This mod is partially inspired by this thread on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comments/54r5v0/does_anyone_else_think_this
The basic idea of this mod is the following: Fighting is way to repetitive and doesn't really make sense in vanilla. The problems I have identified are that:
- In the late game, enemy bases spawn a lot (every 4 minutes at evolution factor 1) but they are no threat at all (power armor mk2 with some shields and exoskeletons with flamethrower just kills everything and in the rare case this doesn't suffice, throw some destroyer capsules)
- Pollution doesn't even matter (you need walls and turrets anyway even if the pollution doesn't reach their bases)
- Most weapons are pointless (flamethrower is strong, maybe combat shotgun is fine too, all others just don't do damage and sometimes have expensive recipes for their uselessness)[/list]
Right now, this mod fixes the first and third points of this list (the second only partially), by doing the following:
- Enemy bases spawn time is multiplied by 10, but they should spawn bigger bases (I didn't have a good way of really testing the second statement)
- They are way (!!!) stronger: Big worms have 10000 HP and do significant damage even with the strongest shields, Medium worms also have been buffed (why were the strongest worms weaker than the strongest biters in the first place?)
- Biters and spitters are left unchanged but they spawn in bigger numbers, biter and spitter spawners are also unchanged
- Rocket launcher and Tank have been buffed: fully upgraded, the rocket launcher kills a behemoth biter at 2 or 3 hits, depending on the ammo (regular does big single target damage, explosive does AOE damage) and double that for the big worms. It also has range 40 which outranges Big worms, so you can fight them without very strong armor, it's just very dangerous. The tank cannon does even more (double of the rocket launcher) damage and has slightly more range but of course at the price of mobility. It also has 10000 HP.
- The flamethrower got nerved slightly: Its ammo now stacks just to 1 (imagine a huge tank on your back) but with double the amount per item. This means it is a great weapon against smaller bases where one can walk in and take a few hits without dying, but everything with more than 2 Big worms makes it impractical.
- Gun and laser turret do slightly less damage (to make pollution more important)[/list]

Overall, for me this had the desired impact on gameplay: The weapons feel far more balanced (the flamethrower is still good but not a one size fits all weapon) and fighting is less necessary and more fun (because you sometimes die).