TL; DR: outpost could be of different types. “Colonial” create full systems, others give you some advantages and don’t require the colonization tech, but have important upkeep costs.

One common feedback is the current issues with the colonization system. Planets types and technology barriers create strong constraints that prevent a versatile approach to horizontal and vertical expansion.

I like the outpost system implemented in the game and I think it could be enriched and offer new opportunities. When you consider the colonization techs their description entails handling the basics of a complete autonomous settlement. But there are many examples of outposts that don’t fill this kind of function: consider an oil rig, a military air base, etc. They do provide some utility but require supplies from the outside.

Here’s my suggestion: introduce new kinds of outposts. The current outpost are now Colonial outposts, and will play the same role, with the same requirements.

But the colony ship (to be renamed) will allow building of new types: military outposts, refinery outposts, trade outposts… These won’t need a colonization technology (but there could be some ties, see below) and thus be placed into planets that you can’t currently colonize both inside your systems and neutral systems.

These new outposts will provide some utility depending of their nature: strategic resource harvesting, some industrial/dust/science/influence output, and for military base, maybe a fleet combat bonus in system or hangar, repair facility.

They will have a hefty food & dust upkeep. The upkeep may be modulated by the planet nature roughly categorized from their “challenge”. An Era II planet will cost less in upkeep than era IV for instance. If you do possess the required colonization tech, a non-colonial outpost may still be created with smaller upkeep.

Once a planet is colonized, any outpost on its surface is removed (could happen when you do internal colonization of system). Specialized outposts ought to offer less advantages that a fully colonized planet (consider a pop 1-2 output) or at least with a far worse ROI due to their upkeep.

Advantages:

• Let you do something with all those unused planets.
• More path for teching (pick either colonizing a planet type or getting access to outpost of type X) => add these to currently "underwhelming" techs.
• Is a way to use food and dust when natural expansion is not available
• Create new zones of conflict. Outpost have minimal manpower (or not) and are vulnerable to strikes. As with normal outposts, rival factions may create them into the same system.
• Offer a new horizontal expansion option rather than have many systems (with the cumbersome and happiness factors)
• Different factions may have their own special outposts: black market for Lumeris (output dust/resources from neiboughring systems) mission for Vodyani (generate influence and some essence), remote lab for Sophons…
• More generally, factions may have different rules about their outpost, helping to differentiate their playstyle more. Cravers may use slave pop to create some, Vodyani upgrade them by using influence (it's your holy duty do work on Base XXX) etc.
• Since the outpost system already exist, it can be expanded instead of being developed from scratch.

Any suggestion or objection to this ?

Of course, adding new options cannot be implemented without tweaking the current science pools first. Especially if new technologies are required to unlock ouposts. The biggest mistake would be to confine them to Era II onward, since their aim is to solve the actual colonization prerequisites.

Good points.

At the very least, we need the mining outposts on uninhabitable planets to get access to their resources, both strategic and luxury.

Because I am staring at all those t1 resources on gas giants and be like "doh..."