What is REALLY the easiest place to start?

[BlackDragon]

It took me some time to realize that the starting-locations the game offers you when you begin a new session aren't different maps, but just different areas of the same, huge map. Once I DID, I started wondering if the 'easiest' one, the 'Green Hills Zone' place on the far left that I'd picked, really WAS the easy-peasy good-for-a-first-timer location that it was presented as...

My problem with it has been that while there's iron, copper, and even coal all over the place there, and Caterium within a manageable distance, requiring only the bridging of a couple of moderate canyons, once I got beyond that point I was suddenly facing some truly enormous treks. The closest source of Quartz was a kilometer and a half away... atop a huge mountain, requiring either a gigantic detour or an equally-gigantic bridge to access. Closest source of OIL turned out to be more than THREE kilometers away, across even more troublesome terrain. And this is all at a time when my only options for transporting solid materials is A: Stupidly long conveyor-belts or B: Tractors. For fluids, it's A: Stupidly long pipelines or B: That's it, there are no other options.

I've managed to push through all this - setting up an oil-processing base on location, and transporting the rubber and plastic I need in order to proceed with the Milestones that'll give me access to important stuff like railroads, bottled fluids and fuel-powerplants back to my main base by way of a 7-kilometer-long Tractor roundtrip. It was a HUGE pain to set up, though, requiring a lot of road- and bridge-building, and some very careful steering when I recorded the path... and so, I wonder if there was a better option. A starting-location that maybe didn't have QUITE so much easily-accessible iron and copper around, but instead had somewhat easier access to those crucial midgame materials that you need in order to gain access to better transport-options...

Anyone have any wisdom to share by virtue of having tried multiple starting-locations?

[DrNewcenstein]

Grass Fields is easiest because of the abundance of early-game materials (iron, copper, limestone, caterium, coal, sulfur) and large flat areas to build without relying too much on foundations to level the ground.

By the time quartz is required, you should have a decent transportation system including trucks, not just tractors. Oil should be processed on-site, and the products transported. Pipelines are a pain to set up, and eventually get in the way of future expansion, as well as drawing excessive power due to the pumps.
Hence, it's easier to move plastic and rubber via vehicles.

However, building vertically over the oil field lake allows you to process everything on site, with the proper recipes (electrode circuit boards). There's also iron, coal, limestone, copper, and caterium in the area, and you can build a steel plant on the plateau above the lake just outside the forest to the North by the small pond. Quartz is just up the hill from there.

I haven't tried starting in the other areas, but I have been there exploring. The Rocky Desert has no coal, but bountiful oil is just South of there on the islands. Northern Forest has almost all the geysers for geothermal, and appears to have lots of basic resources, though I haven't found them in large groups like Grass Fields (pair of copper nodes, 6 iron a stone's throw apart).

The Dune Desert has everything in easy reach, and more slugs than any other zone, but it's spread out more, requiring either beltapalooza or a long-range transportation system.

[Aven]

Western Slopes and Northern Forest. The western slopes offers iron, copper, limestone, coal, quartz, caterium, and sulfur all within 400 meters. The northern forest spot, about 750 meters southeast from the western slope location, offers even more iron and limestone, as well enough biomass to power a 500 MW factory for a few real-time days. There is a coal location just east of there that can also easily carry your power needs well into mid-game.

[Maehlice]

In strict terms of STARTING, which is to say Phase 1 of the Space Elevator for a new player, Grass Fields wins.

But then it all falls flat hard and fast, because the resources needed for each successive phase gets farther and farther out. So, you're forced into mid and long-range logistics very early compared to every other location.

... exactly as you reported in your OP about that start.

Long term, as @Aven said, the water inlet NE of Rocky Desert and NW of Northern Forest[satisfactory-calculator.com] is the absolute best. Everything you need for Phases 1-3 is abundant and within a 1km circle.

EDIT: If we're talking strictly about what's in the actual "starting zone" (i.e., starting dead center of it), Dune Desert wins: You can hardly go 200m without tripping over another resource node. Every Phase 1-2 resource is within a ~2.5km circle.

[DrNewcenstein]

Originally posted by Aven:

Western Slopes and Northern Forest. The western slopes offers iron, copper, limestone, coal, quartz, caterium, and sulfur all within 400 meters. The northern forest spot, about 750 meters southeast from the western slope location, offers even more iron and limestone, as well enough biomass to power a 500 MW factory for a few real-time days. There is a coal location just east of there that can also easily carry your power needs well into mid-game.

Is this location selectable from the main menu? I think that's what OP is referring to. For a hand-picked starting location, I'd suggest dropping into Grass Fields and then hot-footing it to the Blue Crater, so you're near the more abundant coal and oil, and quartz is closer. It may be difficult getting there, and the startup is slower because of the limited iron and limestone and copper, but it will carry you for a lot longer than Grass Fields.

[BlackDragon]

I am, indeed, referring to selectable starting locations - or at least areas within easy reach of such locations. Once you get your first set of Blade Runners, it can be easy to forget just how bloody long it takes to get ANYWHERE on foot without them, honestly... and stuff like building bridges over canyons or ladders up mountainsides isn't going to be available to you when you just start out, nor will you have the weaponry or healing-items needed to handle anything but the most basic of critters. So any kind of long trek from the start, especially across rough or dangerous terrain, is kind of a no-go.

[sansee]

For an absolute beginner it's hands-down Green Hill, relatively large and flat. My first time trying the game I probably spent around at least 40-60 hours just figuring stuff out and exploring the local green area.

When people gnarls that the other starter biomes are better suited they tend to forget that they already have a basic knowledge of the game, that includes trying out simple things like:

Locate nodes
Figuring out their patterns and kill a few hogs
Try out milestones and basic crafting
Try basic construction/deconstruction on flat land, then later upgrade and expand, especially getting to know the HUB.
Unlock foundations (tier 1) to use them over the cliff to the first coal node and plump down a single coal generator with pipes.
Find a suitable place for the first items up the elevator.
Plenty of biomass before going over to coal.
There are also two-three water pools very close to experiment with and for all that Green Hill succeeds by miles.

Green Hill wasn't designed for being boxed-in late-game anyway, you have to expand at one point regardless, be it due to oil, quarts, bauxite or uranium (which generally is for more experienced gamers).

By the time you've built the first successful coal setup you've already way past being a beginner in the game, so now you can move or just try starting out in a different biome, since you now know the basics.

EDIT: Yes, scratch the part about caterium and Blade Runner as (I forgot) that that can be found just vest of the coal node on the same "island", and extract it with portable miners.

[sergetechone]

Agree with the Green Field for "First Time", in tern of flat land to build without foundation but the mid game resources are too far.

The Northern Forest is the best location in tern of resources location and purity all within 2 km. The only problem is ..... need a lots of foundations and build vertically and build on empty space. Only bauxite and uranium is far. Oh .... you got a lots of bio products to use as fuel. Just be careful of the dangerous wild life.

[BlackDragon]

I'm sure Green Hills IS the best place for a true beginner - I mean, I can certainly see the appeal of having lots of open, flat space to work with, lots of basic starting-materials, and little in the way of dangerous wildlife. (Though the close proximity of the 'end of the world' cliffs can lead to some stupid deaths while you try to figure things out.) But as others have also mentioned, that location ensures that you hit a solid wall in the mid-game, being forced to range far afield at a time when you have few ways to set up a long-range supply-network.

So what I'm really looking for is, indeed, something like what the Northern Forest or Western Slopes sound like - places where you can at least get as far as having Fuel Plants and Monorails without needing to travel 3+ kilometers in search of the resources you need to proceed. In other words, the easiest starting-location for people who already know the basics of how the game work, and just want to reach the endgame without having to deal with huge distances at a point when you just don't really have the GEAR to handle them.

[❤ Sly Succubus ❤]

This is how I see it

Grassfields: Tutorial Mode
Desert (North Western): Training Area
Forest: Normal Mode
Desert (North Easter): Hardcore Mode

Like the North Eastern desert are for those that both enjoy the challenge of a task, building rather large factories to move stuff to a good location and even having access to end game resources without needing to go far.

I agree that the Forest is by far the best location to start in if you want a good ramp for getting going, but (from me and 2 others who worked together) The North Eastern Desert has Quarts, Sulfur, Coal, Nitrogen and other resources in the area and outside its hellish ramp of difficulty, its a great location for end game resources or even making good stretches of factories in locations without much there.

Personally the part that makes the Eastern Desert hard is all early game as the over all lack of easily accesable biomass makes getting power start up off the ground a task in of itself unlike the other locations but once past it then you'll find the coal abundance, water and other sources of power actually amazingly good.

The only downside of the Eastern Desert to all the other locations is oil, as by all means it is the furthest from oil, and while yes there is a huge oil gold coast nearby, to reach it requires you to at least have access to weapons, healing items and poison protection gear before attempting it, thats also ignoring the fact that sometimes random spiders will spawn on you at night out of the blue to.

But beyond that, the factor that makes it really cool is that outside of the downsides is that it has some of the best late game resoruces and later on if you use mods, it also has huge collections of mod resources to that other locations won't have.

Personally also if you want to get a good iron and copper forge off the ground, use the desert (western one) and refineries for pure forms if you can, me and my friend found that the iron nodes there with only mk 2 miners were putting out enough iron to supply 27 refinries and were making 11,171 iron ingots an hour :D

[Thorin]

Depends on heavily what you intend to build in the long run. Considering you need to build a proper platform in most case or accept the issue of the floor not being flat, it is mostly irrelevant, but for me the desert gives the best options. It has many nodes for basic stuff, and all easily visible without the vegetation, same for the hogs, so you can decide when you want to fight or evade.

For later stuff it is a bit limited, but you will need transports for something in every location for that.

[sansee]

Originally posted by BlackDragon:

But as others have also mentioned, that location ensures that you hit a solid wall in the mid-game,

True, but looking at the map, all the later resources are outside of the starting area, so some distance travelling is needed anyway, but not more than half the map usually, which is about 1,5km.

That is, with the exception of Rocky Desert which have two bauxite nodes.

This shows nodes for oil, quartz, bauxite and uranium.
https://ibb.co/vxbqBK7

[God of Snacks]

Northern Forest 100%, there's a negasonic butt ton of pure nodes everywhere. It's all very condensed too. You get can get enough material to get through tier 6 easily without barely leaving the starting zone.

[sansee]

But yes, upper part of Northern Forest is the best place for those that already knows the basics. The amount of nodes available within short reach, especially oil just north alone is staggering. :)

[Lasagna]

As far as I'm concerned anyone who suggests the grass fields is trolling, it's absolute hell to do anything past basic iron/copper production and forces you to pack up and move to a viable location or just restart. the only thing it has is open space for building which the desert does better anyways.

Any of the other starting areas is infinitely better, Northern Forest is probably the best overall due to the abundance of pure nodes, both early and late game resources.

[Tenzek]

I like the western edge of the Dune Desert near the Desert Canyons. Stuff is a little more spread out in the initial area that in the Northern Forest, but there is so much of it on all sides of you. You have an oasis to your north and south to give you starting fuel and plenty of water. Oil is right there, coal is everywhere with nearby water and sulfur, there is a huge nitrogen well, and it borders the swamp, titan forest, spire coast and desert canyons. It's basically at the junction between all of these zones.

Uranium, at about a biome and a half away, is the furthest thing from you. That is sort of ideal given what it is and does, though. It provides you a great place to set up your nuclear power. The base that you build there can also collect a lot of bauxite for you, conveniently at the same time where you begin to need it.