I think you hit the nail on the head there. It is as if the game has lost some of its hold on people. I find myself playing it less and less these days. Not because I am ingaged in other things more so, but because I am growing board with it. It took up so much of my free time over the Last 8 months that now it seems kinda silly to spend time playing it. I enjoyed doing the Star Trek ship sets, and will forever rate this game as one of my most favorite, however, at this time, it has lost its luster.
Summer could have a lot to do with too. People are far more active in the summer time than any other time of the year, and I know that my schedule is full and I find that I have less and less time to post here or even fire up the new PC. (at 35o watts, it cost too damned much to run for long.)
Perhaps most of the senior members are just taking a sabadical from SEIV. I know it often does a body good to walk away from something for a while then come back to it with a fresh perspective.
Just wait until Aaron announces that he has started work on SE V. Oh they'll be a lot of activity then.
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"We've made too many compromises already, too many retreats! They invade our space and we fall back -- they assimilate entire worlds and we fall back! Not again! The line must be drawn here -- this far, no further! And I will make them pay for what they've done!" -- Captain Picard STNG
New Age Ship Yards