Can there maybe be a Colonisation-like mechanic? The queen suddenly makes a decree, generally unfavourable for you, and you have choices: Accept it, or decline it and face the consequences (like when you threw out the goods and then had a boycott on them)
Totally insane and unreasonable objectives and attempting to colonise the worst possible places to start a colony are a must.
I like the whole idea of "build a highway to the north" or "collect and export this plant" being given as objectives. Basically, I like the idea of starting scenarios for expeditions. Perhaps an military expedition will have to build a fortress to stop the enemy advancement in this area or this next settlement will have to export lumber and then the next settlement will act as a trade depot and have highways constructed to it. IMO, should have two types of "quests": Starter or main objective quests- Initial quests like building highways or collecting rare plants. Dynamic quests- Quests that happen (like Colonization) and could require you to build something or export goods or do something in the short term. That being said, if I am 1 off an export quest, don't penalize me too much. Personal quests- NPC related objectives, agendas, or goals for the ingame characters. Things like get married, build new house, get new job, assassinate overseer, sabotage production of something... This'd be sweet!
I find the possibility that your middle management could be randomly assassinated, throwing your colony into bureaucratic chaos and causing many of your last orders to be slowed, lost or misinterpreted to be chilling, destructive and hilarious. Do it please!
