The construction point cost increase after the second large star port is built was only recently discovered, and it reveals a hard limit on the potential for the colonization feature. As soon as someone performs a time/resource cost-vs-return analysis of system configurations (to find the most efficient means to make the grind worthwhile), a clear point of diminishing returns for developing a system vs starting a new one will become apparent. I suspect it will be at the threshold of the point-cost increase itself, but I have not analyzed. It might be worth developing another T3 when the numbers are crunched. Why does this matter?
- It means one system configuration will become the meta: the system configuration that produces the highest yield of profit (credits) vs effort.
- This in turn means that systems that can support that configuration will become the only systems desirable for colonization, with preference going to the qualifying systems that are the most compact. Colonizers will look for X number of buildable bodies and Y number of orbital slots and a primary port location close to the arrival point. Some players might settle for larger systems but rarely develop them past the point of diminishing return until they wish to build no more systems and set about maximizing the systems they have.
- The only exceptions will be BGS players looking to expand factional territory (probably more engaging to take it from other factions, though, I'm guessing? I ignore the BGS, so I don't really know...) and collectors looking to put their names on systems with perceived prestige. For the most part, colonization will surround the bubble with a periphery of essentially identical credit farms and the outpost-only steppingstones required to reach them, much as that space is itself now surrounded by a cloud of mostly "explored" systems that have only been honked by min/max explorers looking for earth-likes to scan. Neither building these systems nor visiting them will be immersive and satisfying
- System development only limited by the size of the system. Let the push for colonization be driven by the push for the grail system. Let just two more celestial bodies mean a substantial gain in desirability. Make it possible for smaller systems to reach innovative levels of earning potential as well. Remove the build penalty for grinding out big space ports.
- More reasons to colonize. Architects having cargo storage so that colonized systems have at least as much player-base utility as carriers. Long-distance colonization so that explorers or miners can build remote bases of operation. When colonization is only a (tedious) grind for money and/or BGS faction territory, there is every reason to min/max and no reason not to.
