The Game

At this point it could still be many things. Ultimately what you choose to do is what the game will be for you. The game is only a framework for how you interact with others, autonomous systems, and the environment.

Fundamentals

You control a robotic Chassis which is what interacts with the world. Other players and NPCs will each be controlling their own Chassis and each can be destroyed. All Chassis and the equipment they use can be fabricated, sold, and purchased on an open market. The materials to make them are also found in the world in various forms, each requiring different actions to extract or recover them.

You also have skills which you can level up independent of your Chassis and equipment. These will enhance certain attributes of different chassis or equipment performance, or unlock their usage.

The world is divided up into unique Zones, none of which are instanced and each part of the same shared world. When you are not out on a Zone you will be inside of a Control Base. At a Control Base are your personal item storage as well as shared services like Industrial Facilities and the Market.

Some Zones will be open-pvp and contain aggressive NPCs, others will be safer with no-pvp and non-aggressive NPCs. The Zones further from Base will increase in difficulty and risk, but their material rewards will also increase.

Activities

There are 3 types of raw materials each with their own unique activity to obtain each. In combination with the use of the Industrial Facilities at a Control Base, you can fabricate any item to use or sell on the Market. Beyond these essentials is the world itself, whether that be through exploration or Missions, there are a number of ways to advance, discover, and be rewarded.

Mining

Mining involves the process of finding an Ore Node and exploiting it. Scanning for ore is simple (in contrast to 'Crypt-Hunting). Equip an Ore Scanner, activate it and Ore Nodes in proximity to you will become visible. Other equipment is required to mine the node, both of which are easy to equip to most any Chassis.

Data Crypts

The world is filled with mysterious ruins and buried relics. One such relic is a Data Crypt, a volatile encrypted data capsule that contains designs or parts of them to use with a Fabricator facility to construct an item. To find these the Scanning step involves a Data Crypt Scanner with special probes. These probes vary in scanning type, strength, distance, and accuracy. Using a few triangulated carefully is what will reveal the location of a DataCrypt. Then extraction mirrors that of the final step in mining ore.

Combat

The world is filled with others like you, and unlike you. NPCs may operate ignorant to your designs on them. While others may hunt you down. Defeating NPCs yields special resources too - Scraps. The wreckage of your foes can be scooped up and taken to a Recycling facility to make the intermediate goods required for Fabrication.

Industry

As you may see, the above 3 activities happen out in the world, and when combined will give you the necessary materials to produce items.
Control Base Facilities of various types are used to transform Raw Materials into Refined Materials which in turn are used in the Fabricator to produce Items.

Market

You may not be able to source all the materials you need yourself. For this you can turn to others via the Market! There you can buy what you need, or post orders yourself for others to sell to over time.
You may find you produce more than you need, or items you would rather sell to help fund other purchases. The market enables you to operate at any level of the supply chain easily.

Exploration and Events

The world might seem passive, but there are things out there that do not reveal themselves until it is too late. Traps, ambushes, treasure, invasions, and many more are out there to those who leave no stone unturned.
Some events will be broadcast and players can elect to follow along and help with objectives. Others require exploration and curiosity. A select few require luck, both good and bad.

Missions

Missions are like events but more available and at a time of the player's choosing, whereas events may be more of a surprise.

So that's it?

Yeah geez that's all I built so far, get off my back dude.