Equivalent Exchange for Factorio

Designed after the Equivalent Exchange mod (which is now known as ProjectE) for Minecraft. Allows you to convert between any two items in the game at a ratio based on time, energy, and resources required to make the two items. The unit used to exchange items is called MU, or Material Unit. Dematerializers turn fluids/items into MUs. Materializers turn MUs into fluids/items. MUs are a global value in a Factorio world. Use MU Monitors to visualize and/or access the global MU value via a circuit network signal.

This is my second-ever mod, and it is a work in progress. It is currently playable, as the core functionality and mechanics have been developed. I ironed out as many bugs as I could find, so it should run smoothly for most people.

One outstanding feature of this mod is that the calculation of MU values for each item factors in the time that is required to make each item. Hence, this mod, as in comparison to ProjectE or Equivalent Exchange for Minecraft, does not severely impact the balancing of the game. Additionally, every single item and fluid in the game, including modded items and fluids, can be dematerialized. This is because that for even the items that the mod cannot determine how to assign an MU value to, it assigns the default value (which can be changed in mod settings), so every item gets an MU value calculated for it. Pretty cool, right?

Sometime, I may look into creating a GUI that informs the player about MU values of specific items and the global MU value. It would be a lot nicer, but how it's currently implemented suffices to let players have fun and experiment with the new game mechanics that the mod provides.

Note: The mod has a per-map setting, called "Unlock Mode", set to true by default, which makes it so that you must dematerialize an item before you can materialize it. So, make sure you have something unlocked before you try to materialize it. This setting exists to keep the mod from unbalancing the game. Set it to false if you want to be able to throw away a crapload of iron and copper just to get a rocket launcher and an atomic bomb at the beginning of the game. Obviously, that would be game-breaking, so keep "Unlock Mode" set to true to make sure that players actually have crafted an item before they try to materialize that kind of item.

This mod comes with a number of settings that can be used to adjust the balancing of the conversion ratios between items, most importantly the base values of most raw resources, including iron ore, copper ore, coal, stone, wood, crude oil, and water. I tried to find a good balance to use as a default setting for these base MU values, so you shouldn't need to worry about it being unbalanced until you start changing the values yourself.

Disclaimer: I am not the original developer of Equivalent Exchange or ProjectE (for Minecraft). I am just a Factorio addict, with almost a thousand hours played on the game, that happens to really enjoy how ProjectE influences the game mechanics of Minecraft. I simply decided to make something similar for Factorio.

Please, enjoy the mod!