Let's have a progressive building costs system, where the cost of structures increases when you pass certain thresholds, e.g. walls cost 1.5 x normal mats past 1,000 structures per person/company, 2 x normal past 3,000 structures, etc.. This would:
Penalize needless land claims
Slow down larger companies
Maintain a grind challenge for those seeking it
Allow smaller companies and casual players to be more competitive and have more fun
Also, remove the organic paste and/or alloy cost from stone structures. It's too high an entry point to reasonable base defense for casual players, and too meaningless a challenge (more of an annoyance, really) for larger companies.
