I'm sure there are many people like me who would lend a hand in designing the planets. So that does take the stress off. All they have to do is balance afters. And no one said you needed to do it for ALL planets AT THE SAME TIME...
Plus I'm pretty sure starting with one base per planet, balancing shouldn't take too long. As for making the actual landscape, assuming the layout generator is as easy to use as freespace 2's, then it shouldn't take more than couple hours a planet.
Just make the template, let the fans take care of decorating and other stuff that doesn't afect balance