But it wasn't, i clearly remember always being underleveled even after doing everything back then i used to farm space on-rails missions to catch up with the next planets level....which was boring, to say the least.
As far as the topic goes, other MMO's allow you to "lock" your progression bar and/or your level which stops you from "leveling" any further, why they never implemented anything like that is beyond me but then again, many of BW's decisions are.