Hello!
I love your mod!
I'm just a bit affraid i've found a dead end to progress (2 in fact)....
1) "Metallized Fiberglass-Phenolic Boards" require (at least) "assembling machine 2" to be created, but "assembling machine 2" requires you to have 4 "Metallized Fiberglass-Phenolic Boards" (from which you'll actually have 2 "assembling machine 2" but you can't get 1 from only 2, and besides that'S not the point)
Note: either adding "Assembling Machine II" to starting kit (option i'm not really a fan of honestly), or letting "assembling machine I"/adding an expensive crude recipe will solve the problem.
2) "Internal Combustion Engine Unit" require (at least) "assembling machine 3" to be created, but "assembling machine 3" requires you to do research requiring "blue-science packs" that need "Internal Combustion Engine Unit" to be created.
Note: i haven't tried it yet, but i do believe that once you have the needed research, you can progress as "Assembling machine 3" does not need "Internal Combustion Engine Unit" for their creation, so either taking the "Blue-science packs" required for "Cobalt Refining", "Tungsten Carbide Cermet", "electric motor II" and "Automated Assembly 3" and "Fluid Pumping II" away or just letting "Assembler II" do the job will solve the problem.
Hope this will help you fix said dead ends (and that you're still active).
I can easily see your mod being even better, deeper and more complex than bobs mods (and i don'T think i'Ve ever said / even thought that of any other mod/modpack)
Since i've found the courage to write this post i might as well include suggestions in it....
please, perhaps add an option for infinite ore patches / oil-mechanics for ore patches, as currect mods that do that don't recognize your ores....
also, if you could, instead of "deciding" what ore was mined from what patch, please add different patches. I know it will mean lots of logistic problems with moving new ores & perhals some "searching" for special ores, but to me that'S part of the fun (maybe make that optional?) i would really love having three different treatment factories - one for mined hematite, one for mined magnetite and one for mined pyrite ^^ (maybe add something alike "Flare stacks mod" to dispose of unvanted byproducts? i mean.... i can use CO2 with Carbon to create CO for refining iron.... but as far as the excess CO2 goes... i don'T need to be keeping that.... (also non-return & overflow valves are great idea to keep some levels of the CO2 in storage) maybe add "Cave" patch that would be creating fuid called "empty space" or something like that & that would be used in recipes for getting rid of items (and would be uncannable))
i suppose this would also require you to make more categories (one for ore treating, one for ore refining, one for "general chemistry") and maybe also require you to add text with hints on how to make what with what to make the learning curve a bit less spiky.... (on the other hand... cool as ideas.... lots and lots of work in reality)
Thank you ^^
- Misacza
NOTE: in you're a player & are reading this hoping to find a SOLUTION, i've walked around these by downloading "Black Market (sell and buy on the market)" mod by BinbinHfr, sold some materials (so i had money) & bought 4 instances of "Metallized Fiberglass-Phenolic Boards" and one instance of "assembling machine 3" which deffinitely solves the 1st problem, and hopefully will solve the 2nd too.
maybe it's just me loving hard-core marathon, overly-complicated games, but the blackmarket mod seems a bit OP tho, as machine prices are quite low, especially those you have no research for. So while it'S great tool to overcome flaws/bugs/dead ends, unless you're playing with /really tough/ biter evolution settings, you'll outrun them in arms race /very/ easily by just selling low-tier items and buying best-tier gear.... so untill/unless the author both increases the overall prices of completed machines /and/ adds mechanics that increase the prices of things you do not have research for /even more/ (and more and more, the more research you lack) i highly reccomend turning it off afterwards (on the other hand i am using mods to make the ore piles virtually unlimited so it'Seasy for me to advocate semi-insane requirements)
also the interface is a bit messy and frustrating but to me that are most of interfaces in factorio (the continue off screen so i can'T see the data) so there the problem might be in myself actually