Well if I remember correctly, we used to be able to see players on other ships before if you had maximum graphic settings.
Though that seems to have been removed now, possibly due to preformance, but I'm not sure.Boarding is, believe it or not, a very controversial question for many people here. It's been commonly suggested but as of now, and probably forever, won't be implemented due to two things.
1. MUSE is a small team with limited resources, as you yourself said, and something like this would take quite some effort and time to do right.
2. The approach their aiming towards now is mainly ship to ship combat, and something like boarding would possibly take the game in a completely different direction. For more info:
http://gunsoficarus.com/faq/#saynotoboardingBut hey, it's always good with suggestions anyways, and feedback is always welcome