I propose a new artifact: A Smart Terraformer. It increases planet richness in the same pattern as the Adaptive Spire improves production (say +2 research on a gas or +1 to each on an exotic). It is found on an NPC as rare as the T.O. Troop Carrier where we get terraformers today, but to make it harder it also has a large cloak bonus (2000?) to make it hard to find and is unusually tough for a single player fight (certainly moreso than the soft troop carriers).

tbh, i would expect T.O. and such to spawn even less if this was added...
I would think dan would like to keep the number of production boosts per given amount of NPC kill to a fairly fixed level.

so tbh, while the design of the item is quite interesting, i would expect it to be useless statistically speaking, or to be just an GP purchasable item and/or task reward. we might see something like this in this new task chain that opened up, hoveroid increases all production so....

so i like the idea, but i doubt it's going to make much of a difference unless dan feels generous

No don't touch it. It can only make it harder to upgrade stuff. I have only seen the drop rate and difficulty of getting them increase with each change. Even just adding new common NPCs (tech collector + assassin) reduces the spawn rate of these and it's not been adjusted up to compensate. Just .. leave it alone.