Even though Cryptic received some confusing news, Star Trek Online seems to still be moving full speed ahead. Every month they release an Engineering report, which lists their current and future projects. If only other games would be this open. Let's take a look at this months report.
You can find the full Engineering Report here. I'll just go over a few of the interesting pieces.
Season 4. The next big patch is due to hit the live servers on July 7th. That means it will be on their PTS servers in June. The big feature of this release is revamped ground combat. They are adding a more FPS-like option and reworking all of the ground weapons and kits.
The old overhead system will still be available for use. The new system is said to allow for a quicker combat pace and more interesting 'boss' battles.
Duty Officers. I'm not really sure if this is slated for Season 4, but I can't wait. They are basically Bridge Officers, but provide passive increases to different areas. They can also be sent on missions, very similar to how companions work in Star Wars: The Old Republic. More depth is usually a good direction.
500 Day Veteran Reward. I'll actually get this one pretty soon. The big reward is 250 emblems, which I don't think my Lieutenant Commander can use yet. Still, I'm sure I'll need them someday.
Featured Episodes. Once Season 4 is out, we'll start to see new Featured Episodes. These are my favorite aspect of the game, so I'm looking forward to the team getting back to work on them. It seems the upcoming one may have to do with the Borg...
Keep up the good work Cryptic! Even though I don't play very often, I'm glad I've stuck around for almost 500 days now.