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Well then screw the town concept, i wasn't all for it, i preferred my latter two suggestions anyway xD just trying to be supportive! That's why options two and three aren't really endgame at all when you think about it, you either A) build a new colony (with slightly better start stats essentially) or B) carry on and just survive or kick the s$^t outta others. For rimworld, i really dont see a 'true endgame' being a viable concept, because face it, there ain't no IRL endgame is there, and the whole point of a sim is "well if it were IRL..."

[traditional]

Finally, they aren't traditional zombies, think of them more like an alien parasite that can be on their own, or use hosts

So basically you're saying they are not zombies, they are... uhm... zombies. Alien zombies. Cuz... zombies. ARGH.

The key word here was traditional - the concept that you die from any means and if you're infected by the virus (from any means, not necessarily being hit/bit) you are almost immediately reanimated.
NO!
This "alien zombie" requires access to the body, because it's a parasite which requires a host.

For someone who sure posts alot, you are darn critical 50% of the time! (please take note of the bold/underlined, just so you understand)
Perhaps if you cared to have researched my examples (Flood and Rakghoul), you wouldn't have even spazzed out like this. Personally, an alien parasite sounds much more enjoyable than:

boommuffalos all day erry day.

Also, rimworld would not need to be "massively reworked"; it can be something done over time, the first step is to add a new model of the AI raiders, which will be dubbed by said parasites name; though there's alot more of them, and they attack more frequently than raiders.
Now, the second part is why i said it would be better off as a mod, because the aspect of adding a mechanism to reanimate the dead via parasitic hosts is more complex for it literally requires you to modify the actual mechanics behind the all the animates (that is your colonists, raiders, and muffalos, boomrats, and f$%k it, boomuffalos too at some point im sure!).

Still though, threat of alien lifeform has been discussed i believe and will, eventually come, this will appeal to all, as it's a key aspect of sci-fi; another reason why i suggested 'zombie mode' as a mod, because:
A) not everyone like's zombies!
B) More horror than Sci-fi!
C) Its optional (so it isn't needed it to be in your game)!

Personally, i think this 'zombie-mode' idea could be really interesting, whether a mod or actually built in, it would add an exciting gamemode; though the only way i can see it working is this:
1) Zombies activate when you want them too, but after that, cant be turned off
2) Zombies are always present (they roam around the map and spawn around the map, obviously not in your compound!
3) Zombies attack in groups as do raiders, but only melee attack - these 'horde attacks' would be spontaneous; an unpredictable wave system.
4) Finally, they aren't traditional zombies, think of them more like an alien parasite that can be on their own, or use hosts - Think of The Flood in Halo, or the Rakghoul from Star Wars (expanded universe).

However, i think this should be more of a mod, because i cant see it being a top priority or really what the Ludeon staff want to do straight away (particularly Tynan with his initial ambitions, as we're still 'pre-alpha'!), though it would be amusing to see Rhopunzel's interpretation of an alien zombie parasitic plague!

I like the concept of an improved civilisation endgame, but also, i thought "well maybe not everyone wants to get to that level of complexity" and you could have a variety of endgame options, or rather, things to do post-full tech/base:
The First: As you say, the option to make a little town of some kind, adding complexity, but perhaps (due to a larger population) removing the gritty micromanagement of the population, as micromanaging, for instance, 50 people could be a grueling task.
The Second: The option to leave some colonists behind to maintain your little base, then head out and colonis another rimworld with a few select colonists (minimum of 3, to a max of 5  - your choice), but also, as the intention of this colonisation is not a crash, you would have a 'shuttle' (not necessarily a physical object, just a backstory concept) that automatically transports some resources you wish to take (more than the starting amount of colony 1 (perhaps with a maximum setting i.e you cant take more than 500food, or 800 metal for example).
The Third: The option to raid others, heading to AI encampments and just screwing stuff up! (like our current dear AI raiders), but of course, you return to your normal base after, and dont really gain much; but it's something to do that could be fun!

Of course, these are just three variations of how end game selection could work, there could be many other options, or just one; yet pivotally, i feel you cant use them in conjuction with each other, aside from the raid option, but that could only be done prior to the other two for your specific colony, as i imagine once converting to a town/mini civ, combat would be difficult to manage xD

Definately feeling the need for most of these features, especially with that repair issue. I've noticed, that aside from the fact you cant repair behind things unless you A) build outside, or B) create a bunch of walkways behind the wall if you've built into rock, the other issue is that this design limits you almost exclusively to square structures, circular or curved structures are irrepairable at the curves! The best ive considered for this is:
A) Durable wall tech - degrades only from colonist interaction - i.e. gunfire
B) Robotics repairs - add a robotics feature (which ive seen suggested) and create a machine that can run along walls and power conduits that are almost inaccessible - possibly a heavy drain on power, but worth it im sure!
C) Add both! xD, those two are the best solutions, as there are no plausible means for a colonist to repair physically inaccessible walls!

Yep, sadly, whilst it would be an interesting feature, it's a complex system to integrate that has no bonuses aside from more use of space. By adding layers, the problem is that loads of other mechanics have to be managed to ensure it all works - it just doesnt add anything :/

i havent seen this suggestion yet, but im sure its been posted somewhere, i agree that it would be highly useful if there could be some easier mechanic for toggling lights, such as for all outside lights, they only activate when its dark or heavily raining. Perhaps also have auto-activating lights when a colonist enters a room or is in the proximity, as it would greatly aid power conservation - of course, both these bonuses should be part of a research tech tree!

[visibility]

Im especially fond of the visibility concept, i think this could be done on two scales.

The first option: Add an optional (not default) fog of war system. that is to say, your buildings have a limited range, as do your colonists, simply the fog range changes depending on the time of day, and that's the area you can interact with; moreover, this could have cumulative effects, that is to say, a colonist with a rifle (which has longer range than night fog) could fire on an enemy if it was, for instance, in visible range of another colonist.
The second option: This one can be added with the optional fog or not. Basically, this is only a combat system, simply that your aim proficieny declines depending on the time of day (or other factors such as awareness (tired or not), or hunger). for example, when you first start a colony, the dude with the pistol has 100% accuracy, but at night, it could be lowered to 60%; if he's tired during the day, perhaps he also has 60% accuracy, but at night, the effects stack, and his accuracy may be lowered to 40%.
This second option should not be toggable (though maybe it could scale with the game mode), as it would be a core sim mechanic, the 'fog of war' however, would be optional; as not everyone likes fog, and if you're playing on the easier settings, fog would just be annoying.

[AI Colonies]

No idea if this has been suggested, but from playing i think it would add something to combat and of course, general gameplay:

AI Colonies - They basically do what you do!
They build a little base, or a big one (over time), and you can have interactions with them (maybe even a reputation system? O.o) But anyway, you can have many simple interactions such as trading, social (talking etc...), allying (as in a defense pact against raiders or even other colonies!), perhaps even resource/energy sharing. And of course, the raid option, because seriously, what else can we do with those frags and mollies other than burn the dead?

Raider Camps:
very simple raider base construction, and of course, it develops depending on how long you leave the knaves to do their thing! I just think it will encourage a bit of variation to actively going to attack raiders, which is generally not done, because hanging back with snipers is safer! of course, the raider AI could be improved alongside this, perhaps adding a simple mechanic of retreating to their little compound!
Anyway, that's al for now, feel free to expand if you likethe idea, or shout if it's already been suggested!

Cheers, AmalgamSnow out!