I've been paying Starsector recently and have been really enjoying it. 
It's a top down space sim that doesn't really have a campaign or structure to go through. It's all about making your own fun akin to the Mount and blade games. 
I've been playing as a bounty hunter for now with a small fleet hunting down pirates and space luddite islamists 
I only have a few frigates and carrier with some retrofitted civilian freighters and drone haulers. My own little merc company 
I don't know whether I'll create a colony eventually or not. It's kinda necessary if you want to do salvaging and hunt down any blueprints or rare ships but I might just settle for cleansing the galaxy of pirates 
Anyway I want to finish a campaign before I dive into the huge modding scene this game has. I've been eyeing the fighter customisation mod where you create specialised fighter wings with your own officers and even pilot them yourself.
https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=18751.0
Play the game. It's awesome 
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Never heard of it, looks cool tho
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Each faction have their own ship designs, weapons and economics. Different planets produce different resources and need specific things.
You can trade on the open market with tariffs or on the black market with cool shit but run the risk of being branded a smuggler and getting patrol fleets after you.
Been playing both sides in a local war rn.
Selling weapons and fuel to the pirates 
while smuggling food and marines to space feds. 
Desert planets would pay higher for food and luxury goods but would lowball you on metals and machinery since they're a mining world for example. They pay up FAT STACKS for drugs tho 
I'm helping the pirates become more powerful so that more factions will be forced into the war so I can get much higher paying contracts and bounties to hunt them down.
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