Star Trek Online Free-To-Play Launch Date

In the latest "Path to F2P Dev Blog", Executive Producer Stephen D'Angelo confirms the launch date for Star Trek Online Free-To-Play:  January 17, 2012.  As some have pointed out, a little rearrangement of the date makes it 17/01.  I needn't point out the significance to long time Trek fans.

He also reveals that the relaunch will be made available on the Holodeck server a month early for subscribers, and that C-Point stipends will also be starting a month early.

But, based on what I'm reading in the forums and past experience with Cryptic, I have to reiterate a prediction I made that it's too soon.  Even if they waited until 17/01 to put anything online, there are still too many bugs, too many incomplete systems that exist in a half-baked state.  They haven't even had time to make the Space Skills changes and give them time to settle on Tribble yet, as far as I know.

In short, the F2P launch seems likely to cause even more chaos than the Hobus Supernova.  Yet another hit to Cryptic's reputation. 

I can see where they need to buy themselves some time.  They're losing more and more subscribers as time goes on with no new content.  For them, it's better to launch an incomplete game (again) than to keep working on it.  For players, not so much.

I am going to keep my money in my bank account and wait.  I'll try to be there at launch, assuming there are no major game-breaking bugs that haven't been dealt with, but I'll be taking a try before I buy approach.

Space Skills Revision

Path to F2P Dev Blog #18

I have read the latest Star Trek Online Dev Blog regarding the Space Skills Revision and I must say that this is one change that I wholeheartedly agree with and I like how these changes are being implemented.  Call it NGE, but the skill tree has needed to be changed for a long time now and this looks like the right change to me.  As long as they are able to address 99% of the inevitable balance issues before F2P launches, this will be a winner.

If This Is Love, I'd Hate To See Hate

This is my response to a post by CaptainGeko.

More love for Gold members:
If you are a gold member, each time you log in, the system will automatically refine your Dilithium Ore for each day that has passes since you last logged in - up to one week.
The 500 day Veteran reward will now come with a free Vice Admiral ship token (account unlock). This change will be retroactive. If you are a 500 day veteran and already have a character that has earned a Vice Admiral Ship Token, that character will not get another one.

Source: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=3844420&postcount=1

I've already posted about Dilithium, so I won't spend a lot of time on that point.  Retroactive Dilithium refinement is better than not having it, I suppose, but I'm not sure it's really going to add much QoL to the game for subscribers.  You still have to earn it, and the system is still set up to starve the economy artificially.

VA Ship Tokens.  Or should I say "token", no "s"?  Previously, if you leveled up to VA/LG, you got a VA token for that character.  You could buy a VA ship, even if only for that one character.  Now, you want it, you buy it.  Except that 500 day subscribers can get ONE for free, for ONE character.

Again, better than nothing, but still pretty weak for shelling out $15 a month in my opinion.  An account-wide unlock of one free token for every character, would be more like it.  Players can't sell it, they couldn't get more than one VA ship per character without shelling out more money, so why such a draconian limit?

Sure, there are lots of benefits for Gold accounts... just not any that we care about very much.  I get that they need to make money... but they're already getting steady cash from subscribers.

This isn't really love.  This is more, "We like you... Sort of... It's your money we really love."