This is the mod I've been working on for a while. It fairly dramatically changes the balance/strategy of the game. I tend to play it with all resources except the new one turned to richness None.
Download: http://www.filedropper.com/replicators021
Pretty sure this requires 0.11.3 factorio, else you get an error in control, but if anyone knows otherwise please let me know.
Features:
* New resource type, Rare Earth. Is infinite like oil, but slows down dramatically, so you will need to expand. Most new items require some of this.
* Three new module/resources that build out of Rare Earth. (Rare Earth Magnet, Superconductor, Ion Conduit)
* 5 new solar panels. High tier, smaller footprint solar panels/accumulators. You will need lots- the power drain of the replicators is HIGH.
* 5 tiers of replicators.
* 2x2 electric furnace
* Green Beacon - A large-range beacon that can take Ion Conduits to reduce pollution in a fairly wide area. Resource intensive, but very helpful. Unlocked mid-game.
* Expansion Bay - A 1x1 beacon with a 3x3 range (adjacent only), but applies 100% of effects. You can do amazing things with these if you have power.
* Ion Grenades and Ion Turrets.
* Replication Lab - Researches replication recipes and tiers.
Notes
Each tier of replication unlocks new recipes, and replicates faster. Replication takes nothing but power- but a LOT of it. The higher tier replicators are much less efficient than the lower, in exchange for the speed. The original goal of this mod was to make power management a little more gamey. You will HAVE to use higher-tier solar panels and accumulators to keep up- vanilla power supplies won't be enough.
You start with wood, stone, iron ore, and copper ore recipes, but all other recipes have to be researched. Replication can provide everything necessary through end-game, including batteries, lubricant, and alien artifacts. There's a speed penalty for complex items that means that it's basically always most efficient to produce lower tier items and assemble them yourself, but as you build power infrastructure and defenses to manage the pollution, you can ramp up production dramatically.
Replicators have no module slots, but can be affected by beacons, green beacons, and expansion bays. Boosting the speed of a lower tier is more efficient than building the next higher, but won't increase the speed by as much unless you stack a TON.
Replication tiers and recipes are researched in the Replication Lab, and use the rare earth materials instead of science packs.
Rare Earth is infinite, but slows down very quickly. It's intended that you'll need to expand to acquire more fields as you continue, because the higher tier recipes and buildings take a lot of it. This is the most untested part of the balance, but I've been playing on medium without TOO much trouble. Might be too easy, might be too hard. Feedback appreciated!
So that you can jump right in, skipping the burner/electric phase, you start with a single replicator, a small electric furnace, 10 solar panels and accumulators, and some small poles. You still get the normal stuff, so if you're playing with normal resources on, that's still available to you. Up to you.
Ion Conduits can be turned to Carbon Entanglers, which reduce pollution and can be used in the green beacon. (It'll take a lot to reduce the pollution to low levels, but the mid-game pollution is HIGH without it.)
The grenades are largely a joke, very expensive and probably too strong. The ion turrets are similarly OP, because I couldn't find another way to deal with big spitters, which you get pretty quick because of the pollution.
There's some junk files in the zip, but if you want to try your hand at rebalancing, check the tops of replication.lua and replicators.lua. Most of the recipes/tech are procedurally generated using variables and functions at the top, so you can quickly tweak values across all the recipes.
Lastly, all the new items appear in the item menu under a new tab, but aren't sorted in the inventory very well.
Pics
