AO isn't that bad, but they seem to be catering towards carebears more and more with each update. Kind of sad considering it was originally designed to be as hardcore and ruthless as Eve is.
Eve kept it where the most profit could be made only in dangerous sectors or at least, made the "safe" sectors still dangerous because you could still lose your ship.
For Albion to be as hardcore as Albion, they should've made HCE full loot when you die. Adding a bit of risk to the endeavour !