Simplifying planetary conquest

Just skip invading the planet and bombard it from space and wipe it out. Then, colonize it.

The closest option you'll find is to let ministers design your ground troops for you. You'll still need to build troops, load them up in transports, and watch the ground combat normally. I'm not aware of any way to simplify those aspects.

Personally, I wouldn't want ground combat simplified - provided the bugs are all worked out.

I do not recommend that you just give up and bombard all planets from orbit. Capturing enemy planets is a very important method of hastening a campaign - particularly planets with resupply depots and space yards. It's extremely valuable to be able to use captured facilities immediately, rather than waiting to build your own.

Sun Tzu said, "One cart of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own" (translated)

Don't forget the advantages of a new atmosphere-type. With SEV it seems they migrate around of their own accord rather than being forced onto transport ships (the other advantage of migration is that migrant populations are YOUR citizens, whereas it seems that forcibly moved populations retain their old allegiance).

the other advantage of migration is that migrant populations are YOUR citizens

is there any benefit of those migrants beside
that say are populating your planets?

I made an Empire with lesser reproduction, so the migration is handy to get large planets working...
could be interesting to see if they outnumber my
original race in the future... they reproduce 3times faster ...

so is there any other benefit? cause so far I dont get any racial traits/abilities from the migrantsrace...

greetz

For example:
If my race is Oxygen breathing and I have captured a Hydrogen breathing population, I will only colonise Hydrogen atmosphere worlds with 1M of my Oxygen breathers. Eventually migration will cause the planet to fill up with Hydrogen breathers who bear my allegiance (i.e. have my flag in the race tab) and I remove (or just cruelly jettison!) the Oxygen breathers so that the planet becomes undomed and quintuples the available space for facilities, popN, and cargo!

It also works if you have a migration treaty with a neighbouring empire, although the "exchange" is two way. I don't know if pop actually moves, or if it just seems to generate locally but I presume that "migration" is just another type of pop growth that is affected by a different set of traits (the alien assimilation traits, presumably).

Certainly an option, but I find that is like throwing away free facilities, since different atmosphere-breathers are so handy. I suppose you could build Atmosphere Processors or something, but that's a long term goal - surely?

Admittedly, if my belligerent neighbours happen to breath the same atmosphere as me, I am often a bit more cruel... but capturing a homeworld intact is extremely worthwhile.