I agree. The FPS part IS the game. Its about the people in the ships not the ships. If they only focuses on the space combat part it wouldnt have been successful IMO. People dont just want a ship game. There are plenty of those. They want a game where you are the person in the ship.
Agree with your overall assessment, but disagree with the methodology of how they are implementing. I just think it should have been released as a mostly complete stand alone module, then integrate new stuff later. I fear they spread themselves too thinly and not fully flush out the existing issues before incorporating newer stuff. I personally would like the option to explore in a single player capacity if desired, or have a group effort in conquering or being conquered in MMO style.