From Exodus3000 Wiki

Settlements are a large aid in mining expeditions. The more settlements the player governs or joins, in addition to the more the player's alliance governs, the higher chance of finding jackpots at volcanoes and ruins, scattered around the world map.

If the player finds a settlement, the player may either: Scout, Attack, or Join. If the player attacks the settlement successfully, he will then govern the settlement. The defense of the settlement depends on the defense of it's governor. For example, if the owner has a defense level of 5, all the settlements he governs will have a level 5 defense. If the owner upgrades the defense level to 6, all the settlements the player governs will have a level 6 defense. The security level of the governor also applies to all of the settlements.

If the player finds an unsettled settlement, he may take it over, and will then govern that settlement until a fellow player manages to take over the settlement.

The chance to find a jackpot has a limit of 150 "points". This modifier is calculated from the number of settlements that a player governs, joins, or that are governed by an alliance member. One governed settlement counts as 1 point. Every settlement the player's alliance owns is 1/25 of a point. For every settlement the player joins is 1/10 of a point. It is unknown if this is true, though.

Exodus3000
Statistics	Weapons | Defense | Intelligence | Security | Radar
In-game Elements	Dig | Cards | Missions
In-game Locations	Mars | Homestead | Abandoned Homesteads | Settlements | Outposts | Volcanoes | Ruins | Craters | Plains | Dunes
Rules and Regulations	Alliances | Basics | Cheating | Payouts | Purchases | Special Prizes | Referrals | Cards | Dig for Treasure
Official Website	Official site