Since the announcement that P2 have dropped Star Trek Online -- and now appear to be closing their doors entirely -- the Star Trek community have been hoping and praying that the new dev team would come forward sooner rather than later.
It seems that whoever they are (and I suspect it is Cryptic) aren't of the same mind and obviously haven't been keeping an eye on the Star Trek franchise in recent years. Following a series of disappointing movies, a cancelled TV series and no new series on the horizon, you would think that someone somewhere would realise a delay in announcing one of the only immediate hopes for the Star Trek franchise is a little harsh.
It seems that things are only going to get worse for the time being as STOnet, the largest Star Trek Online fan site, has shut its doors until further notice.
In closing this site, it is important to understand that STOnet has over its lifetime operated at a significant 'loss' in terms of revenue generated by our Google Adsense banners versus the growing costs associated with having dedicated server hardware and intensive maintenance of the site, a cost which is growing by the month especially in the face of rapidly declining visitor numbers since the end of 2007. There is also the factor of time volunteered by the staff who have helped build and operate this site, in the face of such uncertainty it would be dishonest to say our interest, enthusiasm and will can be maintained throughout many more months of silence and speculation.
As of this announcement, our intention to close is definite and permanent, though a full backup of the server and database will be maintained, and our assets including the domain name retained. Amidst the rumours and unconfirmed reports, we've no idea who really is the new developer, nor what their PR intentions are in the coming months but ultimately STOnet might return in one form or another. For now, it's been a pleasure to host you, the STO community.
This is sad news indeed and we wish the guys behind STOnet all the best in their future endeavours. Hopefully one day, they'll be back. After all, Cryptic did say at GDC they are working on a, "secret sci-fi project."
I wonder what that could be...
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