I think that a new life could be brought to the game by adding interactible background critters and ships and drones etc to PvP/PvE (and ofc OS). They should have no affect on the game (except maybe a small amount of synergy or cred?) and actually move around and be killable. (Think CS:GO chickens)
Some ideas for passive critters include:
-Scavenger Drone
Just floats around and does drone things. Might be carrying a container. Easily destroyed.
-Hauler
Just a harmless cargo ship-WAIT NO DON’T GET CLOSE TO THAT NUK-welp he’s dead now. Harder to destroy.
-Alien Polyp
Crawls around on rocks and sometimes jumps to other rocks. Easy to kill.
-Scavenger
Just a trashy ship with no guns. Has AI and will run away if attacked.
-Miner
Just a mining ship with a small laser (one turret that only reaches like 300m in front of the ship). Has AI and will run away if attacked. If attacked close up it will return fire.
-Repair Tech
A utility ship with no weapons but has heavy armor. Has AI and will run away if attacked.
-Sattelite
A small sattelite in space. Beeps occasionally. Easily destroyed.
-Space Fox
A small orange fox with a space helmet. Sometimes throws a little orange crystal at you. Impossible to kill.
-Radio Station
A small sattelite in space. You can hear music over the comms if you get close enough. Easily destroyed.
-Pirate Scanner
A small sattelite in space. It’s watching you. Easily destroyed.
-Space Jellyfish
A jellyfish from Vior. Floats around and does jellyfish things. If you touch the tentacles you get shocked. Easily killed.
-Space Reptile
A Reptile from Vior. Floats around and does reptile things. Sometimes screeches at you. Easily killed.
-Spectator Drone
A player-controlled drone from outside the battle. Heavily armored and cannot cause collision damage.
-Racing Ship
A thrill-seeker out to race through the sector as fast as possible. If you manage to stop it, you might get yelled at.
-Bounty (added to any background mob, denoted by a +)
Adds a credit or resource bonus to your battle if killed.
-Stranded
A civilian ship that broke down in space. Push them to safety and they might reward you. Easily destroyed.
-Mine
Randomly found sometimes in space. Do light thermal damage. Left over from the wars of old. Easily destroyed.
-Sentry
Randomly found sometimes attached to rocks and debris. Does light kinetic damage. Left over from the wars of old. Easily destroyed.
AND SO MUCH MORE!