The longer I'm with this community, the more apparent it becomes that different people play the game differently, at a fundamental level. Some folks grind/trade until they can buy/capture a specific powerful ship, then max out its equipment before going off to do specific storylines. At the opposite extreme, some folks fully roleplay the experience of being a fledgling space captain doing odd jobs and slowly working up to more powerful ships, while having organic story and combat encounters along the way. Other folks are somewhere in-between, or do something entirely different!
For me, I lean more towards the "roleplay slowly building up with encounters along the way" approach.
What about y'all? What is your playstyle?