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What do you think will be the best biomes for Nodes to develop in will be and why?
Demostrathe
Member
Badlands
Desert
Flood plains
Forest
Jungle
Riverlands
Snowy mountains
Tabletop mountains
Tropics
Tundra
Underrealm
Island Nodes
Coastal Nodes
IMO A Coastal node would be best no matter what node type it is but the best node type for a coastal node would be economic kinda making a hub for trading for everything under the sun with multiple possible trade routes be it land or sea
Referral Code : 8GTVW547SYDTHE6Nashesofcreation.com/r/8GTVW547SYDTHE6N
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The one I am most interested in is an underrealm node, so in that sense it's best for me. I hope it's full of psychedelic lights and crystals and shrooms.
If we assume a Star System is treated as a Node and 'developing' is basically 'becoming a hub' (not actually related to the Powerplay system which initially seems like Vassal Nodes but is actually a different gameplay loop) where a lot of people want to spend more time before 'dispersing' to outer 'Nodes' in the sector:
Generally you can split Star Systems into about 12 types (give or take) with some semi-useful parallels to Biomes that I can talk about. I'll only give 4, the 'obvious one', the 'slight contrast', and 2 'big contrast'.
Riverlands - Equivalent: At least Medium Security, At Least One Large Station, Many Smaller Installations or Planetary Mining Rings
So the outcome of this in Elite is the equivalent of being able to gather or farm easily without being locked into any specific 'path'. If something is going on that you don't want to be involved in, you just go somewhere else without much difficulty. A bit more social interaction, good or bad, but negative interactions are easier to handle due to the higher Security rating. Downside is that it's too popular and those social interactions can limit your growth sometimes, making things either too easy if you're in the 'in-group', or borderline impossible if you're part of the 'out-group'.
Short Version: Farm/Gather, Easily Travel, Socialize
Jungle - Equivalent: Low Security, Large Station not required (sorta more accurate if none), but Multiple Stations present, Multiple Planets with Mining Rings
In Elite this is the type of place where you can easily gather, or fight, but there's not a lot of obvious 'social' (actual ship to ship) interactions in larger scale. Everyone is a bit 'hidden' from you, but if you do find someone, or they find you, and there's a conflict, no one's gonna save the loser. You will encounter less people because larger ships (previously) would have only come into the system from another one due to having nowhere to dock, and multiple Stations and Rings as options means that the shipping lanes and flight paths lessen the 'encounter rate' even more. In Ashes this will probably depend more on where the Jungles 'are', but generally they're somewhat 'out of the way' in games, with lots of 'hidden points of interest'.
Short Version: Gathering, Options, 'Personal Responsibility', Lower Socialization
Desert - Equivalent: Low Security, Large Station not required (sorta more accurate if it only sells a common resource or a really specific rare one in low supply), but Station is far from Primary Star, doesn't matter if there are multiple or not, Multiple Landable Planets with Geological Activity
You come here because it has something you want, or you can make a lot of money if you can defend yourself well on a known path with little or no way to 'hide'. If you get stopped, you're 'stranded' or have to start over. You get nothing out of the trip or of wandering around, all your payoff is at the end of the journey. If you get ambushed, too bad, no one's going to get to or find you in time to help so you're on your own if you weren't traveling in a group already. Worse if there's only one destination or some other potential issue like running low on some 'fuel' type resource and having to spend time making sure you have more. Nowhere near as profitable for people to have positive random interactions with you, so expect less help, but once you're there, maybe expect more. If you wander off to 'gathering locations' it's probably for some personal thing, but you might get in trouble just going it alone.
Short Version: Transportation, High Risk High Reward, Different 'Social Contract'.
Badlands - Equivalent: Low Security, Only One Station that imports basics but exports something decent, size not really relevant, but Station is medium distance from Primary Star, doesn't matter if there are multiple or not, Station orbiting different planet (or even entirely different Star Body via its planet) than any 'gathering spots', particularly if those are nearer to Star
That midrange travel is a pain because everyone knows the route, but going far off it and encountering trouble anyway means that Security/other helpers might not be as effective, and increases the risk of being attacked multiple times in both cases.The sort of place where even if you are winning you're 'running out of potions'. You may not get attacked as much by stronger targets because whatever you are bringing in is 'constant and not really expensive' but you're still paying 'Time'. Can make good progress either transporting or 'gathering' if not caught, either as the Trader or the Pirate, but easier to survive if people are around to socially support either side.
Short Version: Well Understood Risk, Stamina Test, Social 'Planning'
Given all that, I think that the tendency of players on average to seek convenience, the more successful Nodes will be in Riverlands and 'Islands', but if Intrepid really does a good job on the Economy, Jungle type Biomes are likely to be really good too, maybe the 'best'. That 'flexibility to advance without having to always go to a known target location' is a huge deal in these cases, but you can also leverage your combat skill much more effectively and still 'get away' or 'not have to worry about others jumping in to help your target'. Basically, you don't have to worry about getting jumped by more than you can see as much, and you get to keep all your spoils for yourself if you have a safe route out of the area, without 'worrying about paying a tax (protection type, legit or not).
I think bigger, organized guilds will do best in deserts or mountains (but not badlands) where they have a lot more time to organize defenses or control their territory's good spots, including their 'place for their assassins to safely work off Corruption' and so on.
Coastal and Island nodes, I hope are good, but they're too reliant on the inland nodes' configurations and social structures to predict the status of any given one.
And what do we mean by 'best'? Fastest growing? Easiest to defend? Best cash flow? Best for crafting, or farming, or wildlife taming, etc.?
Best = efficient.
Efficiency implies task or goal.
Tassks and goals can be very different. Grinding XP, farming res, fast travel, strategic location, economic hub, security, visuals, refining, production etc
They should all have their own pros and cons, which would lead for "best" to remain subjective rather than objectively demonstrable.
But, the millenniums of Tulnar's survival on Verra have clearly shown the Underrealm to be the superior location, ironically despite being bellow all other biomes.
Others likely will venture further from the starting nodes to find niches.
Shit like this makes me want to make a newsletter or something to document the early days.
I am dead set on living in a forest bio! If I may dream, near the foot of the mountain and with a lake nearby!
But that's where the spiders live
I prefer spiders to mosquitoes and flies any day! (There are are no dangerous spiders where I live. c: )
I imagine similar for both the popularity of a node city (micro) and coupled with the zones content and proximity to the zones content (macro)