So here is the general idea of my suggestion. In systems with several solid planets, one or more (depending on the number of planets in the system) of the planet could be "civilized" worlds. Each city world would be "owned" by a specific race and entirely covered in various buildings. Some buildings would be residential, while others would be specific businesses, some special ones dependent on the race. Of course, it would make sense that some worlds wouldn't be populated 100% by its thematic race, as the cities would be fairly large. They would also have the same block protection that mission areas and the current Hylotl underwater towns have. Some examples . . . -Humans There aren't many human settlements outside of the Sol system, so human cities would be a bit rarer than most. They would probably be pretty akin to Earth in the intro sequence. Skyscrapers, skybridges, flying cars in the background, etc.They would be more diverse than most other worlds, with humans still taking up about 40% of the population. -Hylotl They would be pretty similar to the Hylotl cities in the game, but spanning the entirety of the ocean floor and having surface-reaching towers that act as entrances and starports. They would probably be more "sectioned" than the current Hylotl cities, with the residential and business areas not being mixed and in their own separate towers. -Glitch Glitch cities would probably be a mixture of the current glitch villages and castles, as glitch wouldn't make towering skyscrapers like some of the other races. There would also be large areas of farmland and several unique shop types you wouldn't see on other worlds, like a "wizard" selling staves and wands. These are just a few examples. I'm not sure how a Novakid city would work, as they pretty rarely group up to begin with and are said to have no colonized worlds. Anyways, if anybody else has any ideas to add to this, please do so.
I forgot to mention, there would be quests on the planets that send you to other worlds in the system, and would be different from normal quests. For example, somebody sending you to beat the boss npc of a dungeon or harvest a bunch of something for them.
I like this idea! Novakid ones would probably just be a bigger version of the normal Novakid villages tbh. Apex planets would most likely be full of those apartment and office buildings, with labs here and there. Floran planets would be like larger versions of the big Floran villages with the huge treehouses, with some really, really big treehouses. Avian planets could have two variants: Normal and Grounded, both being bigger versions of their villages. Either way, it'd be one hell of a way to get crew members through quests...
FLORAN A bit like the story mission, I imagine FLORAN city planets to be like current FLORAN cities, with one big sub-biome being a huge hunting ground, complete with traps and aggressive Florans. Lots of weapon shops for the hunt itself. AVIAN I'm not sure here, but I like the idea of them being Stargazer focused, with a huge Temple on the planet. APEX I'd like an Apex city to be quite futuristic, as they were originally the most technologically advanced race before the lore retcon. I'm thinking big skyscrapers with lots of science labs and a military feel. NOVAKID Personally, I don't think Novakids would have city planets given their lore, but perhaps you could have sparse buildings with big plains where fluffalo roam.
More details to add. One, the planets could have the same kind of block shielding that underwater Hylotl settlements have in game, where blocks could neither be broken nor placed. Also, I have ideas for the other races. -Miniknog Apex As the Miniknog regime is known for being both oppressive and deceitful, their city worlds would reflect that. Large amounts of designated residential areas like you see in the standard Miniknog would be present, but in a large single district on the planet. In other districts there would be a "corporate" work area with the same sort of tall buildings full of working areas you see in settlements, large factory buildings where apex work to keep the Miniknog military strong, and restricted government areas with guards, robots, turrets, electric fences, the whole works. If you go into said restricted facility, you be immediately prompted to leave at gunpoint. If you refuse, not only will the player be attacked but the whole planet's worth of military force will become hostile for a while. -Rebel Apex These worlds could basically be liberated versions of the Miniknog world. Rebel soldiers replacing miniknog guards, Big Ape related propaganda being destroyed (or at least vandalized), factories and work zones being disabled, and the military area being turned into a resistance base are some of the ideas. One idea is that players could clear out and defeat the main military facility on a Miniknog planet, and some time later it would transform into a liberated world, effectively allowing players to take part in the resistance effort. -Floran Picture this. A floran world could be this huge jungle city with towering tree-buildings with bridges connecting them, various houses occupying the ground level, and a dangerous network of root-caves stretching below that basically act like the floran caverns we have now. There would be hostile florans and beasts underground that eventually respawn underground, while the surface is inhabited by florans that don't want to murder your face. -Avians The idea for this is essentially the same as the glitch city worlds, except for avians and their architecture. One of the biggest differences would be that, where there would be a castle, avians would have huge temples. As they are based on Aztec and Mayan culture, they would have similar multi-levelled mountainous farms.
The Avian cities should have lots of roads as well. Ridiculously well made and maintained roads were an important part of Aztec culture (I might be confusing the Aztecs and the Incas here).
