As a side step from an earlier post I made about wanting colonised systems to have some kind of feeling of unique "ownership" benefits - like a private customisable architect's quarters or something (a bit like carriers), it got me to thinking another thing that would "Sell" the want to grind time and credits to sink into the prospect (otherwise it just ending up being a nothing burger for most players who will just whine incessantly) would be for some of the placeable assets (as shown in the Frontier Unlocked reveal last month) to be new (or tweaked) to enable racing challenges, the type of which Buckyball Racing sometimes jerry rig out of existing locations.
Surface ports like these, but with an SRV race track start and finish line and timer menu system and awards system for the race organiser to give out to participants. Imagine creating some systems dedicated to racing at fantastic locations!


Similarly, space installations with tracks at great locations such as seen in the in-game pilot training menu areas, which would be very similar to the same kind of thing in Star Citizen's racing mode thing

If these first iterations of these racing facilities prove to be a hit, then further more elaborate placeable racing assets could be added later, with more functionality to design the tracks etc.
And similarly, have surface mining, via the existing in-game assets such as these, where now they would be more than set decoration and trivial looting opportunities, they'd be actually collecting resources for the system and/or system architect - e.g. once in a while you get notification that the surface refinery is full and that you need to take your cargo freighter down to collect and transport the goods to market.

Basically I hope that the system of colonisation is not just a grind to associate only your cmdr name on a cookie-cutter system virtually the same as every other, with no other reason to do it... give it some unique reasons to WANT to do it and enable more unique emergent gameplay.
Surface ports like these, but with an SRV race track start and finish line and timer menu system and awards system for the race organiser to give out to participants. Imagine creating some systems dedicated to racing at fantastic locations!


Similarly, space installations with tracks at great locations such as seen in the in-game pilot training menu areas, which would be very similar to the same kind of thing in Star Citizen's racing mode thing

If these first iterations of these racing facilities prove to be a hit, then further more elaborate placeable racing assets could be added later, with more functionality to design the tracks etc.
And similarly, have surface mining, via the existing in-game assets such as these, where now they would be more than set decoration and trivial looting opportunities, they'd be actually collecting resources for the system and/or system architect - e.g. once in a while you get notification that the surface refinery is full and that you need to take your cargo freighter down to collect and transport the goods to market.

Basically I hope that the system of colonisation is not just a grind to associate only your cmdr name on a cookie-cutter system virtually the same as every other, with no other reason to do it... give it some unique reasons to WANT to do it and enable more unique emergent gameplay.