That's where it got to about 6 months ago, but instead of building more upon that, they pretty much just sat back and collected money. They've set it up so that you arrive at the endgame far too early (any real reason that you need to level up after every 3rd mission or so?), and then provided nothing to do AT endgame. Couple STFs, which are both buggy and LONG, that's about it. The Featured Episodes were a great idea, and are fun, but the last one finished back in the first week of March.
Since then, they've pretty much let the game sit. Great if they did stuff behind the scenes, but if you don't release it, you don't get credit for it. Haven't had any trouble making things for the C-Store, though...
Well, there WA the fact that Atari basically pulled all but minimal funding lout from under them when they opuyt them up for sale (They weren't even allowed to backfill vacated positions); then, 6 months later; the deal with PWE went through; and they are now hiring and staffing up again 9and all teams will be larger than under Atari.
Think about it:
- The last FE series ended March 5th. After that DStahl started talking up Season 4 and the content plans post season 4.
- March 31. Atari lists Cryptic as a 'discontinued operation' and puts them up for sale. All during tat time DStahl is trying to rally the troops 9and from comments made after Atari was out of te picture, know during this time Staff was shrinking, they couldn't hire; and they were being shopped by Atari.
- May 31. PWE announces tenative deal to acquire Cryptic from Atari (assuming all detail can be done to both sides satisfaction.)
- September. PWE deal officiallly concludes and PWE has Cryptic; allows them to start restaffing and starts funding their projects adequately. (And it'll still take some time for Cryptuic to get up to speed as all their in house tools are proprietary, meaning the new hires need training and time to get famiiliar with them.
PWE also decdes that (since Cryptic already had plans to do so at some point in the next year) it's time to take STO F2P; and any new content in development should be rolled into the F2P relaunch.
But, in the end, I don't tink it's coincidence that we got the last FE in March; after which Atari hung a fFor Sle sign on Cryptic and cut support and funding to a bare minimum; and that until PWE acquired and started putting money back in, we didn't see signs of more new content on the horizon. And get te Borg Space Invasion Red Alerts.
Rigth now on Tribble (which is the test server for STO F2P); we see:
- The Doff System (being tested, it's fun, and has some depth)
- A New 'Daily Event System' that has one Event active (a Mirror Univese mini FA where you see and fight a Mirror 'Oddesey Class ship - aka the new Ent-F Classs ship) and 3 other events (all available for the KDF faction too) shown as 'coming soon'
- A Mission Journal Revamp
- Lore missions at Star Fleet Academy
- An STF overhaul (From all reports the new ndesign and gamellay of STFs is improved.)
I hope that once the F2P relaunch happens we'll start to see new content coming at a faster pace then in the first year of STO; but we'll see.
At least Cryptic is now part of a larger MMO company that HAS money (annd is willing to spend it on development); that wants to expand into the Western MMO market; rather than a company (Atari) trying to take whatever profit it could get; while underfunding everything else.
But, time will tell.