On the subject of sources of inspiration and being "based on XYZ":
Sci-fi borrows so much from other sci-fi that it's basically impossible to tell what things are "based on" unless the author reveals what they are basing their world building on.
It's clear that the author of this story is versed in many sci-fi and sci-fa stories, and what exactly inspired what, is, I would argue, extremely difficult to tell when it comes to the things that are found across multiple stories that tend to be universally implemented (economies often look the same once they get detailed and realistic enough).
I can guarantee that the following IPs are some of the direct inspiration that aspects of this story are "based on."
- Star Wars
- Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper
- H.P. Lovecraft books
- Half-Life
And more
To be clear: I'm not saying each of the above are major parts of the story, I'm saying they directly affect something, even if it's just a single item's existence.
Also, I highly suspect the following are direct inspirations, but no direct mention of them, or any one thing purely unique to them, has been explicitly written into the story:
- Dune
(There are multiple things in the WN that, while individual elements have been co-opted in other famous sci-fi and sci-fa stories, only Dune has all of them.)
- Elite Dangerous
(I remember a commenter somewhere claiming the author said this was a major influence, which is why I'm including it - "the economy" is not a valid argument unless you can prove Elite Dangerous is the only game or famous story with a space mercenary economy.)
- Eve Online
(Hiro played "Stellar Online" and not "Elite Space"...
and another other-worlder in the story later on mentions how this universe was similar to a game she played in her original universe called "Stellar Pirates Online" in the title.)