And from what I've seen on YouTube of the Cryptic games, they all look alike. So the software engineer in me came to the conclusion this was the case because all their games share the same infrastructure, they basicly redress the same game, which means they can use the same servers for their different games, which means they can keep the operating costs down.
And that also means that they won't just change their business model for just a game.
They wouldn't be changing the core of the model, just changing what you gain XP for. Get XP for scanning planets, repairing ship systems, running diagnostics, exploring on the surface of planets, gathering mineral samples, samples of plant life, mining asteroids, ship-to-ship battles, all sorts of things.
All I'm saying is, because of your biases against MMOs in general, you're assuming an absurd situation (hunt Gorn for XP) is the way the game will be. And I think that's very unlikely. If you do have to kill sentient beings for any reason at all, it will be integrated into some form of storyline whereby the only option is to kill the beings. I suppose Klingons might have something like that, but it's more likely as a Klingon that you'll be hunting wild Targ, and maybe duelling your fellow Klingons and attacking enemy outposts and things. Not engaing in a
turkey Gorn shoot.
Bear in mind, just because you have a licence to make a Star Trek game, that doesn't give you free reign. There are big strings attached. Paramount will be very interested in protecting their brand, especially given the amount of money invested in the film due out next year, and if the game was anything like what you're saying, they would almost certainly revoke the licence.
So again, you will NOT have to hunt sentient beings for XP and I believe you have fallen into the pit of "reducto ad absurdum" debating.
