This is just a flavor idea.
For lack of better terminology at the moment, I'll call it a "rumor mill". It is a series of server specific archetypal titles awarded to players or factions who accomplish certain feats, i.e. Fastest Ship, Most Oppressive Faction, Best Pilot, etc... With a title comes a passive boon that exaggerates the truth of the title, like a 5% bonus to speed, a small bonus to damage when in proximity to a faction member, or all turning speeds are maximized regardless of the mass or shape of any ship you pilot. These titles are then displayed at the spawn screen so players logging on can see the "who's who" of the galaxy they are about to jump into.
The primary function of the rumor mill is injecting the sense of awe and uniqueness into StarMade that is present in our favorite space operas. Anyone familiar with the intimates of Star Wars' Millennium Falcon knows that it's just a modified Corellian YT-1300, but what makes it special is the rumor that it is the fastest ship in the galaxy. Including titles like this in StarMade would provide players with motivations to accomplish great feats in order to win these titles or even to defend them.
The greatest pitfall of any sandbox is the realization of pointlessness in whatever task it was you had your heart set on completing. "It was fun building this castle! ...I guess I'll keep all my junk here while I go play Battlefield 37." A rumor mill gives purpose to these types of projects. That massive ship you built? Rumor has it it's virtually indestructible, here's a bonus to the armor rating and community recognition for your accomplishment. Oh, also, you now need to defend this title if you want to keep it because other players are going to compete for it now.
If I log on one day and I see in the rumor mill that Crusade's ship, "The Aluminum Turkey", is the fastest ship in the galaxy, I might decide that I have a ship more worthy of that title. I could challenge Crusade to a race that might become a community event.
More importantly, this sort of system implements a sense of story telling that completely stays out of the way of the core of the game. It remains a sandbox, but with an added level of immersion and motivation. Certain titles could be geared more toward a heroic mindset while others might inspire the bearer to villainy on appropriate servers, making for miniature space opera scenarios where the Most Oppressive Faction invades a sector defended by the Best Pilot and the Fastest Ship. Players without unique titles would still want to be part of events like that, because they would all be familiar with the ships and pilots and likely want to see them in action, if not take a stab at earning (or stealing) a title themselves.
