So later this year we will see STO go free-to-play, with features that include customizing avatars, crews and ships just like normal and no limitations to the galaxy they wish to explore. Of course this means that there will be a higher tier for players that wish to subscribe, known as Gold Members, where F2P players will be known as Silver members. These members will continue to pay a monthly subscription fee for $14.99 a month to receive extra benefits.

Want to know what you're going to get with your 15 bucks a month? Check over on the website for a full list of features. One of the big features is a monthly stipend of 400 promotional points that you will receive to purchase virtual goods at the C-Store (micro-transactions). If you signed up for the Life membership when STO went live however, you don't have to pay the monthly fee AND you get 400 promotional points...forever... Or till Cryptic changes its mind, but until then, lifers can enjoy all the benefits of Gold Members along with avoiding the $14.99 a month price tag.

A game like this moving to a F2P model is very similar to Lord of the Rings Online doing the same thing. The goal is to bring more players into the world, and possibly more subscribers. The amount STO loses in monthly subscribers it will surely make up for in the new advertising F2P model.

I say it all the time on the Aggrocast, this is the Future of MMORPG's, and I for one welcome the change. What do you guys think? Are there any STO lifers out there upset with the change? Anyone, who didn't play when it first came out, willing to give it a shot now? I'm really interested to hear what the community has to say about this.