However when the network (and each node) is receiving enough announces to saturate that 2% chunk of most smaller links, those interfaces prioritize announces with less hops, and there is a queue, meaning it takes that interface longer to transport announces coming from further away. This makes it much more likely that nodes will form routes over a faster but longer path.
I see. So it seems that optimizing a complex network can be a little more hands-on, not completely automatic (which would be a bit too much to ask, thinking about it). I guess my hypothetical path via outer space would have a "boundary" mode node somewhere on the way, although I am still fuzzy on how exactly this would affect things.
And your point about the announce queue with saturated 2% bandwidth is clear.
Thanks so far! This makes me want to read the rest of the manual and possibly start tinkering with Reticulum myself at some point.
For bandwidth, however, I don't see it yet. If all relevant nodes are idle at the time an announce comes in (so the 2% limit doesn't come into effect), a low-bandwith route might be established before one with a much higher bandwidth, no? (Prioritising latency over bandwidth can be the right thing to do, of course, depending on what the network is used for. But it might not.)