Very valid points. I still remember vividly how players could easily cripple themselves economically and take decades to recover from a certain resource crunch in the early game. That really makes me think hard about where to place my next mining station.

Yes, the pirate factions seem to be tied to the hive ship storyline. I would rather them persist as independent factions to do dirty work for me, if such function is to be added.. but well.

The pirate bases can be useful, as they have mining components to sustain their own fuel usage. They also ...