Do Planets need Cargo facilities?

[jimbob55]

An alternative to all this realism stuff is to assume that the launch facilities are abstracted into your civilian infrastructure.

The sharing of resources between planets is carried out by a civilian merchant navy that you don't see. The storage of your basic resources is carried out by civilian infrastructure as well. It is only when you want a large surplus storage capability that you have to build storage facilites. There may be hundreds of small shipyards churning out merchant freighters, but they aren't capable of building military ships.

You are in charge of the top level of government which means you play with the millitary and planetary production. Lots of little organisations have to exist to support that infrastructure but they are abstracted into population and happiness.

It may be that making cargo storage a requirement to launch fighters, mines + sats into orbit would help game balance. That's fine with me.