Star Trek Online is continuing to undergo changes on the new Tribble server, but some players have been a little confused as to what Cryptic’s plans are with the new economic changes and the Dilithium currency. To help clarify Cryptic’s intentions, Executive Producer Stephen D'Angelo has posted a new Path to F2P dev blog all about the economic changes being tested for Star Trek online.

The devs are hoping to make an economy where Dilithium, which can only be acquired by players in-game, can be traded for Cryptic Points and then offering items for both that create a healthy player economy. D'Angelo explained that it’s not his goal to make the game too grindy, but rather give specific items real meaning.

Do I want to make the game "grindy"? Not at all. I certainly don't want it that way for a casual player. But I do want to make it so having top end gear and having extra starships takes some real work. I want for those top end targets to be brag-worthy. I want them to have actual value to the players who achieve these goals. Some time after the game goes free-to-play, I would like to have a handful of people bragging that they have a full set of starships or that their flagship is equipped with top end gear... knowing that only people who were subscribers before F2P or who worked as hard as they did could say the same.

There’s also a new Path to F2P dev blog that explains the new Star Trek Online Events Calendar on Tribble. The new Events Calendar will contain events available over the next 48 hours and when weekly and monthly events are scheduled to occur.  

Sources:

Star Trek Online Path to F2P Dev Blog # 11 - The New Economy

Star Trek Online Path to F2P Dev Blog # 12 - Events Calendar