Colonize planet in the same solar system?

Simple, the other way if I was another race then I couldn't colonize planets once you colonized one in that system. This would take 10 steps backwards more to the original Galactic Civilizations...  Personally I would love the ability colonize moons

I fail to see a reason for what you are asking. 

I get that we all find ourselves on different sides of the realism debate from time to time, as what seems realistic to one person, may break immersion for the other.

The only thing I can think of, is that sometimes shipyards can spawn in odd places, and if taking in-game distance literally, appear just as far away as neighboring planets(Mars like).

---

But since you can move the production slider to building or ship, I fail to see any difference between wether the game makes you build a colony ship or lets you build a project on the home planet to colonize close neighbors. The whole system just seems redundant, perhaps confusing to newer players.

But that's my opinion, of course.

  @Seilore

Colonizing a planet next to another race's planet still possible only it will make them a bit angry.

@Spark026

I say why not? It's not only about realism but it makes things simpler. Both system can work. Shipyards send ships to far away planets and colonies colonize the neighborhood.

The truth is, if you could travel to the stars, you would have already colonized the viable planets in your solar system long ago...so the game having the option to colonize Mars is a bit eyebrow-raising

In other space games, you can build a "Colony Base" on one of your planets in the same solar system. Say on Earth you can select to build "Colony Base". After completion, you can select population to load on the colony base, after that select which planet to colonize.

It is not simpler if there are two different systems that accomplish the same goal, colonizing a planet.  It takes a colony ship to make a colony, regardless of distance.  I do not see what is non-immersive about that, myself.  Before you can convince me of your solution, you need to convince me there's a problem.

Don't forget, on Abundant maps, there will often be systems with four habitable planets.  Getting those to be colonizable easily would very much be a game changer.  Espeically if one has the benevolent trait that instantly adds 5 pop to all new planets*!

*Speaking of which, I never quite realized just how friggin' powerful  that one is (it didn't help that it wasn't working until recently)!    Just start spamming out colony ships with only a .5 pop drain and one can easily swarm over an area in very short order.  Having 5.5 or 6 pop planets on all new worlds is quite a feat, espeically when it is paired with the Colonizer faction trait that lets one rush an inital building for free.

Colonising mars is still a hudge undertaking requiring that you move vast amounts of people and materials there, no reason you should be allowed to do it for free.

Many comments against the idea of a Colony base which is something normal in other games.. Many arguments this system cannot work because because..

A colony base is not such a complex and difficult addition to game's current system, game changer yes but with some limitations. As I said already a planet can build a colony base but only after they have a good production capacity and population to do it since it's expensive and you still need population to colonize the nearby planets. So you need sometime before you can colonize that nearby planet more than sending a colony ship.

And for benevolent trait 5 bonus pop. could be limited only for colony ships.