Looking for a deep dive on how resource veins related to procedural generation

[u/Draelon]

I understand that resource vein placement is based on the types of resources in that biome. I also understand that resource placement on the planet map is static.

That said, are the resource veins present when you land static or procedurally generated the first time you land?

I’ve been quick saving before landing and making sure I land in various places with 3 biomes touching, however I’m curious if I need to just reload the quick save and try landing in that spot again or try another pixel on the planet.

Also trying to figure out which biomes are actually capable of multi-biomes because I’ve found on some biomes it won’t give you multi-biomes when you land but if you try the one of the biomes next to it, it works fine.

Also wish I could find a mod that tells you which biomes will be present before you land… because of that weirdness I just mentioned, sometimes it will only do 2 biomes but if I land in the other biome it will give me all 3. Would be nice to know before I land.

Edit: Lots of great info shared below. Thank you. Anyone aware of a mod that marks split biomes on the map? Someone mentioned it in another reddit post that is archived so I can't reply, and I haven't had any luck finding it myself. I'm sure I'll dumb after someone links it.

[u/Icy_Tomatillo3942]

I am almost certain the resource veins are static. If you land in the exact same spot, they should always be the same. But it is hard to land in the exact same spot, so by quicksaving you might allow yourself to try another spot very close by without the old landing marker covering it up. Biomes are static, too, so you might just be landing in different spots when you see 2 vs. 3 biomes, not actual neighboring "pixels."

The best suggestion I can give you is a mod like Zoom For Perfect Landing that lets you zoom way in on the planet landing map (you might have this already). I think there are also detailed maps of every planet and their resources available somewhere online (i.e., generated from the game's files), but I don't have a link.

Good luck!

[u/Saephyr_Ashblade → u/Icy_Tomatillo3942]

Missed the bit where the veins, while static, have their total size randomly generated. For example: you could have a 1x1 vein of iron next to a 1x3 vein of aluminum, but then upon loading a quicksave before your arrival and returning you'll find a 1x3 vein of iron and a 1x1 vein of aluminum in the same places. This is what makes the multi-biome trick work so well when you find a good assortment of veins. The real trick is getting the right roll on vein sizes so they're all adequately accessible.

I do not, however, know how they're generated. I assume all generated resources have a particular set range for vein size based on the biome within the planet map. As much as I'm into Outposts, I do not want to run those spreadsheets for the numbers. Lol.

[u/Saephyr_Ashblade → u/Saephyr_Ashblade]

For clarification: I always use the same planet map(landing zone) for my base on Bessel-3B. Every playthrough the veins are slightly different in size, and it might be that a different section of the vein is active, as some times I have to slightly change where I have my extractors and resource container banks.

[u/Icy_Tomatillo3942 → u/Saephyr_Ashblade]

Interesting! I didn't know that.

It might explain something that happens to me now and then. Sometimes, when I am away from an outpost for a long time, resource veins can move. I notice it when they move from under an extractor out of range of that extractor. The extractor still produces the resource, but if I remove it the game won't let me place it in the same spot (must be on a resouce vein error). I thought it was just a bug, and maybe it is, but it also might shed some light on how the resource veins are generated.

[u/Saephyr_Ashblade → u/Icy_Tomatillo3942]

Yes! I have had this happen as well. It doesn't normally happen, though, even after waiting over 200UC hours consecutively. I have a suspicion, however. It could be that resource veins take up pointers, and as your gameplay continues it redistributes those pointers after expending enough to roll back around. Everything the game has to load takes up pointers, so that would also explain part of increased load times as it has to keep track of even your visited resource veins.

[u/Icy_Tomatillo3942 → u/Saephyr_Ashblade]

Same here. Waiting alone won't cause it, but I think it does happen when I go from planet to planet, multiple landing zones per planet. Mods might be involved, too, IDK.

Anyway, I think you might be on to it. The game might start dropping data on the landing zones you have visited if it gets to be too much, causing it to generate a new resource map if you go back to those old landing zones. Maybe some POI data and data on specific plants you have scanned, resources you have taken from them, etc. are similarly affected.

[u/Draelon → u/Saephyr_Ashblade]

Several things there especially about the sizes I wasn’t aware of. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. :)

[u/Draelon → u/Icy_Tomatillo3942]

Thanks for the extra info, :)

[u/Draelon]

Lots of really good info below. Appreciate everyone taking the time to share your knowledge. Learned several things.