This is actually a very interesting topic. I actually popped in this thread expecting criticisms on the lack of an officially published complete timeline, and to contribute to that complaint myself. However, this is a far more entertaining discussion.
As has already been pointed out several times, it's easy to pick apart fiction when trying to address realism. I know it's already been mentioned but as far as your primary complaint is concerned I personally fall in the category of agreement with the fact that ship hull designs are capable of lasting for so many years.
You see, spaceflight has no concern for atmospheric flight so propulsion is the only real driver for travel technology. As we know it now there are very few things we would need to account for in space travel beyond the needs of the actual humans involved. Those things include radiation protection for both the ship and crew, gravity and atmospheric flight while exploring. I'm sure there are other needs but it stands to reason that a hull design capable of meeting the requirements of space travel and planetary landing would be created or modified to be upgradable as technology improves. We are already seeing this design philosophy coming into play in software design. Using this philosophy in manufacturing on a universal scale is the next logical step. Especially considering that until recently (~3301) the Frame Shift Drive hadn't yet been invented. So, when you are out in a starship on voyages lasting years hanging around in a cryo pod it stands to reason that when you arrive at your destination you wouldn't want to be required to buy an entirely new starship, but instead be able to upgrade whatever systems are out-dated by the local technology when you arrive at your destination.
Modularity is the future and that is something Elite acknowledges very well and I personally offer that as my counter-point to the OP's argument. As such, I am happy to fly in my Python, which from the various wiki sources was created in 2700, making it a hull design that is now over 600 years old. Not even new metallurgical sciences and discoveries of new elements would eliminate a hull design that is proven to meet the needs of space travel and atmospheric flight. Those technologies would simply be used to manufacture updated versions of those hulls, which is exactly what is happening in Elite.
As has already been pointed out several times, it's easy to pick apart fiction when trying to address realism. I know it's already been mentioned but as far as your primary complaint is concerned I personally fall in the category of agreement with the fact that ship hull designs are capable of lasting for so many years.
You see, spaceflight has no concern for atmospheric flight so propulsion is the only real driver for travel technology. As we know it now there are very few things we would need to account for in space travel beyond the needs of the actual humans involved. Those things include radiation protection for both the ship and crew, gravity and atmospheric flight while exploring. I'm sure there are other needs but it stands to reason that a hull design capable of meeting the requirements of space travel and planetary landing would be created or modified to be upgradable as technology improves. We are already seeing this design philosophy coming into play in software design. Using this philosophy in manufacturing on a universal scale is the next logical step. Especially considering that until recently (~3301) the Frame Shift Drive hadn't yet been invented. So, when you are out in a starship on voyages lasting years hanging around in a cryo pod it stands to reason that when you arrive at your destination you wouldn't want to be required to buy an entirely new starship, but instead be able to upgrade whatever systems are out-dated by the local technology when you arrive at your destination.
Modularity is the future and that is something Elite acknowledges very well and I personally offer that as my counter-point to the OP's argument. As such, I am happy to fly in my Python, which from the various wiki sources was created in 2700, making it a hull design that is now over 600 years old. Not even new metallurgical sciences and discoveries of new elements would eliminate a hull design that is proven to meet the needs of space travel and atmospheric flight. Those technologies would simply be used to manufacture updated versions of those hulls, which is exactly what is happening in Elite.
