So in the main game, there are two types of beacons. One is like the style you described, with 12 beacon chunks. The other is the old version where devs had to place them.
In the C++ game (which is going to become the main build in about a week or so) the system is the new one, but with 24 beacon chunks instead of 12 (Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, I haven’t placed any beacons in the C++ beta).
I would advise you try out the C++ beta branch (Testing [cplusplus] 1: Initial C++ build of Boundless)