It's actually kind of surprising how much of the arguments seem to be missing the point. People say that if a huge laser can't get through, how could a blow torch? Sure. Hit the exact same spot on the ship over and over again, then say that. They can focus on specific points. Pods would have dedicated hardware for JUST cutting hull. How did they cut the armor plates in the first place? Dedicated equipment, and time. It's not fast, I don't think it ever should be. I noticed someone talking about how silly it was in X3. Do you know how long it took? How difficult it was? You had to have an extremely well trained team, disabled the targets shields, and even then, unless they were trained enough, they may not even be able to cut through the hull. Seriously, bad example. Cutting a hole just large enough for a man and his exosuit to get into a ship, in zero-g, can't be all that big. Making it difficult is part of the point. You only board when you know you're going to win and want a little something extra, or an act of desperation.
I think the hacking really doesn't have any place in this, though. The hacking that happens in most games is just silly, and has nothing to do with how hacking works in the real world.
