https://prnt.sc/s8ppss

Need to know if you have any big mods before I can really do much to help

Screenshot they provided should be enough. Simply says there are buildings for this mod that don't exist/not part of it. I am having a similar issue, please fix it.

For this mod specifically, knowing which building causes an error doesn't usually help.

This mod dynamically creates the mini machines based on the existing definitions of the base game machines (or base modded machines, for this case). I generally test with bobs and angels, but can't really test with every other mod that might rebalance or otherwise modify those base machines, which would break my logic in some unknowable way.

If I can't reproduce the error, then I can't fix it very easily, because I won't be able to track where the logic breaks. So knowing which other mods are present when the error occurs helps me in tracking down the bug to fix it.

Well when it says "mini-whatever-buiilding is missing" then that means a dependency that your mod relies on is missing. Be that vanilla, which I doubt, or other mods that you've provided for. Inwhich case you need to link to these dependencies so that others know where to find them. That or provide buildings for this mod yourself. Perhaps it's due to changes in 0.18.30, which version is this really meant for? Though to me if the building has "mini" attached to it's name then surely this is a custom building?

I'm not sure if you're understanding the situation.

When I say the mini machines are created "dynamically", I mean that there a are a set of functions which check what mods are installed, and which machines to create mini versions of, and what the properties of that machine should be (crafting speed, recipe, etc)

Unlike most other mods, I can't set these properties statically (by simply defining them outright) because that might be incorrect for certain sets of mods.

This mod has no hard dependencies (excluding the Factorio Standard Library, which does not itself add any machines). Because of the dynamic way the machines are created, it can work with no other mods, or with many other mods, and the properties would be properly balanced either way, without having to manually define these properties for every single set of mods.

The downside to this approach, is that certain mods can make changes to the base machines that break my mod's logic. For this situation, I can tell there's an issue with how I handle mini-refineries, but I don't know what steps in my functions lead to that end result.

Either a reference is mistakenly being made, or an entity isn't being created, for some reason. If I know what changes are being made to the base refineries, then I can check what steps in the function are being taken (or being skipped).

And again, if I can't reproduce the error, then any changes I make won't be guaranteed to fix it. I'll just be taking shots in the dark that may or may not fix the issue.

Then why the heck does it say a certain building entity is missing?? As for what mod may be altering the refineries? possibly AAI Industry otherwise I wouldn't know.

For the error refernced in the screenshot above, this could possibly be caused by a mod adding higher tiers of base refineries, that my mod isn't expecting. The next_upgrade field is copied over from the base entity, but the next tier isn't being generated, for some reason. This is my most likely guess.

If you are getting the exact same error as the screenshot, then yes, knowing you have AAI Industry could help a TON in narrowing down potential issues. It could honestly be as simple as the mod in question having added another tier of machine.

Alternatively, it could be caused by running a combination of semi-compatible mods, like simultaneously running FXP, Bobs/Angels, and Krastorio2, for example. These interactions could either remove expected tiers, or insert additional unexpected tiers, which would break my mod-catching logic, and possibly cause a load error similar to this.

I'll test with AAI Industry and get back to you, thanks for helping to narrow things down.

Tested with AAI Industry (alongside Space Exploration, and all other required mods) and couldn't cause the load error from the screenshot above. AAI Industry doesn't actually add or remove any higher tiers of refineries (that are covered by this mod) so it wouldn't have any issues.

I should start by saying that I currently have logic in place to deal with Angels, Bobs, Factorio Extended Plus, and Fantario. If you are getting the error from the screenshot above, then you must be using one or more of these mods, and potentially other big mods or patch/compatibility mods that modify refineries.

If you can load the game without mini machines, then you can view the different tiers of refineries available in-game, as well as which mods are affecting those refineries. Knowing this list will also greatly help in solving the issue.