Adjusting how quality reroll is impacted by later researches

[Dinadon]

The researches for epic and legendary quality are the only ones that can break a functioning factory. So a player must either leave space to expand quality handling, just focus on items useful for progression, or rush for Aquilo. Yet all of those options imply a player with experience, and not one exploring space age for the first time.

So my main issue is the reroll part of quality and the fact that new quality levels can clog factories that have otherwise worked fine for many hours. I can see that removing it entirely would be problematic, but it might be possible to give it a gentle tweak. So I suggest the following:

• The tier 1 module can only advance quality one step
• The tier 2 module can advance quality up to two steps
• The tier 3 module can advance quality up to four steps (so common can become any quality) (yes, this can also be considered a mirror to how legendary quality progresses 2 steps)
• Show possible quality levels alongside the quality chance on the building info
• Should different module tiers be used in a single machine, the highest-tier module matters
• Unlocking epic and legendary quality is unchanged, so their researches still matter, but now a common recipe also needs a tier 3 module
• The reroll mechanic itself is also unchanged, but there is now also a restriction on quality level from the module as well as research

Overall, gameplay should be broadly similar, just possibly with fewer higher-quality items in the earlier stages. Some examples:

1. Researching the tier 2 quality module before leaving Nauvis will be the simplest way to produce rare quality items. And adding tier 2 modules is a manual task, so the need to account for more quality levels should be more obvious.
2. Visiting Gelba before Fulgora and unlocking epic quality will not risk clogging existing factories, though there will now be more of an incentive to rush recyclers since you cannot reach epic directly from common with tier 2 modules.
3. Using tier 3 quality modules is mechanically the same as now, but this is unlocked late enough that this is more reasonable for this kind of complexity

Anyone wanting to use rare quality items before unlocking the tier two modules would need to build a parallel uncommon factory. So, a much larger space requirement, but to me, it makes the progression feel more tangible.

[Amarula]

You have clearly put a lot of thought into how quality affects game play especially for new players. It seems to me that your 'gentle tweak' is going to make a very complicated system even more complex. I am not sure how much this will benefit new players, but I am pretty sure it will make it even more annoying to experienced players.
Your idea did suggest an alternative to me: lock all quality to a single level increase until you reach promethium research. Add new research goals that allow you to unlock two level, three level, and finally four level quality increases, at which point you are at the current quality system.

[Hurkyl]

It's worth observing this would be an incredible nerf to early game quality: the rerolls at 10% quality are far more valuable than the piddly 2% quality roll you'd get from putting quality 1 modules in an assembler 2.

And, incidentally, tier 2 modules are already very important in the status quo, since they outright double the number of quality items you get as compared to tier 1 modules of the same quality.

[Shirasik]

Can't see any issue here. Quality unlock is tied to research which branch' is dead end. Player isn't obliged to unlock new level of quality until player wishing to.