Sorry if this is a dumbass question. Like was that the devs intention or is it just something players figured out on their own and made it into a thing?
Well, we created them as part of the world, and it was our intention for players to be able to build (almost) anywhere they want in the world. So... kinda? We definitely expected that some players would want to make bases in their favorite locations, and even in early playtests we already saw players rebuilding villages, so it's something we've been aware of for quite a while.