Hey @Scarlet012! Since you said you were open to thoughts from others, figured I’d go ahead and chime in with a little extra information. Starsector is a massive inspiration for me and my games as well, so I’ve got a bit of hands on experience there. You definitely want to go with jwatte’s idea most of the time, as there’s no reason to have the rest of the universe simulated to full fidelity.
The best sims tend to come from being able to take stats and turn them into a fully realized world, even though at the end of the day they are never anything but numbers, that sometimes get a face, mesh, or scenario. Take rimworld for example. The game actually does not actually have pawns or anything outside of the tile you’re in (or viewing). Just some locations which have some values that indicate if they are mad at you or your friend, what they trade, and that’s basically it. Only if you go to their tile do they generate an actual scenario, and that scenario is based on the data from before. But once you’re gone? Back to just being data.
That said, maybe you want to have massive space battles way bigger than would be possible without a data oriented angle? Then the (Currently in beta) Mass system could help out. You know how they say Eve is just a spreadsheet? In reality, it is! But when they have massive battles, all of the entities are actually there. Unreal’s new Mass system is on it’s way to being the gateway to data oriented design. If that sounds like it could be up your alley, keep this link on hand. The system isn’t quite ready for prime time yet, but it’s getting there.