System architect payments are a good start- a permanent baseline income that will constantly remind the player of previous efforts. The option to instead invest that weekly revenue into the commodity demands of one's current construction efforts would be a game changer. After all, where better to put one's colony income than into a workforce?
Previous users have brought up the idea of NPC shipping, and have pointed out the flaw of allowing the richest players to colonize far too much and too quickly, provided this kind of system is implemented. With these shipping investments being dependent on colony income, this issue vanishes, and is instead replaced with a sense of progression and achievement as players build up momentum in their trailblazing efforts. For simplicity and to prevent lending squadrons too much momentum or diminishing the achievement of a group effort, automated commodity delivery could be limited to a player's own stations, rather than being directed at others'.
This mechanic would improve the feasibility of a solo player completing a tier 3 port within the 4 week time limit, provided the player has done lots of previous stations and installations to build up this "background workforce". There could be an option to also pay for extra shipping, capped to twice the colony income. "Shipping" could be processed during daily BGS ticks or weekly maintenance.
Previous users have brought up the idea of NPC shipping, and have pointed out the flaw of allowing the richest players to colonize far too much and too quickly, provided this kind of system is implemented. With these shipping investments being dependent on colony income, this issue vanishes, and is instead replaced with a sense of progression and achievement as players build up momentum in their trailblazing efforts. For simplicity and to prevent lending squadrons too much momentum or diminishing the achievement of a group effort, automated commodity delivery could be limited to a player's own stations, rather than being directed at others'.
This mechanic would improve the feasibility of a solo player completing a tier 3 port within the 4 week time limit, provided the player has done lots of previous stations and installations to build up this "background workforce". There could be an option to also pay for extra shipping, capped to twice the colony income. "Shipping" could be processed during daily BGS ticks or weekly maintenance.