@ MesoTronk: If the game gives me resources to remove uncertainty from the game, I will take advantage of them! Taking advantage of guaranteed results given by the game is not cheating. This is how you win in a grind of a game like Angband, where one mistake can kill you. You use items or spells that do not fail (e.g., scrolls, spells with 0% fail) when you need them because you die next turn if they fail.
@ Midnight Kitsune: Since scumming in Ironman in Starsector is still possible (quit when combat is undecided), the only difference is the time between reloads, because game exits to desktop instead of main menu, and I need to relaunch the game. I play normal because it takes less time to reload a game. If Ironman was the only way to play, you bet I would savescum just like in Normal. I would simply put up with relaunching the game as much as it takes. (Still takes less time than grinding for top-tier items in Diablo II.)
@ Cik: Scumming when the game allows reloads is not cheating. Adding a mod changes the rules of the game (not cheating by itself, if I start a game with it, but the game is no longer standard). Big difference.
The reason I do not consider save-scumming cheating in Starsector and any other game that lets the player save and reload on demand is it is allowed by the game, and thus not cheating. I only consider save-scumming cheating if the game does not allow it. If I need to go outside the game and make backup files or otherwise use OS functions to get around the (rules of the) game, then it is cheating. I cannot save-scum in Nethack, Angband, or DoomRL unless I copy-and-paste files with the OS instead of within the game itself. I do consider save-scumming in those games cheating.
I also see scumming little, if any, different than continuing on Ghosts and Goblins or other hard arcade game (even encouraged since coin-op gets more money) or as part of a solution to somewhat random puzzles in '80s adventure games (e.g., You need to kill or incapacitate an enemy, but enemy may occasionally ambush and kill you as soon as you walk in the room to meet him. Example, the axe troll in Zork I.)