Just wanted to comment that land vehicles have their purpose because take off in the ship takes a noticeable amount of fuel (though not as bad as it used to be) It's not bad but you can drive around to get resources in vehicle much easier (assuming you're trying to explore a bit). Not saying you're completely wrong or anything, once you get so far you rarely need to go resource gathering anyways.

Base building is kinda fun if you're into it (plus you get to build the inside of your freighter like a base) and there's lots of missions and a decent chunk of story somewhere in there. It's pretty shallow but more like a wading pool than a puddle at least. It's fun to relax with and wander but I tend to lose interest before I can find the new ships and all so haven't even got a living ship yet had it since release.