Build Your Main Base for Convenience, Not Just Safety
In The Planet Crafter, a great first real base on the default start is near your landing zone on flat ground, with quick access to common early ores (iron, titanium, silicon, cobalt, magnesium) plus nearby ice for early water bottles. If you picked a beautiful spot that is far from materials, you are definitely not alone, and that constant sprinting while your oxygen ticks down can feel rough fast.
Use that frustration as a helpful signal: optimize location first, aesthetics second. A strong rule is to keep your main base central, then add specialized satellites. Here, an outpost means a tiny refill shelter, not a full second home. Even one living compartment with a door (and maybe a locker) can refill oxygen and save a long retreat. Place these along your most-used routes to high-demand zones so exploration feels steady instead of stressful.
Simple Expansion Plan That Scales
Think in a hub-and-spoke layout: one main hub for crafting and bulk storage, then route-specific outposts for mining and exploration. Keep storage flow clean by grouping lockers by job (building materials, food/water, rare ores), and drop overflow at the nearest outpost instead of dragging everything home every time.
As mining grows, shift heavy production toward where resources are gathered while your main hub stays your command center. If you feel stuck: if you keep running out of oxygen on resource trips, pause progression for one short prep run and place 2-3 mini outposts on your most-used path; that one prep step usually gets your momentum back fast.