What is this mod for?

Space Age Overhaul tries to expand upon Wube's release to add a bit more challenge and depth in the later stages of the game, while keeping the fast progression pace of the expansion.

Amongst the many features :
- A full balance pass to improve recipe credibility, with most surface restrictions being lifted, carbon, explosives and concrete being given more use, productivity being usable for ammo and much more
- More optimization depth for space platforms, which speed is now directly tied to weight. Every tile counts!
- Late game quality evolution for biters and pentapods. The couple flamethrowers you laid down 40h ago might no longer be enough.
- A new, more UPS friendly promethium endgame.
- A beacon overhaul with the Enhanced beacons submod. Endless boring arrays begone!
- A quality overhaul with the High precision manufacturing submod.
- New unique chase goals as late game unlockable techs with multiple levels :

Nauvis/Base game changes

• Most surface restrictions beside science packs are removed, you can now craft pretty much anything anywhere as long as you have the mats available.
• Most production buildings are now more expensive and only stack to 5. This makes space logistics, and quality production lines more expensive in the later stages of the game.
• Carbon is now an early game intermediate obtained from coal, mainly used in steel and explosives recipes
• Heating tower can now be obtained at blue-science level, giving you another power generation option
• Concrete and ammo recipe can now benefit from productivity modules
• Plastic bar, military & production science pack recipes reworked
• Molten metal recipes are now Vulcanus-restricted. Sorry, no easy infinite throughput everywhere!
  Foundries are however given access to the most efficient ore-> plate recipe, and can now also craft gear, wires, pipes and low density structures from plates.
• Speed modules are a bit weaker, and efficiency modules a bit stronger
• Quality evolution for biters. When spawing a high evolution unit, a nest has a chance to upgrade in quality. You might need to control your pollution cloud, or engage in proactive negociation talks if you don't want legendary behemoths eating your flamethrowers! (Can be disabled in mod settings)
• Enhanced beacons optional submod : Beacons now affect a large (7x7) area and have 8 modules slots, but the diffusion effect do not stack. Breaks the default “beacon arrays” designs resulting from vanilla balance. This mod will favor tight direct insertion designs to make the most machines benefit from each beacon.
• High precision manufacturing optional submod : A quality mechanic overhaul. Quality modules are much more potent, but recyclers can no longer benefit from them. Higher quality tiers are also harder and harder to reach. You'll need “upstream quality” production lines to get decent numbers pf epics/legendary (such as uncommon ores > rare plates > epic circuits> legendary end product) rather than brute forcing your way crafting / recycling hundreds of items

Space

Space logistics are now significantly more challenging to encourage you relying as much as you can on local ressources, and to give more purpose in min/maxing your space platform designs.

• Rocket parts are twice as expensive
• Most buildings only stack to 5, or less for bigger structures
• Platform thrust is now strictly proportional to its mass, and less dependant on its width. Each tile counts!
• Distance between the planets are 50% greater
• Adds a "Rocket silo capacity multiplier" mod setting. This value increases both the rocket payload and the number of required parts per rocket. It can be used to increase the throughtput per silo in the later stages of the game.

Vulcanus

• Metallurgic science pack now requires low density structures & lubricant instead of molten copper
• Foundation tiles require carbon fiber in place of lithium, and available after Vulcanus + Gleba

Gleba

• Spoilage can now be pyrolyzed into carbon and a bit of crude oil
• Agricultural science pack now requires an extra rocket fuel as well.
• Captivity research now gives access to a new revenge recipe, the Biter Egg liquefaction. Neighboors might not like it much tho!
• Quality evolution for pentapods. When spawing a high evolution unit, a nest has a chance to upgrade in quality. Eradication is always an option (can be disabled in mod settings).

Fulgora

No major changes beside the quality rework (optional submod).

If you play with it, you'll have double the vanilla odd to get low density structures on scrap recycling, making Fulgora a rather good location for the utility science pack.

Aquilo

Aquilo science juggling optional submod : Heavily inspired from the arcosphere balancing of Earendel's Space Exploration, this mod adds 8 Aquilo-specific recipes allowing you to juggle between science packs types. Entirely optional, but very useful at megabase level to make use of science packs not consumed by the current tech.

Promethium

The routes to the system edge and to the shattered planet are reworked and are now less about tunneling a way through endless huge asteroids.

Beside a dense asteroid belt near the system edge and within the SP close vicinity you’ll encounter less hazards. However, thrust being directly proportional to weight means huge carriers using belt weaves will be quite slow and inefficient. Loading up a bunch of eggs, get rid of all safety measure and full speed to deep space is the way!

Later on when you'll want to scale production up you will gain access to a new alternate promethium science pack recipe, which is more UPS-friendly, but even more challenging to set-up. Good luck!

Endgame & megabasing

• New infinite tech allowing you to increase the number of cargo landing pads per surface
• Most productivity techs grant 6% per level instead of 10%, meaning you can grind down to lvl 25ish before hitting the productivity cap
• Mining productivity cost ramps up faster without being a straight exponential

Bragging rights

• New "The factory must grow!" challenge. This tech progress decays over time, forcing you to beat progressive SPM targets to unlock the bonuses.
• New "Speed demon" challenge. Make the trip to the shattered planet within 35/30/25 minutes to unlock the bonuses.

Hope you enjoy it, and as always feedback is very much welcome !