F2P Official Announcement

[Morgan Shackelford]

Details of the Free to Play conversion have been announced today. The Features matrix and FAQ are available at:

http://startrekonline.com/f2p_features

I know this affects some of our members, and it's good to see it in writing finally:

Q: I'm currently a regular or Lifetime subscriber to Star Trek Online. Where do I fit in?

Regular subscribers become Gold Members automatically. Subscribers are charged a regular fee based on one of the several subscription options they have chosen. Lifetime subscribers, also Gold Members, are those players who have opted to pay a single one-time fee for Gold Membership.

If you stop subscribing, you become a Silver Player. If you have characters that use Gold features, you will be unable to play them as a Silver Player until they are converted.

Lifetime subscribers also become Gold Members automatically and will not be charged a continuing subscription fee. Basically, nothing changes for Lifetime subscribers: They continue to have complete access to the same content, items and episodes the way they always have.

[VADM pRett]

400 CP/month - that's not bad at all.

Not sure about the KDF side now being unlocked at 25. Guess we'll have to see if that increases or decreases interest in KDF play.

[Jason32]

Not seeing a HUGE difference between Silver and Gold. We don't use internal/game email or chat alot since we have the website and vent. And they have said, anything you have purchased before as a Gold member would transfer over into Silver (i.e. ships, character slots, ect) should one choose to downgrade. Assuming one is a Gold monthly subscriber, whats the loss to transferring over to Silver?

[VADM pRett]

Priority Login.

[Ezreq Blodvaerd]

Borannus wrote:

400 CP/month - that's not bad at all. Not sure about the KDF side now being unlocked at 25. Guess we'll have to see if that increases or decreases interest in KDF play.

That unlock at 25 could and should be a typo. If it is not, then you are correct... Dedicated Klingon Fleets will leave in droves, if they haven't already.

The 400 CP per month amounts to $5.00 worth, which is not bad at all.

[Morgan Shackelford]

Ezreq Blodvaerd wrote:

That unlock at 25 could and should be a typo. If it is not, then you are correct... Dedicated Klingon Fleets will leave in droves, if they haven't already.

It's not a typo, and one can safely assume by moving the lock to level 25 that when one creates their first Klingon, it will also be created at that level - the same way it is now; your first KDF toon starts at level 6. How much easier would it be to play KDF side if you started at 25?

And if 'Dedicated' Klingon Fleets leave because of this, then they aren't 'Dedicated.' Not to mention most players over there probably have VA equivalent toons already anyway. KDF players have had ample opportunity to leave for other, more valid reasons, than having their character creation level bumped by 19 levels - which should be viewed as a positive - but don't let that stop your wild speculation.

[Morgan Shackelford]

Fleet Captain Jason wrote:

Assuming one is a Gold monthly subscriber, whats the loss to transferring over to Silver?

Energy Credit Storage Limit
Max Free Inventory
Max Free Bank Inventory
Foundry Creator Access
Veteran Rewards Progress stops
Priority Login
Monthly Stipend (400 Promotional Points)

There are also some other features that are incredibly helpful while trying to level a toon that you would lose:

Captain Retrain Token (Respec) at each Rank increase
Additional Bridge Officer Slots at each Rank increase

[CAPT Huckabee]

any word on if the lifetime amount will be lowered due to the F2P option? $300 just seems like a lot to me getting such a late start in game.

[Ezreq Blodvaerd]

sparrow794 wrote:

but don't let that stop your wild speculation.

Oddly enough, my speculations tend to be proven true in time. But, I base this speculation on conversations I have had with Klingon players and one thing that I know they will find disturbing is that they won't be able to recruit a new Klingon player at lvl 6, but now 25.

Imagine spending 25 levels, and then deciding, ok let me now forget that lvl 25 Fed and I'll spend the next few weeks leveling my new Klingon from lvl 25 - 51.

Then also consider, all of the Klingon content that is being discarded. All of the Klingon missions from LT - Commander. The Tier 1 - II ships.

It is a really bad, bad idea in my opinion and it does not advance the experience for the Klingon player. Besides that point, why is this being done? I don't mean for you to have an answer, but I'm just asking......Where is / was the clamour for this change?

[VADM pRett]

I honestly hope they don't start newly created KDF characters at 25.

[Morgan Shackelford]

Borannus wrote:

I honestly hope they don't start newly created KDF characters at 25.

I don't know that they will; I'm guessing. If they bumped up the missions for KDF that were below 25, and squeezed all the KDF content into 25-51, it would seem to a new player that the content for KDF isn't so barren as it appears now.

Of course the best thing they could do is just make more content; it needs it either way.

[Ezreq Blodvaerd]

Borannus wrote:

I honestly hope they don't start newly created KDF characters at 25.

This is exactly what it is, and it has been confirmed as of yesterday in the FAQ.

As Adm. Sackleford had said, the best thing would have been to add new Klingon content, but Cryptic took the easy way out.

I honestly don't see how this conforms to PW's demand that Cryptic bring the Klingon Faction up to par with the Fed side??

That being said, at least the subscription cost will either end or we will at least earn 400 points per month to compensate us for remaining subscribers.