I don't mind pirates and Heg basically creating asymmetrical gameplay, because at the end of the day I assume it would be much too hard for everyone to all have the same logistics troubles as you do at a technical level. That being said, it is kind of a constant reminder that everyone has unlimited resources to throw at you 24/7, and it never matters how devastating the losses you dole out to them are. I wouldn't mind playing wack a mole for a bit if Heg got a taste of true fear after being wiped out 5 times in a row, and either changed their plan or retreated for a while, you know, like a player might.
On that note (and I know there are some bugs regarding this that will be fixed) fighting in coronas or black holes doing essentially nothing to enemies feels really bad. If you have solar shielding and the supplies to last, chasing a guy through a star for a week not mattering because you have to deal with supplies and he doesn't really sucks. I know that's vaguely off topic, but it feels relevant given whats already been discussed.
A big part of me has just accepted the asymmetrical gameplay, and maybe I'm wrong for that, but I don't think it can be totally escaped. I do wish you could have some kind of meaningful damage done to factions without just glassing them. No one in their right mind would just keep feeding millions worth of ships into a grinder.
My token response to autosave: absolutely terrible idea, and not just because SS runs/saves poorly, which IMO it does. That being said, I'm a firm believer that having an option for something means everyone wins, which is always good. I would never use it but having it as a toggle is a good idea.