@blueeyedcasva
Space sims come in all shapes and sizes, I wouldn't by itself consider Battlefront to be a space sim but rather to have elements of it, space combat sims are historically casualized experiences and Battlefront's air/space battles are very much that, which is why it was probably included, many games do jump boundaries of established genres and it happens all the time. Homeworld though even raises an eyebrow with me and even I'd have to draw a line there though myself as its gameplay design is almost entirely rooted in RTS genre characteristics. I defend No Man's Sky as its elements through and through are all mainly rooted in the space sim genre.
Not all sim games have to be based in realism heavy gameplay, rather that is a subgenre of the space sim umbrella, many space sims offer more casualized experiences and have for years, by Wikipedia's own definition a space sim is merely a game which "that lets players experience space flight". It's a little too vague sure but I argue nonetheless that the game still shares many traditional and modern characteristics of the space sim genre as it's stood for years. Undoubtedly the casual space combat as it has existed since the days of Wing Commander, X-Wing and Tie Fighter games, or Colony Wars series, in their easily accessible gameplay, their portrayal of space flight as mere superficial aesthetic. Though those games differ in mainly players were given mission scenarios, No Man's Sky takes aspects of some of the more the realism heavy space sims in their open procedurally generated worlds, or freedom to explore, the ability to join factions, and supposedly will have elements MMO elements seen in modern space sims, they're mining and resource gathering, trading, its very own fictitious science system and the goal of discovering the origins of the universe. It'll also be incorporating VR for a more immersive experience. Those are all good enough things to deem other space sims as such. In many ways incorporating these modern aspects of space sims with the older causal aspects help make the genre more accessible, as it was long considered a dying genre, or in many ways a non-viable genre outside of PC gaming. It is also considered to be among the modern resurgence of space sim games, from such games such as Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, Eve Valkyrie, Everspace, Space Engineers, Kerbal Space Program.
It is still very much a space sim in many of the elements of the genre. Again, I think you're being way too literal and thing "sim" being in "space sim" means it has to be rooted in outright realism. You're maybe the only person I've seen try to argue otherwise. Is it casual? Sure, if that's your hiccup of embracing that and only that as a space sim then you'll always find solace with the few other genre nazis out there. But the label of space sim has for decades and will continue to be used to refer to games like this, whether you agree with it or not.
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