Star Trek Online now F2P

[son_of_montfort]

And you can get the client on Steam.

I never played the game and I heard some highly mixed reviews about it. Anyone have any thoughts?

It isn't so much that it is free but that I have limited gaming time. Is it worth a shot?

[Steelgrave]

I played it for about six weeks and dropped it like stale beer. I understand that there have been lots of improvements, but anything besides ship-to-ship blows. Ground combat, despite many promises, is still broken and uninspired. And speaking of "blows", it ruins the atmosphere for me when the starship next to me is named "USS Bigdicksohard". No filters whatsoever!

Oh, and NOW that you have me started (Ha! Like that was difficult!) the entire FTP thing is a mixed bag. Case in point is Fallen Earth. I was playing FE like mad for about six months. It was an interesting premise that was well done, crafting was valid, and the community was the best I've seen in online games. Then it went free-to-play and suddenly the chat is filled with griefers, whiners, and crybabies. Totally ruined the game! I cancelled and never went back. I understand the economics behind FTP and I understand that immature people are going to be my online neighbors sometimes. But I really, really think that FTP brings out the worst element. Kind of a "there goes the neighborhood" thing.

[Martok]

I played STO during the open beta period, and like Steely, I was generally unimpressed.  Space combat was pretty fun, but the ground missions sucked big donkey balls.  My biggest issue, though, was that the game lacked immersion IMO -- it felt like a generic MMO with a Trek skin laid over it. 

I never played the game and I heard some highly mixed reviews about it. Anyone have any thoughts?

It isn't so much that it is free but that I have limited gaming time. Is it worth a shot?

If I can ever find time to actually the play the darned thing (again), I'll let you know! 

[Nefaro]

I'm not sure exactly what kind of FtP scheme they have going for STO, either, as each company has different setups regarding what you can do. 

There is generally a list of restrictions for those who have never purchased a single month of "premium" service in them, which varies from small things such as less bank space to full-on game area restrictions like those in Dungeons & Dragons Online.  I found Fallen Earth to have a very lenient system, and it looks as if all zones are open to everyone.  So it does entice me to play FE more than any others because I can still do everything even during those months where I'm mostly 'away' from it and don't get a premium sub, and feel like messing around a day or two.

I picked up an STO lifetime sub on release, and I've not checked to see what kind of bonuses I get in their FtP model.  There is often some extra little stuff every month for previous long-term peeps.