Got to admit, I'd let my sub die out around September - got back on the ol' Xbox instead, and immersed myself in Mass Effect/Mass Effect 2. Game wasn't feeling enough like Star Trek to keep me interested, and there were so many jarring inconsistencies with the feel of canon Trek that suspension of disbelief just wasn't possible anymore.
Case in point - the wildly inaccurate Sol system, and the ugly, un-Starfleet Earth Spacedock:
Ick. Not liking that one bit.
However, all the hype about 'new ESD interiors' and all the new C-Store content got me hyped, and with the Anniversary event underway (plus a massive C-Store sale!), I re-subbed, just to see what the fuss was about...
Yup. That's me in my new command, the museum ship USS Challenger (NX-91003), recreating the classic shot from 'The Search for Spock'.
It's all looking really cool, and really 'Trek'-y now - much more how I imagined it'd look when I first bought the game. 'Sector space' now looks more like proper Warp travel, especially with the 'astrometrics' display turned off (a clever bit of repurposing, there - kudos, Cryptic!):
See what I mean? That looks like Star Trek, doesn't it? And mighty fine it is to, IMO!
Missons have improved, too - particularly liked the Devidian Featured Episodes, since there was so much more to them than just combat. At last, STO plays out like a Starfleet career, rather than just WoW with lasers. That, and time-travel is always cool - particularly when you get to play fast and loose with history...:
Bet Sisko wishes he'd done that, eh?

And the uniform was pretty much mandatory - needed to blend in, after all. Plus it goes amazingly with my new set of vintage (yet fully-functional!) phasers - a Type-1 module, a Type-3 rifle and the iconic Type-2 pistol:
Neat, eh? I'm really digging this game again - can't wait to try tonight's Featured Episode with the new flyable shuttle! More screenshots coming soon, including some unfortunate disco hi-jinks with His Omnipotence himself...