"do you get dialogue options when you hit another ship, or are they a separate mechanic?"
Yes! This is the main gameplay loop, where crashing into a ship will provide scrap, possibly modules, and a dialogue scenario where you can respond in a few different ways, each having their own outcome.
This scrap will be depleted overtime, as your health bar, so there isn't really any way to stockpile it. Overtime your Chaos meter is likely to fill up as people call the cops on you, leading to an increase in your health drain. It's similar to that of a survival game, where eventually you'll run into a cop, or make the wrong choice and be attacked by bikes, cops, or whatever weird stuff we put in the game, leading your health to deplete even faster.
I'm glad you like the game! We really wanted to push the funny chaos of it, so I'm glad that that is resonating well from our GDD.