The magic safe zone destroys the sand box and eventually kills the game, other than people logging on to create art projects.
Real fighting is confined to areas outside the bubble that are small. They are then what amounts to a slap fight in which one side is going to take advantage of exploits to get their ship to safety because they don't want to face consequences should they start to lose.
It's annoying that as the big draw of space battle is forced further and further into a corner, people are fawning over territorial warfare and planetary fighting. And what's going to happen is, sure that there's going to be territorial warfare, but then the goal post will be moved again. The creative lithovores start crying that Space City 1 is under attack, then they put in place a whole slew of stupid rules and mechanics to make the game protect them because they are too antisocial to protect themselves.
The other day on the main discord, I was watching the chat roll, and the most badass discussions I thought came up about people having to convoy their ships to defend each other! Massive emergent gaming is the concept of people banning together to face a common threat! Each rule or modification to appease the players who want to exert power over their environments that they have not won prevents individuals from grouping up in reality. It causes individuals not to want to be social. Every inch ground the developers offer to the nerdlings who want to create their super duper death star in "peace", ruins the game for hundreds in the future.
1.) At the top of the development list, addressing the exploits in PVP should be ranked. As there is no PVE, PVP is what is going to push this game. And it would be an easy win. You don't need people to be programmed.
2.) Second on the list should be PVP balancing. It's got to remain a challenge, I guess. The curve for learning must be steep. And that's what makes it interesting! It provides people with the need to be innovative. But it should also be engaging and stimulating.
3.) The bubble has to go down. The only protected place is the Sanctuary Moon and the space surrounding it.
4.) Get the PVP right in space, then think about territorial warfare and PVP in the atmosphere.
People want voxel tools and all that stuff, though I would personally think that addressing this and things like the whole voxelmancy crap and actually incorporating it into the game would be fantastic. To foster team play and rivalry, it does NOTHING. The PVP will drive the game. It is the entropy that makes it possible for industry.
This was my long winded way of saying the JC interview was frustrating.