This is competition, this is bitcoin, this is what sidechains offer, decentralized implementation of new features.
how does one innovate with new incentive options in this SC system, say incentivising storage or bandwidth, how does one go about experimenting with new PoW replacements?
SC is an terrible solution for testing features that could compete with bitcoin, Testnet is where you test bitcoin features. the few market is where you test something else.
You can easily innovate with new PoW options for example, those sidechains by definition could not MM with Bitcoin and would need their own miners, but that is fine. SC could also have new incentive structures (such as different fees) or different ways to store/compress blocks or different ways to communicate transactions. You can make them be anything you want.
The point clearly went over your head. SC is not for
testing features, it is for
implementing features.
If you've ever tried to role out new software to an installed user base you would understand why this is so useful.
yes one could have a scripted mining system, or some other format that was not MM, but it wouldn't be very secure from hacking and a week point if we have BTC in that SC so not likely.
so fee based reward innovation only, how about incentivising Block rewards on a normal distribution curve instead of the stepped Block function. every innovation i crave for an Altcoin cant be done in a SC.
its a test bed as Justus put it to stop Bitcoin type innovation making it to the Bitcoin. if a SC innovation gets traction you bet it wont be adopted, the incentives are the wrong way around.