How has the game changed since launch?

I played for several months when it came out in 2014. Played again a bit after Horizons, but not for too long; just landed on a few planets but didn’t do too much.

I’m wondering how much the game has changed and evolved over time. When I played the game was commonly referred to as being a mile wide but an inch deep. And while I pretty much played a space-truck simulator and enjoyed it, I did feel like this statement had some truth. You really had to make your own objectives and go for it. I’m wondering if the game has more of a purpose now. I know they added factions and such so is there some kind of quest structure or events or something to add engagement?

I gave Eve a brief try but was put off by how passive you command your ship, however I did appreciate that there seemed to be a lot of missions and unique/big things to do with how the economy was structured. Has elite gained any of this kind of stuff over the years?