One thing I miss from Frontier: Elite II is the ability to view the scale layout of a system with orbital lines, beyond the "bitmap" layout of the orbital bodies. It would help quickly identify those +5,000Ls stations. I also miss toggling "labels" on and off. I kinda liked the old "dashboard" with Function Key shortcuts (F8 to Hyperspace, for example), where one of those was "labels ON/OFF", which could toggle our orbital lines.
There is a keyboard in the cockpit, so why is it inappropriate to have keyboard shortcuts for many of the common functions (Having Comms, Nav, and Missions on one display is fine, but I really want a shortcut to the FUNCTION, not the display).
In many ways, I get confused by the design aesthetics, because on one hand they work very hard for the game design to be immersive, but UI issues and "gameplay concessions" force you out of the experience, and the shortcut functions are inconsistent at best. Why is there a shortcut key to dump all of your cargo, but there isn't one to request docking (something FAR more common a practice).
Ultimately, I thought Elite was not supposed to be about trading, combat, or "balance"; it was supposed to be about FREEDOM. Freedom to make what you want out of the experience; freedom to do what you want. I feel like it's more and more about restrictions and limitations, beyond those necessary limitations that promote creativity. Even though the game is getting bigger and bigger, I feel more and more stifled. It's even just by the basic stuff, like selecting a core function, plotting a navigation path, or just looking at the outside of my ship(!). Why waste hours on adding detail and beauty on things we never get close enough to see or have it obscured by yellow lines?
...Sorry, I was ranting. It's Monday.