store for real money, and that pack usually costs around 1000 gold (platinum?) if I'm not mistaken).
D.D.O. is a pretty good game, but you'll soon get to the point of running quests time and again in order to progress, and there's a few unfair DnD mechanics in there like 'Save or Die' spell effects. In addition, if you really want to get to end-game, you'll have to buy expansions with money (or tokens you earn by progressing, which takes a lóóng time). Still, it's a fun game, with many fun mechanics inspired by Dungeons and Dragons 3.5.