my progress so far..

- played around 30 hours +
- currently at 5th planet, on 2nd star system
- inventory slot = 42
- ship slot = 25
- multi tool slot = 11

weirdest discovery so far? i think i already came across another player while wandering about at the 2nd star system's space station. how i know it was another real player? the guy was using the red starter spacecraft. the name of the guy looks like russian, not the typical gibberish alien name and 3rd, i cannot engage/interact with the space craft. usually when you face a spacecraft, you can interact with it to go into trading etc.

best planet i visited so far is my 4th planet. everywhere is GOLD! choke-full of drop pods and damaged machinery!

yes even in AR, ships (class) affects maneuverability and other attributes like damage, cargo, shield absorption etc.

have not played NEXT much yet so not sure if those are still the same. i expect the game to use the same mechanics, just that the old ships we know may have changed in stats.

Since launch of NEXT they have been actively addressing game breaking bugs and I think so far they should have most fixed by now (which is about 1 week after launch). And i recall reading the latest size of HG is less than 15.
HG actually closed off a few duplication glitches in the last few patches, including the Cryo Pump one. I was actually occupied with other stuff so no time to play, but actually you can make alot of seed money - just need some time. The easiest is probably the Whispering Eggs - u can easily farm those to get you into your first millions.

You can also save your Nanites to invest in better scanners that give better payouts when scanning. Personally I don't think credits is a big issue so did not really go out of my way to glitch or farm much. I just play along and enjoy the game.

Another other trick (not for money generation) is also to look for damaged or abandoned ships. Repair only their launch thrusters and pulse drive. the rest of the damage parts just do not attempt to repair. fly to the nearest trade outpost or space station and just wait for another alien ship to appear, then trade your damaged ship for a brand new one. instant new ship.

here, some tips and tricks that won't make u glitch or feel guilty