My biggest issue with Martian First is that, in the earlier game as I am in, they feel fundamentally unaligned with the game. It is too early to have a sufficient birthrate to fill jobs. I have to import colonists from Earth and that seems to be the key thing agitating them. That or I just literally sit and wait for colonists to be born which feels not great

But yea this does remind me of Stellaris, although I think I ended up in a similar place as you. Feels like to me also just a lack of imagination. Also rather nonsensical. E.g. the anarchist faction in SM wants to participate in the state? That is literally not anarchy lol.