Changes to Colonies, Settlements, Nations

I like this game on many levels and I find it still has a lot potential. However I haven't seen many propositions to the management of the luxury ressources on your empire, which I find kind of boring, uninteresting, while believing there is much to exploit here.

* English is not my first language ... If you get confused let me know, I'll try to explain it in other words.

1st Idea:

- Change the fixed cost for a colony, settlement, nation to a generation cost/turn.  If there isn't enough generation to supply, the bonuses applied are cancelled.

Explanation: 

1. First off, I don't think it makes any sense that you transform your base in a colony with a fixed cost of 30 Eden Essence. If the colony is centered around the production of eden essence, it should require a constant supply for the colony to properly work. I would suggest 1/turn for a colony, 2/turn for both ressources on settlements and 3/turn for all three ressources on nations or higher (but numbers aren't important as of right now). In my game experience I had many moments where I was producing around 40+/turn of many luxury ressources at hard difficulty, ending up at the max 999 quickly and staying there for countless turns, which is ridiculous.

2. It would make trading companies essential, as it should be, and diplomacy would gain in importance with the possibility of trade agreements. I doesn't feel very realistic that an empire is able to sustain itself with all the possible ressources. Trade economy would become more important, as would other factions in-game who are in control of certain ressources, yet it would still remain an option to the player.

3. Luxury ressources would gain in importance at all stages of the game.  Right now they feel very useless past the 100-150th turn. I usually have all what is needed because once I paid the price required, they become of no use anymore. 

4. Blockades would become a very interesting option for harassing and hurting indirectly an opponent.

5. The marketplace would gain in importance as an area to compensate for a few turns a lack of ressource generation due for example to a blockade.

6. It would weaken expansionnists, in the sense that not all systems would become nations when you already have more 7-8 systems.

7. It would bring more strategies and thinking to decide which systems do we convert in Nations, as the price to supply gets higher (even though more then half of your systems should become nations.

* Maybe even add luxury ressources to the possible compensation on truces (even strategic) ? Just an idea...

2nd Idea:

- Allow players to change the luxury ressources used on colonies/settlements/nations at a high cost.

Explanation:

Many things can happen: blockades, systems lost, systems won (new luxury ressources) etc. We need solutions as this is a very important aspect of the game. We need to have the ability to adapt our empire to the galaxy presets, to our expansion and the ever changing diplomatic relations between empires.

In order to change what is used to supply colonies, settlements and nations, we could pay:

 1. A price in dust relative to the number of systems already converted in what you wish to change.

 2. An Industry of 0 for the next 5 turns on the concerned systems (as all production will be focused on modifying the colonies and such).

 3. -50% science on concerned systems for the next 5 turns.

* Again, numbers need to be discussed, I just wanted to provide the idea.