Nuke power surge
-
Currently, a spread-out network of rooms can easily support each other when one of them comes under attack using terminal transfers, essentially forcing an attacker to deplete the entire opposing empire's resource reserves rather than being able to isolate a single room. The Operator power creep class was equipped with DISRUPT_TERMINAL, a key offensive power that can lock a terminal and enable a room to be isolated and assaulted. However, this only works if the defender has enabled power creeps in the room you wish to isolate, when these empires will likely only enable power in rooms that are at little risk of being attacked.
Yes, power enabling is an important mechanic, as without it a power creep can easily cause serious damage to new players (even an operator can prevent a room from spawning creeps for long enough to crash it, and when executors get released, they could just single-handedly plow through a new player's room) with little to no resource investment required for the attacker. However, experienced players should not be able to completely nullify investment in offensive power creeps (and by virtue make their defense remain almost unassailable) with no recourse.
To solve this issue, a nuclear impact should trigger a "power surge" that forcibly enables power in the room that is hit. A nuke is a massive resource investment that is unlikely to be lobbed at a new player, and if it was lobbed at a new player, the power surge would be irrelevant as the existing nuke mechanics would likely be enough to destroy their base. Thus, power creeps will still not be feasible for curb-stomping small players with no resource investment required, but experienced players will not be able to simply ignore the threat.