Correct, but then you take a break, play something else and start over in 6mths, or a year, or two.

When I last played there wern't any friendly NPCs. There was a crashed SV you started near which wasn't meant to be flyable, it didn't have any control thrusters just a main engine. But, It was possible with to prop up the nose of the crashed SV with the terrain editing tool, Strip away all the weight then blindly launch yourself at another planet without the ability to steer it.

So you can imagine how it felt like a totally new game when I played it again and started over after taking a break for a while.

I started over not so long ago and everything I knew had changed.