Having minerals evenly distributed on the map would make any focused defense pointless (since the amount of defense line work needed to fence everything off would become about the same as focusing on each resource point separately)
The current status quo is.
In the early-mid game, switching from local consumption of ore to railroad transportation was relatively difficult due to the dispersed nature of the mines and the shortage of supplies for the defense line.
Later in the game, sufficient infrastructure makes it the most efficient option to just lay down logistic zones and surround all mines and bases with defense lines, which is boring.
- xa1.png (1.93 MiB) Viewed 361 times
Maybe look at the changes to Hyperlane Generation in stellaris 2.1
Hyperlane Generation
Another thing that is changing in 2.1 is the way the Hyperlane network is generated. Rather than simply attempting to connect stars to nearby stars, we've created a new generation algorithm that builds up 'clusters' of stars with a high degree of internal connectivity, that are connected to each other by thinner 'highways' which form natural chokepoints. These chokepoints are also registered as such by the game, allowing us to find actual chokepoint systems and avoid placing Leviathans and other powerful space monsters there, as well as improving the AI's ability to detect suitable spots for defensive starbses. The hyperlane connectivity setting will determine the level of connectivity between clusters, and thus how frequent and easily circumvented chokepoints are.
Have multiple minerals centralized around a resource point as in the opening neighborhood minerals with more distance between resource points.