Failed colony sites

[Reaver00]

I think it would be interesting to have a random area sometimes show up on the map when a  fresh game is made.  The remains of an abandoned/failed colony site.  Far on the corner of a map you might find some broken down, unpowered buildings.  Worn and partially destroyed by the elements. perhaps you can salvage some metals or a weapon.  Find some graves and a corpse with a note containing some flavor text, or an unsettling warning that triggers a new dangerous type of creature to slowly encroach on your own colony site. 

Or instead of an abandoned colony, perhaps you find a crashed ship, or remains of your own ship.  Or an old mining camp.  Alien native camp.  I think this would be a nice random bit of flavor to a newly generated planet.

Or, say your colony fails and everyone dies, you could have the option of starting a new game with new colonists who happen to land in the same area as your old colony... but say a few hundred years later.  So, caves would have collapsed in, old machinery would be practically useless.  stuff like that.

[Semmy]

I think tynan is doing this under archeology.
Not sure though

[AlexNAC04]

good idea mate!