For example, the simple change of increasing research costs and adjusting LEP so that it is -0.2 MONEY per planet instead of -0.2 Morale per planet makes a HUGE difference in the expansion phase.
With 50 colonies, almost a third (or more) of my colonies have to be Money Generating Colonies to keep up with maintenance, meaning that only about 35 colonies are actually productive in terms of research and manufacturing. And this is with Thalan Tech and Hives on every planet. It also makes it pretty much impossible to expand for a while beyond that because new colonies will cost so much maintenance that they're a big net LOSS.
Naselus's adjustments work.
As a result, the game becomes MUCH more fun when it comes to managing economy. Finding the right balance becomes an art. The game is no longer linear and one-dimensional (spam as many colony ships, then spam constructors and starbases). The constraint of running out of money makes the game a lot more FUN.
Furthermore, this NEW LEP SYSTEM won't affect people who play on smaller maps. With fewer planets, the LEP is no big deal. It's only for the hard core fans, the ones that want to play with massive empires that it becomes a big deal.
Once again, I believe the developers should take a look at Naselus's mods and make some of his ideas OFFICIAL.