I am not sure if I am missing something, but this sandbox layer is pretty lacking in anything to do really. Just a station to buy and sell some stuff, and a bunch of random fleets flying around. Also, it tends to be very tough to find a small pirate scout around your same class to be able to kill so getting going can be tough and filled with many many deaths.
I appreciate they are making progress, but its still not much more to play than the previous versions. Or am I missing something?
Hi there! Well, yes and no. The point of this version is to give you a way to check out new ships, play around with fleet compositions, weapon loadouts, etc. The current campaign layer is mainly there to let you pick your fights and acquire stuff - there's not much more to it than that.
But, you *can* get all the way to the very top, in terms of the ships that comprise your fleet. You've got a lot more freedom compared to the static missions, and of course everything's persistent. Then there are some other elements like crew advancement and the effect they have on ships, along with damageable weapons and engines, which make the combat a lot more tactical.
So you're right in that the campaign layer itself doesn't have that much meat to it - but what it does do is offer a persistent framework around the combat.
... in other words, what Frumple said 2 minutes ago. Carry on!