i am not sure if this is the right place to put these, but i been trying out the new update and i have some thoughts

The changes made to how you get the extra specialized machinery feels odd now. i play a lot of heavily modded factorio, so getting those extra machines in planets that made sense (hydraylics in maraxsis, armory in castra, and every machine needing the exploration science pack) it was fairly spreadout throughout the game where you'd get the new machines. but now you get them really early on the vanilla planets, causing a boom of machinery on each main planet, its odd honestly and i wish it was more similar to how it was before.

the added materials and science packs are pretty cool conceptually, tho you being able to make them also at the same time as the regular packs feels odd, i think its fine to gate some of the vanilla tech behind the new sciences, they just feel kinda half baked.

don't get me wrong i don't doubt you get complaints about the update, i just wanted to put my word out on how i felt about the mod currently

First things first, thank you, this is the first actual critique i got that isn't just someone complaining about the update removing/moving something in a place they personally did not like.

For the machines being spread out between planets, that could still be readdded but they'd still need the new science packs.
The packs being made at the same time as the vanilla ones is honestly the only way to add them that made sense to me, otherwise they feel like optional things instead of stuff you gotta do. They also fulfill an idea i had even before AoP which was each planet having a second pack, something which i had considered throughout AoP's development and only added.

If you have any proposal on what to change that isn't too far fetched, dont be afraid to let me know.

i do like secondary planet mechanics like how biter handling in vanilla becomes a big thing for the promethium pack, i just don't like that you get them at the same time as the stuff of the main planet, feels like too much too soon, maybe if the packs were more of a 2 planet venture, for example forestry is supposed to be gleba's secondary pack, yet it uses nothing from the planet, lumber mill being made in nauvis is a bit odd, i know in vanilla you cant get renewable wood outside of nauvis. thermal science could have something from gleba since its the planett you unlock the heating tower possibly, and petrochemical having something from vulcanus.

that's just my thoughts relating to the packs and vanilla, like i said, i play mostly big modded so those secondary packs might still feel out of place when doing a lot of mods, i liked the prospect of going to a planet to unlock the shiny new machine, but i am not sure how that sort of thing could be done again

hm
idk about the secondary packs being mixed between planets
they're pretty set on being a secondary theme for their planet
and forestry has the gleba part with the biocircuits, i guess
i really couldnt find anything better js deal with it TwT

But yeah sorry about them feeling out of place

forestry doesnt use bio circuits tho, you research them with the biocircuits rather. the biocircuits honestly just act like a harder bioflux for the same purposes that youd send bioflux to nauvis outside of nutrient production and nest feeding

forestry with gleba actually reminds me of wooden industries with wooden cane farming for wood in gleba, but i assume that sort of stuff is too far out of the scope