By now, most Star Trek Online players know that Craig Zinkievich—the man who faithfully served as the MMO's executive producer since its infancy—decided to resign last month, passing the torch to Cryptic Studios' Daniel Stahl. Zinkievich explained that he needed a break to spend more time with his family, and reassured the community that STO couldn't be in better hands. Stahl was formerly one of STO's high-level producers and author of Cryptic's "Engineering Reports" before he officially claimed the throne as the MMO's new executive producer last month. "He's got the love of Star Trek [...], he’s got passion for games, he's got his finger on the pulse of the community and if you guys ever thought I was excited about the potential of what Star Trek Online can become when you saw my interviews, just wait until you get a load of Dan," Zinkievich wrote, praising Stahl. "It's scary sometimes. Really."

ZAM decided to catch up with Stahl last week to talk about his new position and what it means for the MMO, the community and the future of STO's development. We learn about his love for message boards and community interaction, as well as his philosophy on hot topics like the C-Store (Cryptic's micro-transaction revenue model) and the possibility of STO adopting certain "free-to-play" trial options. ZAM also asks about the new content released in Season 2 last month, such as the popular "weekly episodes" and the neutral Deferi race. Check out the full interview after the jump, and visit ZAM's Star Trek Online portal site for more news and game information.