I'll make no pretense that I've been among STO's fanboys - that is to say, a certain subset of the playerbase that will cheerlead for any new developments.
There are things Cryptic chooses to do that are great, and others, less so.
I can speak only for myself, but I'm reasonably certain I'm not alone in the opinion that the essential narrative thrust of 10 seasons worth of content has generally not been strong. Individual episodes certainly stand out - and the remastering process clearly indicates that Cryptic has an ongoing commitment to elevating the quality of its content.
That doesn't take away from the superlative talents of writing staff and other content development staff that Cryptic's employed over the years, Kestrel and Tacofangs most notably.
I'll be frank, and go ahead and say that 10 seasons worth of content - taken as one extended narrative told as gameplay - I would simply not recommend to either the most casual gamer, the most hardcore gamer, the most passing fan of Trek, or the most dedicated Trekkie.
Which is a shame, since (particularly later in the development process) there are clear elements of quality throughout the game.
At a narrative level, it boils down to one of the most classic arguments since the first announcement pre-Alpha days, before Cryptic even picked up the license: the divide between gamist and simulationist gameplay. It's an argument that extends beyond STO into other licensed properties, and even into original franchises.
That tension could perhaps be described in two directins: as elements of the Trek premise and universe that may not translate very well into game mechanics (like say, the old diplomacy or exploration systems), or gameplay that doesn't quite fit or sometimes outright controverts established Trek canon (like, say - the extensive player economy).
In a hypothetical ideal, the game can apply both gamist and simulationist ends in a synergistic manner - and there are game systems that do a pretty good job of bridging that tension - like, say the Doff system. But that's not the real world of deadlines, limited capital and resources, and a demanding playerbase from both gamist and simulationist viewpoints. So, Cryptic's herculean task has been to prioritize largely gamist gameplay, with tip o' the hat respect to simulationist gameplay.
If I had to synposize a critical opinion of STO - it's a reasonably good pair of space and ground games, with a passing resemblance to the Trek universe.
But I'm not alone in being of the opinion that the principles of diplomacy and exploration are key, central elements of the Trek premise have been woefully underserved by Cryptic's development priorities.
The point of New Dawn seems to be the most direct answer to that problem that Cryptic has offered since they essentially extracted the exploration and diplomacy elements of gameplay. It could be great, or possibly the opposite of that - but most likely, given the constrained resources Cryptic has available - probably somewhere in between those extremes.
