There are two, and only two, faults I can hold against the original Elite as it was released in 1984. Sure, there are plenty of ways to improve the game, but for what the game was, there and then, it was perfect excepting only 1. speed and 2. the legal system being way too simple.

Lots of changes were made to the legal system in Elite-A/B and we should also look to the modern Elite:Dangerous.

• Action against the player will depend upon the government type of the system. In Anarchy and Feudal systems anything goes and legal status is moot. Dictatorships and Communist systems don't mince words and just go straight for the kill. Confederacies, Democracies and Corporate-states favour fines, legal warnings and police action. Behaviour of multi-government systems is dependent on tech-level and industry type.

• A system of fines for minor infractions, payable at your nearest station (for systems with governments that care about that) with promotion to criminal status if left unpaid

• Large fines against you increase the likelihood of being attacked by pirates, and later, of bounty-hunters after your head

• Have different missions depending on legal status?

Better handling of illegal cargoes will also need to worked out. Being able to jettison cargo (#14) will help with avoiding an unwanted illegal status.