Just returned from the black to stake my claim, tbh the hardest part so far has been finding a 'good' system.
As a johnny-come-lately it took me awhile to find a system that I felt I could invest time into. I guess what I was looking for was a system that had some variety, nice mixture of gas giants with rings, lots of landable planets with low g etc. (failed in that alas, had to settle for 'it will do')
I choose an outpost as my starting port, (system has 12 space slots and 30 ground slots) and looking at the starting requirements its not too bad.
Spent 3 hours last night shopping around for the low hanging fruit and loaded it all onto the carrier. I'm guessing the Steel, Titanium and CMM Comps will take a bit longer to load up, and then its going to be a an almighty carrier unloading session.
Looking ahead I can see an issue with the hauling gameplay loop, so my only suggestion at this early stage would be to implement some sort of mission in which colony mats could be rewarded. I find that my ability to engage in one single Elite gameplay loop is limited. I much prefer breaking up say a mining session with some bounty hunting or BGS/PP gameplay or vice versa. I'm not sure of the sustainability of the hauling playstyle for solo players. Not asking for a reduction in amounts of commodities needed, just a broadening of the potential gameplay loops that count towards colonisation activities.
Hopefully get my hauling for my primary port finished by the weekly server tick so I can see what the next stages bring!