Aquila should be the standard for the colonization progression

I believe that the Aquila was a step in the right direction. It gives me something tangible to work towards, it does teach me the base mechanics and it fixes major gripe I have with contracts which is me constantly having to ask "Why am I doing this? What is this even for?" The only reason I'm even doing contracts is for unlocking new blocks and that is just not enough of a reward in my opinion.

So why not center the entire colonisation system around similar projects? Each project would be bigger, badder and provide a useful function.

As an example, the abandoned mining outpost at the beginning of the game. There are ore nodes you need to mine and a drill you could optionally repair. So why not make the primary task to restore the outpost, give the player damaged or incomplete mining operation that they need to get up and running.

After they complete it, they have:

A) Learned how to setup a stationary drill, using rotors, hinges etc. (or how to build a mining vehicle)

B) An outpost they can return to whenever they need more resources

C) A design they can blueprint and improve upon

=> The project has taught player a mechanic, given them something useful, inspired their future builds and it could help with future projects. Most importantly you would actually get to see the fruits of your labour.

I'm guessing Keen has something along these lines in mind, considering the Aquila project already exists. However, I think there are still improvements to be made as the Aquila design... isn't great and I'm not exactly fan of just giving player a ship. I feel like it would be better if Aquila was a projection that player could modify. In the end, I just hope that Keen will move on from the fetch questy design of the contracts.