I’d like to have a discussion about things we can do to encourage static bases and make them valuable and interesting
And different approaches we can blend together with an eye towards supporting different play styles while also encouraging diversity
My initial suggestion would be (as I listed in Rebalance: Tool Qualities) to have some tool qualities tied to static locations. The most obvious being vehicle frame repairs (among others) requiring welding qualities restricted to stationary workbenches
Also making it possible for heavy vehicles to get stuck when they go off road (encouraging using light scout bikes that can’t function as mobile bases), and adding seasonal challenges like snowed in or iced over roads. And dirt becoming mud during rain making it easier for heavy vehicles to get stuck
I think the NPC Factions could also add value given time
Given the general lack of roads connecting locations (at least without making extreme detours) I definitely would hate not being able to go anywhere except in a vehicle that won’t be able to travel through any zombie infested area (such as the population centers you have to go through). The road network would have to extended very much for severe off road restrictions to be viable, and that may well be harmful in other ways, as too much of the world would be made up of roads.
It does, of course, depend on what you consider to be a “light scout vehicle”. Is my current vehicle, approaching 10 tons, “light”? It certainly doesn’t have any base facilities, but it is able to plow though hordes.
Another thing to consider if you want to restrict mobile bases to the roads is that you’d need some way to get rid of the obstacles on those roads. If tow cables can be used to move wrecks and broken vehicles out of the way that would probably be sufficient (I haven’t yet played with tow cables).
NPC factions and player build bases have potential to be of use for e.g. asset protection and base hopping, but there’s probably a need for a lot of development of those systems to get there.