I’ll preface this by saying I actually really liked the basebuilding mechanics in Fallout 4, and always built my settlements up to the standards and connected them in a sensible way. It felt like bringing a bit of life and something of your own to the world!
So, I’ve been thinking about how to go about settling interesting planets we might come across. Will you build on planets with settlements already on them (if that’s possible?), or will you search for your “own” planet and claim parts of it as yours? Will you disperse you settlements across many systems, or rather focus them in a single system?
Personally, I’ll probably go for the latter option of centralization. Maybe I’ll start with the Wanted trait and found my own empire in a single system, building that system up to the max before spreading out :).
This is also my first post in the Fediverse, and I’d love to hear your ideas!
edit: owm -> own
I think one of the biggest determining factors for me will be the tone/vibe of the planet.
For example: music, aesthetic, local fauna, and things like that. If all those factors combine into a friendly/inviting/upbeat atmosphere then I’m a lot more likely to want to colonize it and spend a lot of time there.
But, I guess it’s possible that most of the planets could feel pretty similar. In that case, I want to colonize a frosty planet, a swampy planet, a SUPER HOT planet, etc.
I really like the idea of having a network of small bases spread out across different systems! I’m thinking my first character will start off as an explorer / naturalist who wants to survey as many planets as she can, so I’d build a “home base” in each system as I’m surveying it, and end up with many little bunkers across the galaxy.
I promise this connects to your topic: there were a decent amount of mods for Skyrim that tried to implement the idea of economic differences across holds - eg. mead might be cheap in Riften since the brewery was there, but more expensive in Solitude since it’s the capital city and far away from any of the breweries. This meant you could buy low, sell high, and kinda roleplay as a trader.
So, I wonder if they’ve implemented any kind of economy where system A might have a lot of iron and you could mine or buy it cheaply, and system B might have no iron but a lot of another element, and you could do a similar thing with buying low / selling high by traveling between the two.
If that kind of economy does exist (and if not, modders…) then having a network of bases that mine for the different resources could also be really great for earning a lot of credits.
I do like the idea of having a small refuge wherever you go, and it also nicely connects to Constellations idea of exploring! As for the economic differences, sounds really cool, but I think it’s beyond the scope of this game… maybe with mods.
You’ll find me on a hitherto unexplored tropical world, where I’ve plopped my mansion on the best oceanfront property. It will have a deck and a fridge full of Mai Tais. Inland, I’ll have a warehouse full of iron, ship fuel, and cabbages. Dance parties every night on the beach. Don’t mind the T-Rex, babe, he’s just strung out from a long trip, ya dig.
