everything you said....
Man, don't hype too much in conjecture, your ideas are genial, but take into consideration the developers are a team of 11 people (Including marketing, social, etc...)
We aren't sure it's the same galaxy for everyone or if it's randomly generated ( I mean, we know the planet are generated but is the universe generated too) . So it's is possible that even coordinated meeting aren't possible !!!
We are in the blind, so it's exciting but scary in the same time. It's just 11 people working for 3-4 years max. I can't be the perfect game. In the best case scenario, the sequel would be awesome !
Honestly, i am pretty sure the the only real multiplayer aspect is Database Sync between player. Has-it REALLY been confirm that you can see, fight, trade with other Player ? I am pretty sure that the official statement is : "Meeting someone else is improbable". Everything else is pure hypothesis.