What more would you like to know?
You do not NEED the territory scanner to mine, but it does help you find ore veins of high value.
You can claim hexes of territory on planets and moons. You can only claim one hex on Sanctuary, but that is a place for just the first day of learning the game. Moving to Alioth should happen by the end of your second full day in the game (so, after at least 6-10 hours of learning the basics). Doing so opens up opportunities because...
Other than on Sancturary, players can mine in any unclaimed hex, as well as any hex they own.
You use Territory Units to claim hexes, with one hex on EACH planet only costing you the Territory Unit's purchase cost. However, there is a surcharge that increases for each additional hex you claim on the same planet. Right now, I have 3 hexes on Alioth, but when I claim a fourth, it will cost me almost 2 million in cash to pay, in addition to the TCU (territory unit), but that is being made by an org member for me.
They have a market system, but they are intended to make significant improvements to it as people are getting more established. Player-owned markets are a near-future addition that is planned.
You NEVER have to PVP, but if you do not want to venture into risky territory, realize that the more highly valued ores, and larger ore veins, will be outside the safe zone. Except, you can warp from planet to planet, but it is not fully without risk, but rather it increases your odds of avoiding PVP players by a large margin. If you fail to warp early enough or you fudge your drop from warp, you can end up outside the safe area that covers the planet's orbit and immediate environs.
The industry potential is litterally massive. Some folks are churning through millions of tons of ore a day. I average about 100k. There are 5 tiers of ores, four per tier. Mining and then selling at a higher price, made simple to find by their market menu which is accessible anywhere, is the best way for a new player to make money. Be careful, the market includes sellers on other planets/moons, so a purchase should be made locally (as you have to pick it up and carry it off) as should sales.
You earn achievements by accomplishing certain listed tasks. These provide awards of Talent XP, which I suggest NOT spending early on, but saving for when you decide that you need to start a talent tree that you have neglected. Just like in EVE, the further up the talent tree you go, the more time it takes to learn it. I've 42 days of learning queued at the moment and I could easily add 100 more days. However, the lowest level take about 3 minutes to learn, for some of the trees.
At the official release, they plan to add another solar system, with further solar systems being added over time. These MIGHT have safe zones, also.
You can currently claim as many hexes as you can afford.
You are limited to the total number of personal "cores" you can own; 17 after all associated talents have been learned. These cores are the hub of an individual construct that you build, whether it be a land base, a space ship, or a space station. They very in size of area they cover, as well as physical size. The destruction of a core equals the destruction of the construct, although repairing destroyed items is possible, at this time.
Players currently receive 100,000 quantas (their money) each day (roughtly). It goes from log in to log in and one has to log out and then log back in, if their times overlap. So, one can get the 100,000 every 24 hours, but it will often be more like 30 or more hours depending on your playing habits.
Voxelmancy is a thing, for those interested in creating unique designs. Some players already earn quantas by designing ships and then selling them as blueprints. You can build a blueprint for any player built construct, from ships to complete factories.
Newtonians physics is also a thing. When building a ship, your lift and thrust from engines and wings/stablizers both need to be sufficient to keep you in the atmosphere, instead of falling like a rock.
There are atmospheric, space, and rocket engines, each requiring fuel.
So, this game is extensive, but not truly complicated. If buiding your ship does not excite you, but the industry side does, then you can buy a starter ship and do very well as you mine ores and sell it for a profit.
If you like designing cool spaceships, you can. They even supported a player organized ship expo, recently, with multiple dozens of player creations on display, within the game, located at a large organization's actual base.
Future additions are atmospheric conditions and planetary survival, but to what extent is not known. PVP is going to be overhauled and expanded this next year, including space, but also ground combat and territory control.
If you are any good at LUA scripting, there's a who other aspect to this game, as many, many, objects support LUA scripts and one can make in game cash for designing and selling these.
If all you want to do is claim a small plot of land and build a tower to the sky, you can. Space "elevators" are popping up like so many stalks of corn, causing a bit of a hazard when overflying the land. Speaking of which, flying over the mountains of Alioth reminds me of flying over the Rocky Mountains.
In the very near future, they are supposed to be updating the planet geology and flora. Some very nice screenshots exist showing this off. It is amazing.
I played No Man's Sky and really did like it, apart from pretty much being alone, except on missions. While the graphics and some features of NMS are superior to DU, the latter is makine strides and I expect it will prove to be the better game.
At $6 a month for a subscription, it feel it is well worth it.
I hope this all helps you make an informed decision.
Justin