Crashed cargo containers

[muzzy]

Just a random idea to shake the freeplay gameplay a little, to make every game different...

The starting area could have a few crashed cargo containers, plus a few more close to nearby enemy bases so they'd be harder to obtain. These cargo containers would contain some starting resources to get the game moving faster, but also some random rare items.

Rare items found in containers could unlock some extra tech tree progression, enabling optional structures such as weaker laser towers that are available earlier in the tech tree (no battery research), different ammunition types, etc. Or maybe there'd be advanced special items that the player can't ever build himself, special grenades or special ammunition, more powerful mining picks and other perishables. Or even actual buildings, special cars, an electric furnace that's 20% more efficient, a tiny generator that constantly produces small amount of electricity out of thin air, these sort of things.

These containers would randomly spawn across long distances in the wilderness to let everyone unlock everything eventually in the late game. It would make early game feel different every time, and it would give incentive to explore in the late game.