I'm not sure the stated expectation was to have the battle pause while you collected scrap. Rather the issue is the expectation to be picking up scrap in a pitched battle to begin with. This isn't picking up weapons and ammo from fallen opponents, it's individual soldiers in dereliction of duty picking up scrap those while the fight is still going so they can personally reverse engineer the bits into their own guns.
It's terribly unrealistic and it's the nature of the system we have. It's gamey to the core and as such needs to be thought of as a game because otherwise I'm asking why I'm not being questioned for my warship being full of collectors and cargo racks rather than HRPs/MRPs/GSBs/etc.
I just don't see it. Everything in this so called realistic sim seems created for the sole intent of driving the intended experience rather than following realism. Why do we have dog-fighting rather than long-ranged combat? Gameplay design. Why is a spaceship pilot needed to carry an email when encryption and FTL comms exist? Gameplay design. Why did the concept of price and availability advertising die in regard to goods? Gameplay design.
And dear lord are engineers the digital incarnation of gameplay design over realism. How the gently caress did Palin know the exact moment I went 5k ly. Who's reporting those markets to Lei Cheung? I'm not the only one delivering 10's of tons of cigars and brandy. what is actually going on with that? As addressed above we have battlefield looting that in no way resembles restocking usable weapons and ammo. We have a market that doesn't believe in selling commodities relevant to engineering either. What's up with that? No one wants that dank commander cash? The remote workshop thing has me full of questions. So does engineered module rebuy.
No, it's far from a digital space life. It's a space game that runs like a space game with rules and mechanics like a space game. I've not "done it all" in real life. I don't have to because no one is refusing to sell me a car sound system until I sacrifice goats at 50 different guitar shops. I can just go and exchange money for a service or tinker with products I bought at my leisure.
But this is a game. It's a simulation game. Even if it supposedly simulates a living breathing galaxy, it is still a game. Hence the gamey-ness.
I've always treated it as such.
That's why I'm under no illusion of exploring the galaxy and grinning like a brony just because I saw a sunset on some distant world.
Also unimpressed by doing repetitious inane material gathering for miniscule stat increases.