I largely agree with this post, but I don't think repairing as a concept needs to be removed. I think repairing as in maintenance should not be present in the starting zone, maintenance is just annoying. But that doesn't mean it needs to be removed completely.
The way I would imagine it is having different biomes with progression, for example the higher you go the windier it gets and you will need to maintain your structures in such an area but there should also be resources/tech in that area that will allow you to overcome that weakness, maybe just stronger wood or metal platforms.
In base building games I also prefer to have a single main base and not many small ones, so traveling between your base and whatever progress is (up/down) should be easy, for example by sliding along a rope or allowing players to create simple elevators.
A larger main base would also be nice, so it could be cool if you could reinforce platforms with diagonal beams or perhaps ropes attached to walls so you can build further out.