I think the idea that "a game should be designed to be played fully" is just ridiculous. It makes me believe people with this attitude really don't understand what games like ED are. Have you ever used SecondLife? It's much less a game than it is a virtual existence. And, in SL, there are limitless areas that you may never go to and limitless facilities you may never choose to engage. Why? Because in many respects it emulates REAL life. Do you "play" everything in real life? Doubtful. I'm a scuba diver. I "play" a part of real life that only about 1-2% of the entire WORLD ever "plays". That requires me to get trained, buy gear, learn to use the gear, enhance the gear and then go experience it.
Elite Dangerous is MUCH more like that. If all you do is see this as a game, then I'm afraid you completely miss the point. There is a reason why there is a healthy and growing lore ("history") to this virtual existence. There's a reason why commanders get so wrapped up in their ED personas, including yours truly. I can take you through just about any aspect of ED and draw you a parallel to something in real life. You don't "win" ED. There is no "endgame" to it. You are "born", you grow and learn, you do work and acquire things and have a career...or two or three. You interact socially with others to whatever you choose--just like in real life. You learn from each other. YOU decide how fulfilling your virtual life in ED is. That includes engineering.
I drive 2013 Camaro SS. I LOVE that car. And while it's mostly stock, I DID learn how to "engineer" a few things on it to enhance it for me. I know other people to took their Camaros in to REAL engineers to further enhance the performance (engine or computer mods for more horsepower, faster shifting, shorter breaking distance, louder exhaust systems). Was ANY of that "required"? Nope, not at all. My Camaro is just as capable of getting me to/from work, to/from the lake, to/from anywhere. I don't "win" by getting any place faster or in more style or with better fuel economy. It's LIFE.
So, no, engineering doesn't necessarily have to be "enjoyed". I was in ED for THREE YEARS before I ever even consider getting any engineering done. This was because the older process was far to random for me (I never take my car in for service and hope I "roll the dice" to get it back in better shape than when I dropped it off) and the outcome just wasn't worth it to me. When they changed it, made the expectations much more predictable, THAT'S when it became value-added to me. NOW, as an informed consumer, I can decide if the grind (investment) is worth the engineered results (return).
If it's not worth it to you, that's perfectly cool. NOT engineering doesn't mean you can't do what you need to do in ED. Your ships don't stop working, you can go pretty much where you want and do what you want. Again, I migrated to Colonia soon after started ED over three years ago and did just fine with zero engineering. Now, I have almost all my ships engineered because it's easy enough, and, more importantly, PREDICTABLE.
I can't stress enough that people need to stop thinking of ED as a typical game. It's not. It's a futuristic virtual life.