Why not both? Its a 4x game, you win by outgunning the opponents in every way you can

This is a balance issue mostly.
Ocean and Earthlike planets are just too important for everything, especially research.
These two world types basically decide the game.

On my opinion colonie module must be invictable. Looks like there is a bug there, as by default they should not be destroyed. However, to compensate for this long build time there is the Extra-Bonus project that would help. Actually you can manually destroy them if you want, although theres no bene...

I would like a production queue expander so you can see everything queued up in one screen without scrolling forever. Saving planet construction templates between games. The ability to direct auto colonisation without having to go into the planet screen every time The UI is generally pretty clunky. ...

Generally pointless due to weapon slot and hull shape limitations.

The micromanagement doesnt really come from planet development. That can be handled quite well with templates since theres only a few planet types to develop. The micromanagement comes from combat and exploration. Fighter management is micro hell especially mid game when youre dealing with hundreds ...