This mod completely overhauls several large chunks of the base game, in particular the production of raw materials, bulk resources, intermediate parts, and machines themselves. It also adds a variety of new & upgraded machines for production & logistics to help with this. A few additional combat supplies have been added for good measure, and to provide more use for advanced materials & parts.
For more information, see Factorio Forums post at: https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=97&t=51868
9 new resources are added: Laterite, Skarn-Type Ore, Economic Sand, Massive Sulfide, Evaporites, Magnetic Ore, Natural Gas, Phosphorite and Igneous Sulfide. The 6 base game resources have been modified as well to fit Xander Mod style.
It's recommended to generate the map with RSO (https://mods.factorio.com/mod/rso-mod) to have a more reliable distribution of ores
Crude resources can be mined by hand, but only used for very little on their own:
- Laterite
- Copper Ore (base Copper, the color differs from base game to be more realistic)
- Skarn-Type Ore
- Economic Stone (base Stone)
Starter resources require a mining axe, but enable crude machines and automation:
- Coal (base Coal)
- Iron Ore (base Iron, the color differs from base game to be more realistic)
- Massive Sulfide
- Evaporites
- Economic Sand
Fluids mined with a pumpjack:
- Crude Oil (base Oil)
- Natural Gas
Later resources can only be mined with machines, but are necessary to complete the game:
- Magnetic Ore
- Phosphorite
- Igneous Sulfide Ore
- Pegmatite-Type Ore (base Uranium Ore)
The early game has been considerably extended, for realism and a greater sense of accomplishment. Greatly increased detail in mechanical and electrical parts makes machines more expensive, and advancement to automation overall slower. Constructing a basic setup of burner mining drills on a handful of ore types, an easy first step in the base game, is now a noticeable achievement. The goal is to create a greater contrast between the crude start and standard automation, to heighten the sense of accomplishment from progressing through the entire technology tree.
The refining and production of most materials has been re-worked according to more detailed and realistic chemistry. The goal is to make the processing more believable than in the default game, where ores are simply run through a furnace to make metal. The intermediate parts used in crafting machines have received similarly fine complexity and realism. To help produce all of this material, a few new machines have bee added, and several base machines now have upgrades. I currently have my own versions of several types of machines found in other mods, such as an electrolyzer, ore processing plant, refining furnace, and a few others. I have also added some expensive, late-game integrated machines, that feature the combined capabilities of multiple single machines, with further upgraded parameters.
The goal is to create a comprehensive overhaul, more detailed than the base game, and accepting some approximations of real industry. I want to cover more of the complete areas of technology. To enrich the entire game and still keep it playable, I usually go with somewhat less detail, and assume slightly more approximations. For example, an XM ore processing plant could represent a simple sluice, a froth flotation cell, a gravity separation cyclone, a magnetic separator for magnetite, an advanced electrostatic separator for ilmenite, and so on. And that's only one XM machine; the same could be said about the electric furnace, or any one really. The real-life variety of machines is too vast for anyone to add ALL of them to any game. So, the challenge is to find a good balance between detailed realism and practical simplicity. Ultimately, this concept applies to everything, not just machines, but items, recipes, and so on. That is the whole reason to make these tech mods, anyway: to expand on the extremely oversimplified base game, classic example being the solid-block-of-iron-and-copper electronic circuit.
The expanded detail of making almost anything maintains an increased level of difficulty throughout the game, typically creating a marathon-type experience. Since everything takes longer, some method of reducing biter contact in the early game is heavily recommended. A larger biter-free starting area size, disabling biter expansion at world generation, or even playing on peaceful are all possibilities. Without some of these measures biters are likely to attack before you have developed weapons enough to make new magazines.