What an amazing turn based space opera.
a- Too stupid to understand the game.
b- Did not like to play turn based games in general.
c- Did not like star trek at all.
Anyhoo... the game is amazing, and aside from the "limited" AI (which does the job well) the game is solid gold.
ok here is a list of pros and cons:
Pros:
1- graphics are still pretty impressive even after... hmmm 14 years :) the UI is the most enjoyable, it gives solid atmosphere and makes you feel like your a real star trek commander, try the Klingon race and you shall see what I mean, don't worry you will not see "pixels" even after 14 years the game looks fresh and dare I say new.
2- beautiful space battles, here the graphics are still pretty shiny and clean, and even after 14 years they are still nice to look at, the weapon fire is not that impressive though, but overall its still great.
3- Ships gain experience, and their is some strategy during the space fights, as you can give several orders to your ships ranging from evade, strafe, charge, assault...etc.
4- 5 different races, with hundreds of ships, and many many minor races, which you can either conquer and make them join you (federation style :)) they will give you unique buildings which give amazing bonus for your empire.
5- colonizing, and exploring the sectors is great fun and you never know whats out there thanks to the randomly generated maps that you get every time you make a new game (endless replay value), you can even have random events (where the borg will invade the galaxy eventually XD)
6- sound is star treky, what more do you need! solid and stable.
Cons:
1- space battles can sure use an upgrade in graphics (weapons fire, explosions) and some upgrade in space combat balance and overall ship movement and animations (game is 14 years old after all)
2- Micro management can get a little too much on huge maps, BUT once you get the hang of it, you will discover that the game is not that micro intensive after all, all I had to do i the end was watch my fleet movements, and check intelligence every once in a while.
3- game AI is "limited" he is tough that's for sure, but he never makes some ship types, he is always aggressive if he is powerful even if he is federation, which is not star trek authentic, some Galactic civilization AI could really be all the game needs for an epic game :P.
All in all the game is great fun for all the people who don't mind hard games, and enjoy strategy.
What this game truly needs is a worthy sequel that will build on the great formula they got in this one, just like starcraft 2 all that is needed is a visual upgrade some trimming and a STBotF 2 could be an amazing game.
please hear my calls powers that be make me a Star Trek Birth of the Federation 2.