Honestly, I hated that aspect changed when the planets. Making minor planets left many people upset. If now we are almost always doomed to colonize in positions 6 to 9. I think it might be better thought of the size of planets.
Quote from Titanium: “Both are good ideas, but i prefer this one than the "alliance research". And maybe it could be done like nanites...i mean: - you need to have a certain level of lab to build it - you build this new structure - when you reach an high point (like e.g. nanites lev 5), you can keep these structures and destroy the labs...like we could do already right now with robots” I agree!
The idea is to make the game more collective than individualistic. Who plays ogame usually plays with friends and a greater interaction between them would only make the game more "fun". Are some of the possibilities for change.