Howdie!
Fresh player here. After playing dozens of hours, I decided to share my thoughts/suggestions.
Starsector is one of the game where fetch quests don't bore the player so much thanks to many unexpected problems. I would consider to add more quest's types. Those don't have to be complicated. Examples:
Early game:
1. Fetching drugs and illegal commodities for crime lords/to numb rebelling miners [darker tones]
2. Fetching marines to low stability planets
3. Attack disabled convoy/convoy with refugees [darker tones]. It's disabled to not force the player to search the convoy everywhere.
4. Help the convoy with medicines/other goods/refugees to get to the randevous point (1-2 ships added to your fleet and you need to get to the destination while being attacked by pirates)
5. Help a character to run from the planet (simple fetch quest from planet A to planet B with pursuing fleet twist)
6. Scavenge a debris after an attricious battle (pirates can attack the player during scavenging)
7. Bring back the stolen AI core (or steal it for yourself)
8. Save refugees (commodity?) from raided planet. Simple fetch quest. [For darker tones: sell refugees to pirates]
Mid game
1. Force a rebelling planet to stop protests and bring order (marines needed, may be a battle)
2. Blockade a planet/rebelling planet (option on planet screen which ends with a battle)
3. Extort resources from planet's community(again, option on a planet screen which may ends with a battle)
4. Assassinate or kidnap a planet's character (marines and stealthy approach needed)
5. Kill the VIP (the difference from assassinaton: the VIP is travelling from planet A to B and you need to wait near the enter to the system for the VIP. The VIP should be shown on map to avoid not necessary frustration.
6. Get a character out of a jail (the player goes to the planet A and using marines gets the character out of the jail. Later, you need to run or destroy pursuing fleet)
7. Provoce a war (the player has to attack the enemy patrol)
8. Contact with a spy (the player needs to sneak to the planet and leave undetected)
End game:
1. Raid the planet (Nexerelin do something simillar but with conquest)
2. Clean the remnant's system
3. Destroy a space station (alone)
4. Help with a space station's defence (the enemy fleet is coming and you need to join to the battle. You are a mercenary in the end)
5. Follow the invasion's/raiding's fleet and join to the battle
To make quests more interesting, they could have darker tones. Example: you are killing a leader of starving community/blockade a starving planet. The starsector's universum is not the most pleasant one in the end. The same as merc's job.
