My brother in christ, what the fuck do you think i’ve been describing then?

Algorithms that use the models/meshes/etc., and not the models/meshes data themselves. Algorithms take up allot less space on the hard drive.

What I see is that you don’t understand how procedural generation works.

I'm a computer programmer. I've written that kind of code before (gotta love some Perlin noise). /sigh

Also, you're not quoting me on that part, but someone else. I didn't make any mention about a 'Damaged Helmet in gitf format' (or anything else in that text you quoted).

As is today, how do you think planetary terrain is generated?

It mixes/matches models (that have meshes, etc.) like Lego pieces to assemble the landscapes/things. If you want more new/varied worlds, you need more models/meshes. The algorithms are not going to create them, its going to just assemble the ones that already exist as files on the hard drive.

Edit: Funny enough, I'm currently downloading the update, all 7.48GB of it. The whole game takes up 14.69GB on my hard disk. I'm going to bet most of the update is the new stations look/variety, and not the logic code for mix-and-matching ship parts.