*TL;DR: everything you say/want here is in the game, the only problem is if these features are up to your standard. *
survival: there are two survival modes, one of which is permadeath(you loose all your save if you die) survival modes are harder, it is difficult trying to get off the first planet, i have personally never made it.
*intergalactic trading, *: the new trading overhaul enables trade between different economies, some systems are more dangerous than others. Richer systems have powerfull ships. HOWEVER, trading is apparently constantly on the move(the prices for things go down as you sell), and some complain the faff for trading is too high.
combat: combat is avalible always, but it is very easy and other games do it much better, the ship controls do not compare to other flight sims.However combat now has missiles, and it rewards aggressive play, so it may feel fun but it isn't realistic.
building and core progression: missions add diversity to gameplay(fighter trader explorer guilds) and a sense of progression. Home bases can be built with farms to earn you millions. The most valuable thing in the game is a freighter(probs 200 million) which can warp, carry a fleet of ships, and carry a base. the main things you buy are ships and weapons.
the background story is actually good, although i haven't finished it yet, nothing like the game at release.
multiplayer: limited, you can use portals to get to each other, but all you can do is speak to each other, they hint it will be expanded on in the future.
interacting with aliens: this has been improved, you can ask for directions, pat them on the head ect..
conclusion:
it is swell that you seem to enjoy games from a mechanic point of view, the 1.3 update has been mainly focused on mechanics and gameplay variety, not on exploration. Although worlds are much much prettier.
i personally got hyped for this game because i loved the variety in what you could do, be a trader, pirate, explorer.
so i hope this was helpful, i think everything you want from here is in the game atleast to an extent, you want development, survival, combat and depth, it does have all of this, not as well designed as other games, but it does look pretty.