Just because you give something a story doesn't mean it isn't lazy. For instance, the explanation that the Traveler normalized the gravity on all of the golden age planets is most likely just an excuse for them not bothering to create different physics for the different planets. Obviously, doing so would generate a much larger work load, so I can at least see the logic in that decision. Still, it would have been cool to have more accurate depictions of gravity on normal planets, rather than a "yeah well, the Traveler... space magic... everything is 'normal' everywhere" explanation. It seems like an obvious case of gameplay dictating story, to me.