How about changing the starting naval station to be at level 4 but with minimum upgrades? It is highly annoying to see 1 upgraedable station at start of each game, knowing you cannot upgrade it for a veeeery long time When you get something like 2-5 stations going, its hard to know when you can upgrade because the starting naval is always there..
i'm confused by this... you start with a level 4 naval station. which helps with production, admirals, sensors for your homeworld. as well as docks for retrofitting, and economies can be worked around with the naval. (assuming you dont decide to scrap it, which is not often a great idea)