TL;DR
Optional game expansion where players support a human population, providing additional difficulty levels and making pollution relevant beyond biters.What ?
Players would be tasked with developing a colony at some point- exactly when doesn't have to be fixed (could even be part of the difficulty), be it initial crash survivors or rocket delivered migrants. From there, the player would be given a reason to actually want them, e.g colonists are required to research more advanced technology (+ whatever else seems appropriate), and in doing so consume research packs. Naturally, the player has to support their colony by defending them, providing consumer goods/food, keeping pollution in check and providing housing.Beyond the core concept, colonists could do anything you want: generate revenue, import goods too advanced to manufacture, design resource outposts, colonise different planets, or be a straight up city manager slapped on top of the factory portion.
Why ?
I think Factorio is a very solid factory game, but after a certain point continuing to expand the factory portion can feel a bit meaningless (and UPS bound). A colony simulation expansion would allow for a new angle to the survival aspect of early factories, and additional endgame complexity without being too far removed from the base game.I'm aware the idea of a player colony isn't exactly new, but that doesn't preclude it from being a fun future addition to the game.