A Factorio 2.0 compatible fork of Xander Mod by Repofme1. The Space Age DLC and Quality are not supported, but Elevated Rails is supported.

Hasn't been tested much, expect bugs.

Thanks to S3BA for Polish translation.

Original description follows, adapted from the forum thread:

'Ad pitch'

[ad]
Are you an experienced Factorio player looking for a challenge?
Having trouble believing a solid hunk of metal makes a circuit?
Are you tired of repetetive, formulaic content?
Do you dream of something other than froot loops to fill your ore and metal bins?
Would you like to break your addiction to plant and animal products?!

Then try out Xander Mod! Now available in NEW version 3+!
[/ad] ;)

Introduction

This mod overhauls the Factorio production system to make the materials and parts more realistic and interesting. My motivation comes from things like the base green circuit recipe, which seems to be just a pile of iron and copper - nothing but a short circuit. This really breaks my immersion in the game, so I want to make it more believable, to my somewhat extensive knowledge of chemistry, materials, and general technology. For this, the mod has new ores for new metals, detailed refining processes, complex sequences of intermediate parts, and a few new machines to help handle it all. Designing logistic and production systems is my favorite part of the game, since it is the foundation for making all the other features. While I know several other mods that put much effort into this aspect, they still feel lacking in a way that makes me want to share my own perspective. Read on for more!

Content Accuracy

Having said that everything is an approximate model, where does the realism in Xander Mod lie? My goal is something high but still playable, although it may require an unusual style. My exact choice of identities for things comes from a combination of general knowledge, casual research into technology that I don't know yet, and an effort to make a balanced game (giving most items multiple uses, making the ratios not insanely expensive, etc.). For the majority of things, the in-game content I make is an accurate or plausible translation of a real-life process onto the surface of Nauvis. For instance: bronze really is made of copper and tin, sulfuric acid was once actually produced from sulfur and saltpeter using the historical Chamber Process, early electronics did often use phenolic resin for insulating components, and a basic steam locomotive can in fact be made without the use of any petroleum products. And yes, this does mean you could actually learn something real from the mod! It's often historical and somewhat approximated, but hey, this is a computer game after all :) . Anyway, I hope you find this interesting. On to the content summary :D !

Content Summary

Resources

New ores, and changes to the base resources to fit Xander Mod style

• Coal Seam
• Porphry Copper Deposit
• Crude Oil
• Evaporite Salt Formation
• Igneous Sulfide Ore
• Banded Iron Formation
• Laterite Deposit
• Magnetic Ore
• Mass Sulfide Ore
• Natural Gas
• Phosphorite Deposit
• Economic Sand Deposit
• Skarn-Type Ore
• Economic Stone Formation
• Pegmatite-Type Ore

Materials and Parts (Partial list)

• Borax, limestone, kaolin clay, quartz sand, fluorite, scheelite
• Aluminum, nickel, tin, tungsten, solder, bronze, cast iron, alloy steel
• Clay bricks, magnesia refractory, porcelain, glass, silicon carbide
• Potash, saltpeter, cryolite
• Raw and vulcanized rubber; phenolic resin - the first synthetic plastic
• Hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, chlorine
• Brine and distilled waters, nitric acid, hydrogen fluoride
• Steel parts, standard and improved inductive coils
• Circuits made from patterned boards, component sets, and solder
• Steam and internal combustion engine units,
• New crude science pack, new recipes for automation and chemical packs

Processes and Machines (Partial list)

• Pyrolysis of wood and coal to make charcoal and coke
• Fluxed metal smelting for higher yield
• Bayer Process and Hall-Heroult Process aluminum production
• Chamber process sulfuric acid production
• Air distillation and Haber-Bosch Process ammonia
• Chloralkali process for chlorine, hydrogen, sodium hydroxide
• New ore processor, to wash ores into separate components
• Overhauled furnace tiers for much greater versatility
• New machine tool, to produce simple parts from stock material
• Early burner versions of most machines

Technologies (Partial list)

• Crude first steps: coal coke, glass, steel, firearms, ore washing, steam-driven machinery
• Metal refining: nickel, tungsten, aluminum, silicon
• Nonmetal chemistry: boron, carbon, nitrogen, fluorine, chlorine
• Intermediates thoroughly integrated in tech tree: electricity, electronics 1 and 2, steel parts, induction motor
• Coherent prerequisites to unlock better machines

Equipment and Combat

• Crude transport belts for inexpensive early automation
• Black powder for early firearms

Gameplay

• Easier balancing for increased playability
• Faster and more rewarding progression
• Greater consistency in degree and detail of approximations
• Original graphical models

The early game has been extended for greater realism and sense of accomplishment. Reaching the standard electric machines in the base game is now a noticeable achievement. The goal is to create a greater contrast between the crude start and standard automation, to heighten the sense of accomplishment from progressing through the entire technology tree.

Most early machines and supplies have been balanced to a similar raw resource cost as in vanilla, but the expanded detail in everything boosts the difficulty. Later in the game, I plan to increase the expense of things somewhat, to create a more marathon-like experience throughout.