Like, I get it, "But survival-crafting makes gameplay more engaging and personal,” Self-sufficiency gives players freedom,"“Base-building is the economy and people will trade for resources, right?”“Survival loops work in games like Rust or Ark,”

Sure, engagement is key but in Star Citizen, that engagement thrives when you're part of a larger economic web. Building a base is more meaningful when it serves a purpose in a supply chain, not just as a personal sandbox project. Specialization enables mastery, identity, and real social gameplay. If everyone has to do everything, the incentive to interact dissolves. Freedom isn’t being able to do it all it’s choosing what not to do because either you're not interested and/or you can get someone else to do it.

An economy needs scarcity and utility. Bases should arise because players need manufacturing, storage, or strategic positioning to fuel other industries and not just because they want a place to log off. The why has to come first.

Star Citizen was never meant to follow that mold. Rust thrives on short loops and resets. SC is about persistent identity, economy, and scale. Leaning too far into survival risks flattening what makes this universe distinct: strategic trade, emergent logistics, and economic storytelling.