Online vs. offline is a tough one.
We absolutely want offline folks to have a fantastic experience. But, we also have to protect the online folks. We just can't trust any data once it's "been taken offline".
Eventually, we will likely allow you to seed offline with your online profile. We've talked about converting offline to "unprotected" mode so that you could use it to play MP games with your friends (and cheat your butts off, etc.). Those extensions will be driven by feedback/demand. As a small studio, we've got to priortize. But, Servo will be around for a long time. We'll get a lot of stuff added post-launch.
I don't mind if we 'cheat' that initial crate to give a certain distro of gear. As long as it's still randomized (to avoid everyone having the same starting bits), we could ensure it was all weapons or one of each thing, etc. We already have several changes in that crate for the next update (a few weeks out).
We will do something to alleviate a bit of the drone tedium (either let you queue past the cap or add an infinite train mode). But, we've been pretty happy with the change in feel to go back to drones costing resources. Game variation, etc. have all gotten the expected shot in the arm by doing that. Balance, well, that's still a work in progress.