I spent a lot of time in a bit similar game (its sandbox in space) called Empyrion. Difference between Elite and Empyrion is building of your own stuff from blocks, that means once you arrive into system, you land on planet, build your base usually in effort to mine resources to capture more territory and be able to engage in PvP war. You have to establish defenses, gather more pilots and such if you want to succeed. Sadly game is developed by very small studio, its buggy and they pretty much messed it up...but idea behind is amazing and so enjoyable (planetary landings, flora, fauna, aliens, bases, PvP, loot, space battles, capital ships...most of this you can build or use bla bla)
After this I find it hard to feel like Elite is dynamic. It feels to me like very static universe where all important things happened on Thursday. Don't get me wrong, I know about BGS etc, but it feels like what you can achive is that station controlling faction is different, that's it. If Ill fly through system where you BGS guys finaly won, I wont even notice something was going on there. From my perspective it will be the same system as on start.
I miss building our own production facilities a bit like in X series, I miss building military outpost to close areas of space and war over them etc. I see many places where this would be so cool like Navy ranks/Power Play where orders are given by Superpowers and players go and join the war.
I want to see Federation burned down. Stations destroyed, Feds in slavery. Empty place in space full of wreckages of ships, stations, scavengers. I want to see them run into deep space, hiding there, building up their economy again, manufacturing fleets again, coming for revenge.
Then I want more of them enslaved again.
Until Ill see this it will never be sandbox, it will be just hardcoded, defined playground where you are allowed to touch some crumbs. Even that is still pretty good but only because theres not game allowing what I described. Maybe EVE but that's different story.
Any chances that Ill see something like this in Elite?
Btw after 5k hours of strictly insane PvP war in Empyrion where battles took even 24 hours and we had to switch as we have to work or sleep I somehow don't even try to do PvP in Elite. From what I see its only about dogfighting, I would gladly do that but in CQC, but somehow I cant find my ships there in menu, probably bug