I wouldn't worry about the skillpoint difference too much.

In 'other, comparable sci-fi MMOs I have played and loved', I've taken down more experience players in bigger ship classes than me and been popped myself by younger players.

Combat is situational and each time, there have been a combination of factors at play, such as numbers, fitting, piloting skill, etc. These matter much more than raw skill points in the long run and I don't expect this game to be any different.

Worring about older, better skilled players making a fortune based on a skillpoint advantage and better knowledge of game mechanics is also the wrong way to look at things I think.

If they're capitalising on a particular market, try and take a slice of that - what are they producing, what commodoties are they buying to do that? If they have more buying power than others, can you supply to them and shift your inventory faster?

This is a sandbox and it's very early days, so my plan is to be creative and set my own goals. Having played the other game I referenced above, I know it's easy to get snowblind in the face of a sandbox game filled with more experienced, better skilled richer players, but I still carved out my niche and had fun, which is kind of the point.

I for one welcome our better skilled overlords and intend to just HTFU!