Sorry, this is a cross post, but I think it's valid in any doom and gloom thread.
Personally, I just think FDEV should have stopped adding new, unconnected bolt-on stuff to this game a couple of years ago and actually replaced one or two in-game placeholders with a real mechanic for each update:
For example let's take the stunted, anaemic Galnet and see what we could do with it:
3.1)
Tie Galnet into the Galaxy map as the "Hitchickers Guide to the Galaxy" with planetary physical and social information news articles linked to their systems/planets/stations etc...
Make Galnet generally indexed and searchable by time/location/BGS state/keyword/activity etc.
Make Galnet keep live tabs on megaships and other in-game sightseeing spots, shipyards, alien ruins, Braintree forests etc and add points of historical interest with the Lore articles linked.
Similarly, selecting any point on Galaxy map would have links to Galnet with relevant articles etc.
Allow for a player added "Commander's log" to keep tabs on visited locations etc and add comments / votes / reviews to articles.
Make a couple of trending charts for currently popular places / articles within game to help commanders find new and interesting stuff and actually meet other commanders at places other than CGs / Seal-clubbing hot spots.
Also have a simple, web-based wiki-like addon to Galnet with addition of POIs such as beautiful views etc... Upvoted stuff gets mentioned in the newsletters and added to the official lists and becomes available in-game.
(I guess <13 year old players cannot access it due to EU rules on player generated content perhaps containing the occasional SRV track -pic or rude word).
3.2 )
Adjust the BGS to make it far more dependant on dynamic system states that are themselves more realistic and properly tied into faction/power shenanigans and Lore/Galnet storyline.
Add PP and factions into Galnet's searchable index for recruitment / marketing / bragging etc.
Maybe even have faction rankings/standings/number of systems held, number of players etc and current trending to make factions compete more. (Look at Dual Universe's community pages for how lively faction stuff could be).
Tie PP into the BGS together so that PP demand is actually connected to BGS and BGS responds logically to PP activity then remove stupid "PP trading commodity" and replace it instead with demand for specific commodities in each system.
Create a "PP Commanders' ranking" list for each faction to show off or help powers players choose their next undermining targets.
Include searchable galaxy wide power/faction bounties information for bounty hunters in this Galnet update and have the system track bountied commanders' last locations by means of the "report crimes on" setting or if they inadvertently get additional bounties/scanned by authorities. Include TOTAL past bounties incurred and past Bounty history including PvP kill history and stats (Power Play and otherwise) so that notorious commanders who keep wiping their bounties will still have a permanent non-hideable record of what they have done in the past or so that Thrill Seekers and Murderers can find worthy opponents to fight and defeat for galactic (in)glory!
Basically, any commander records would be available at security brokers' and even clean commanders records would be available on the black market for a price.
These two sets of additions alone would really make the game feel more accessible to noobs and more dynamic/living no need for fancy artistic yet basically shallow reskins of aliens or conditional, gated pew-pew and grindatious play loops for yet more weapons that at the end of they day are no better than any other weapon.
Also, IMO, new ships shouldn't even be considered headline features for patches and should just be added for beta testing as and when they are complete.
I honestly think that FDEV are headed in the wrong direction with stuff that few actually want.
Once all the frameworks are in place and accessible to all players, then by all means start some grand war between two alien factions... But currently without a working in-game database, news source and map, nothing going on has is even visible to most players. I actually didn't know what Guardians were until will after 2.x was over. I honestly thought they were the name for the SLFs.