Special resources
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Sins Forums
Basically, there are some special resources that are only present on a few planets/asteroids. Colonizing an area with one of these resources will give you some specific benefits. Maybe the resource is a rare substance that can improve your ships' armor by 10%, or it could allow a special ability on some type of ship. There are a lot of possibilities.
This would make certain locations more strategic and make exploring the galaxy more useful.
This would make certain locations more strategic and make exploring the galaxy more useful.