I recently purchased this game and started playing, however I accidentally clicked on "open play" and as a result got put into a match with some griefers who proceeded to destroy my ship without my consent, causing me to lose almost five thousand gold.
This is obviously an unacceptable situation, as I paid for a copy of the game and did not consent to PvP. I have made a support ticket with FDev and am hoping to get refunded the money I lost, however this has made me aware of a greater issue: new players don't know what open play means and may accidentally press it.
As a result I believe "open play" should be removed from the game. After all, nobody wants to be killed right? So why would anyone choose to play in "open" unless they were a griefer wanting to ruin other players' fun without their consent! This seems like a huge oversight from the developers.