New colonizer seeking input for three claimed systems

[xSIXTUSx]

Hello! After randomly getting a Ty Dale and CMDR Mechum video in my YouTube feed after 5 years of not consuming Elite content, I have spent the last 4 weeks exploring, exobioliging and now colonizing. I took the challenge to go somewhere others are expanding far from the bubble.

I'm here with the goal of deciding whether to leave my three systems with basic economies or build them out for hopefully some passive income and player support with Uni.Cart/Genomic and colonizing materials? Do I avoid planets that have negative modifiers for my system's overall economy like the plague or work them into a minimally invasive mixed economy?

I have basic understanding of strong/weak links and modifiers and planning to use satellite/comm/gov. stations for SoL/Dev/tech/security stats (balancing security around 0-2, or should I make it 3?); but I would like some help on how best to build my systems with specialization in mind. Here are my three systems currently, with labels to provide High Metal, Metal Rich, Rocky, Icy, Ammonium, Volcanism, Tidally Locked, Bio and Geologicals:

Refinery system c8-18 (2 pics): Primary port is a refinery inherited colony orbital outpost and a t1 refinery inherited planetary settlement for the obvious cmm production on planet 8. I have a comm station ready on planet 7 with 3 unbuilt comms (planet 5, A-star and C-star which is cropped out sry). Do I add colony outposts and a settlement to planets 3,4,5,6,7 like I did on planet 8 or do add refinery hubs and more comm stations instead with a t2 to become the main system port? Do I need an orbital outpost on 5 and 7 or can I just run planetary outposts or hubs to boost my primary port? Keeping in mind the weak link modifiers of bio and geologicals, do I just put refinery hubs in planets 9-22 or is there a way to integrate extraction facilities/economy to take advantage of the High metal/metal rich planets in this system. There are 14 High metal'Metal Rich planets and 8 rocky but I have another system that I've already chosen as extraction specific later.

Industrial system b17-7: t1 colony primary port and a fully built comm station on planet 4 (pic was before completion), 3 unbuilt comms on the star, planet 5 and 7. Do I put a t1 settlement and 4 industrial hubs on plant 4? like in my previous system, do I add orbital stations to the other planets or just make a single t2 orbital on planet 5 and fill the planets with hubs and comm/gov. stations?

Extraction system c9-9: My first clamed system! I went with a t2 coriolis considering its a 6 slot High metal world with no negative modifiers for extraction. There is a built comm station to my coriolis and an unbuilt comm station on the star. The extra 5 HM worlds, one ammonia world and two icy worlds (one with two rings one rocky one ice) should they be just filled with facilities and comm/government stations or is there any benefit to adding more spaceports? Is there a way to take advantage of the ammonia world for Hightech? Besides the inherent extraction economy, is there any benefit in building asteroid bases on the asteroid belt or planet 10?

If you're still reading at this point, THANK YOU!! I just don't know if it's best for specialized economy/weekly financial compensation to go with a bunch of supporting facilities and one primary orbital port or multiple orbital ports and facilities? (obviously not double porting per body)

I would love to know, if you were in my shoes with these three systems, and you had the time, what would you do to specialize them and create a small bubble of economies over 1500+Ly's from Sol?(my 3 systems are within 16Ly of eachother) Or would you just say that all three at this point have the skeleton for what colonization might bring in the future and just leave them be for now and I go back to my exobiology? cause I like my exobiology

Any answers to the various questions in my lengthy post is greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[PilotB]

The short answer is you need in the first system
On body 5 or 7 a coriolis and a civilian surface port. The system is a good refinery you're done stop there move onto system 2. We'll come back to this later.
System 2.
A surface industry port. (optionally on a different planet a surface High tech port). A coriolis around the body with the surface port. You don't need hubs you may elect to build them if you do then don't build the high tech port it won't be worth the time.

System 3. These resources aren't used for colonisation. Do whatever you want to it doesn't really matter much. Surface extraction settlements, mining outposts, lots of farms to recover the standard of living and an asteroid base because rings are cool.

Once you've done all the big buildings find a small system that has a rocky body no signals. Coriolis on the rocky. Civilian outpost on the rocky. Then go back and just build out the rest of the first system to your heart's desire with whatever installations and settlements you want. The links will be a mess but you'll have a place to go do missions and hang around that feels like it's alive and you won't feel bad for leaving most of the system empty to keep the refinery running.

 

[Xenia_K]

having had a hard time with all the Beta-changes, me and my mates have come to the conclusion that until Colonisation-Beta is concluded (and thus no more changes to Links and other logic) we proceed with specialized systems only.

For your Ind System: as @PilotB wrote already - it makes more sense to build a T1 Surface Port than an Ind HUB, as the Port boosts your Population which in return boosts your Output in Outpost(s), Coriolis etc.

By our observation it is quite sufficient to use Outposts for Hightec, Industry and Agriculture Markets as they provide enough Mats to further build your systems - if you boost by Population - surface ports....
For refinery-systems we usually put a cicilian/commercial outpost around a rocky, build some comms/government for Sec, build a T1 civil Port on the same rocky and then a Coriolis, either around the same or another rocky.

As long as you don´t plan to build a T3 surface/space-construction the outputs are just fine.

If a systems has a WW/EL we catch the boost by placing another civ/comercial outpost around it, as they don´t create weak links and provide water, Fruits, grain etc.