Q: Is this a mod of excellent quality?
A: Uh... well. This is my second Factorio mod, actually, and I am not a programmer, so it is hard to say. The mod is, however, based on other mods that seem to have excellent source code, and I think I have managed to improve significantly on them in the later versions, especially when it comes to mod compatibility.
Q: Why make this mod?
A: My main purpose for this mod is to make the game less tedious and space-consuming, without destroying game balance. I am all about exploring the relations between machines, but have little interest in long rows of machines that do the exact same, trivial thing, much less commuting over great distances just to inspect my main base. This mod helps me focus on what I consider the core gameplay of designing neat, complex factories.
Q: Are you going to change or expand on the mod?
A: Maybe. At some point I may try to add more exclusions or make it easier for the user to exclude mining drills through settings or something, at least if someone requests it. Maybe I will also implement optional recipe scaling cost, like with my other mod, although it might be too difficult/risky for this one. I will have to see.
Q: How compatible is this mod with similar mods?
A: Well, the mod is made to multiply base parameters of all "mining-drill" entities (including those added by mods), which is very useful, but not always wanted. If other mods change the same values, they may get multiplied, but that can often be solved by changing the settings of one mod to a "neutral" value. There is a change to one of the recipes related to uranium processing, so that is optional. In versions v.0.1.1+ I have greatly improved compatibility by adding various checks in the code, but although many mods have been tested to work fine, there are exceptions (e.g. the uranium mining option doesn't work for the drills in "Industrial Revolution 3" by Deadlock989).
The original mods "Instant Mining Drill" by darkfrei and "Mining Drill Bigger Area" by jackar will interfere with this one.
Q: Does the mod scale properly?
A: In the most important ways, yes. The mod multiplies base mining speed without changing productivity. Power consumption and pollution rate both scale with mining speed, but recipe cost + crafting time do not. Consumption of sulfuric acid in uranium mining scales normally, without me having to add any code to ensure that. If the simpler uranium mining option is enabled, uranium processing in the Centrifuge will require the fluid in the same ratio.