Please maybe add a way to merge habitats or something similar that would reduce micro for human players?

That's been an idea I've been thinking of, but comes with the problem of nerfing habitats by having lower population growth (even ~100% increase per habitat in system would be weaker than a multiplicative scaling of a second habitat), and how I'd handle it with the upgrading system. It is an idea, however, just a very complicated one for an option.

Adding a 4th tier Habitat that can act as a Shipyard would be cool. With a reduction to certain costs depending on the resources the habitat gains from the planet (or moons) it gains resources from.

Then a 5th tier that turns the Habitat into a Dyson sphere like object that covers the entire planet (Allowing for even more of the planet's resources to be taken (ie Resource Deposites from the planet)). The 5th tier would be able to construct multiple ships at once as well.

A 6th tier could be made that further expands the Habitat into two new tiny Dyson Habitats over any moons surrounding the planets it's over. With the downside that this tier can only be built when there are moons surrounding the planet it is built over. The cost of upgrading would increase the more moons there are around the planet.

The 6th tier would have a secondary option to be built by Habitats constructed over stars. Except instead of two new tiny Dyson Habitats, it would become a Dyson Habitat Central Hub that increases all other Dyson Habitats resource output and reduces Habitat construction, upkeep, and upgrade costs (stacking with every other Dyson Habitat Central Hub). This secondary 6th tier option would be 4x more expensive than it's lunar counterpart to show how it affects the entire system rather than just any nearby moons.

Unfortunately the idea would require model modding which I don't know the first thing about. I'm unsure if colonies can regain the ability to build ships though in the current game, not without significant UI and other work which is also beyond the scope of my ability.

I'm more a fan of the dyson swarm idea when it comes to habitats, than upgrading to a dyson sphere. But the limits of my ability to mod without including modeling work is by just making larger habitat districts and fluffing it as you swarming more and more across the planet.

I know that Gigastructural Engineering has a habitable megastructure that acts as a Shipyard. You could just find out how they did it and add the Shipyard thing on to tier 3 Habitats if you don't think you know how to make more tiers of Habitat.

Would actually make it more appealing to make tier 3 Habitats too. I also use the Void Dwellers expanded mod (Since it doesn't interfere with this one) and the arcologies it adds are accessible as soon as tier 2.

so now with the new expansion to Stellaris my absolute favorite origin has phased out. i wanted to let you know that the "stellar Pioneers" was one of the best origins modded into the game I've ever played. the perfect amount of story to be interesting with its own unique mechanics to feel like it was its own. i sincerely hope that if it doesn't become integrated into the base game, that you continue the great work you did with it.

I have definite plans for updating Pioneers as either a standalone, or as apart of SIHO going forward (especially as I want to integrate some features between the two, like use a variation of the 'bonuses to world' from habitats that space elevators gave to be a baseline thing and space elevators make it better). I just need to get a feel for Nemesis, and think how I want to go with some balance decisions.

In the short term, there's some talk in the Mod Jam discord of updating it to at least not be depreciated. :)