So Chuck was Right , Starfleet did think his original name for the Defiant was too long

[tacomoney]

https://imgur.com/a/Un4J7Sr
In all seriousness for the above image I know its not the defiant....that was destroyed months ago in the war.
https://imgur.com/a/7FjPDn0
For those of you unaware what this is , this is ST New Horizons , a mod for the 4X strategy game Stellaris.
And honestly I think it has merit as the best Star Trek game ever.
I'm completely serious, Its hard to be sure and some things are obtuse but you really feel like you are experiencing the history of star trek while building your nation state. Plus it allows you to go through key events...and screw with the timeline hard.

To starting out in the NX-01 with Archer
https://imgur.com/a/Ozd81zP
Forming the Coalition of Planets
https://imgur.com/a/LK6lMDA
Commissioning the Enterprise D before even the original series start....okay I skipped over the first 4 other enterprises because the flagship menu was confusing to me.
https://imgur.com/a/6YkBy90
But it does give me weird mashups
https://imgur.com/a/oZDH1iC
And it just got dumber and yes you are seeing this right, with tech tree progression. James T Kirk is commanding a fleet made up of the Titan, Excelsior and Enterprise-E
https://imgur.com/a/pTNesGy
Recruiting the Pavel Chekov....of the Kelvin timeline...along with the Kelvin Enterprise
https://imgur.com/a/u3DWXub
Kirk took command of it after losing the Enterprise E and Excelsior in I think the Romulan war.
https://imgur.com/a/mQ2rC3G
Chekov became the new Captain of the Enterprise-F.....didn't really trust Kirk after losing the Enterprise D and E
https://imgur.com/a/8vpX6RX
While this was happening Sol was under attack by the whale probe, only saved by time travel thanks to Christopher Pike
https://imgur.com/a/2uQsTvf
Sad years followed as many legends died , like James T Kirk in the Klingon war, but some legends stayed true, like former Admiral Sulu rising to the post of Federation President
https://imgur.com/a/FMaTn4x
But new legends take their place, even as Admiral Montgomery Scott passes away , a new up and comer takes command of the former warriors ship the titan.
https://imgur.com/a/QF6cO72
Khitomer so close to becoming a dark day in the Klingon history, now becomes a day of meeting new allies as a Federation fleet swoops in to save the colony and afterwards render air.
https://imgur.com/a/TGrmUcF
Sadly not all ends well, as soon a new foe in the form of the borg abducts Captain Picard and despite our best efforts he is killed.
https://imgur.com/a/eRm4l2l
And yet even in our darkest hour there is still hope. Benjamin Sisko taking command of the Titan and Starfleets tattered forces strikes a blow and ends the borg threat.
William Riker, a young protege of the late Captain Picard, is given the monumental honor of leading a new fleet in his honor.
https://imgur.com/a/rrWmDVR
....Unfortunately due to his decadent ways....and I am pretty sure a coding bug he essentially goes AWOL ending up at a starfleet party, shanghaiing the Picard fleet so it can't be used.
https://imgur.com/a/n4FX1qm
Still not all is bad, as after decades of negotiations the Ferengi join the federation bringing their massive wealth and economic knowledge with them.
https://imgur.com/a/Goc5UoY
Unfortunately it is around this time that ...ughhh Voyager is launched.
https://imgur.com/a/HDuLdJW
And so begins Voyagers suffering as they are sent across the galaxy (And yes several voyagers episodes have you make choices on the outcomes).
https://imgur.com/a/2eMb0fo
With their suffering culminating in them not listening to Shoulder Atom and blowing themselves up to stop the Undine invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, instead using the chance to get home....and basically damn my whole game.
https://imgur.com/a/FbBjBUC
Seriously after this it was defeat after defeat as my systems were loss, resources to a drip, even Sol was taken.
Benjamin Sisko led a valiant defense flying from system to system with his armada. But so many heroic vessels were lost in this war.
The Cerritos, The Prometheus, The Defiant.
Even President Quark could only help so much
Until eventually the Federation Space even after closing Fluidic space and stranding the Undine here left the Quadrant like this.
https://imgur.com/a/8bqLCbI
https://imgur.com/a/gHl3IeZ
A shattered broken fleet, barely any ships left, fortress systems everywhere, even a borg cube streaming into Breen space barely caught my attention, I actually hoped the Borg would do some damage to the Undine on their voyage.
Alas it was not to be.

So that ended my first attempt at new Horizons.
I started a second one and you would think that would go better...welllllllllll
The NX-01 is already destroyed unlike the first run where it was still exploring, the Earth got fried by Terra Prime laser weapon and Mars seceded for several decades and my Federation has barely grown since the start.
But I did stop the Xindi doomsday weapon from destroying Florida and Malcom Reed made a great first Captain of the NCC-1701 Enterprise.

It all sounds like bad fan fiction, which it kind of is.
But if you have any love for Strategy games and a decent computer I highly suggest you try it.

[Madner Kami]

Stellaris in and of itself is THE BEST 4X-GAME THERE IS. The richness of available mods, Star Trek, Star Wars, Warhammer and so many, many more just adds icing on the top, with New Horizons being one of the most impressive conversion-mods by far.

[hammerofglass]

Soooo many hours in Stellaris. Never tried New Horizons, though.

Has anyone played the official Star Trek spinoff Infinite? I've heard mixed things.

[Riedquat]

Not played Stellaris for years now, must give it another look. I got rather confused when the entire planetary management system changed (not that it didn't need changing) and didn't persevere enough to get through that.

[Deledrius]

And honestly I think it has merit as the best Star Trek game ever.

Hang on, what about Star Trek: A Final Unity?