Question on Planetary Improvements: Surface material distribution

Will the different colours also indicate surface material distribution, or will it just be a visual improvement?

Now during the live-stream the term surface material distribution was not explicitly mentioned but they said something about "level of vulcanism" and also "things we expect to find with a high level of vulcanism are more likely to be there".

What did they mean?

A) The planet type is easier to identify from far. The colourization indicates the elemental composition of the planet as a whole. AND/OR

B) the different colours on the surface indicate different concentrations of present elements on that specific surface location.

A would definately be nice and a nice looking game would become nicer still, but B would also really improve the gameplay and add a lot more depth to surface prospecting.

"You know i am going to land in that yellow ravine over there because i need some sulphur. And then i am heading over to that brown spot in that huge crater to grab some iron!"
 
As I understand it, that is how it will work. The colors on the planets indicate what mineral or metal is in the area.

Those planets do look good, I hope they will just as good when we get down to them.
 
PLANETARY IMPROVEMENTS

We have overhauled the surface material system for the rocky, high metal content and metal rich planets. We have pushed the system to get a lot more out of it, but this is just the first step towards further major planetary system improvements. The contrast and variation across and between bodies is much improved.

We also hope that these planetary visual improvements (with more surface level improvements coming later in the year) will also bring a new vibrancy to the Elite Dangerous galaxy, encouraging wanderlust explorers to discover far systems and planets.

The colouration of the surfaces now more clearly telegraphs the chemical makeup and volcanic activity of the worlds. In addition, binary rocky/metallic planets more accurately simulate having similar colourations from shared formation materials where appropriate.

We have a range of colourations for:

RockyHigh MetalMetal Rich
No VolcanismNo VolcanismNo Volcanism
Low VolcanismLow VolcanismLow Volcanism
Mid to High VolcanismMid to High VolcanismMid to High Volcanism

See the visual improvements for yourself here: https://youtu.be/cGZ4GfR09uo?t=532

From the recap description, it looks like just A, but I could swear it was mentioned on a stream that B would be the case as well. I guess it'll be one to test in the Beta.
 
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