Inspired by RSO, this mod reworks the resource generation to strong encourage creating outposts connected by trains:

• resources patches are much rarer and further apart
• with growing distance from the starting position, resources patches grow in size
• easy configuration via map generation settings
• resource patches are endless, but yield soon drops below 100%, forcing constant expansion
• to counterbalance this, enemies are also rarer
• tracks are significantly cheaper (recipes yield 10x as much)
• fine-tuning via config.lua possible
• multiplayer compatible

More info

I love RSO and its idea, but was never quite satisfied with the resource distribution and general feel. Trying to fiddle with RSO's config failed so I decided to do a rewrite for myself and add a few things I wanted to have.

The key principle is that this mod forces the player to expand and significantly spaces out resource patches (much more than RSO does). Resources are endless, because I do not like that you have to abandon an outpost at some point. Generally speaking, with this mod, Factorio is tilted towards throughput management. Your initial resource fields are small, so you cannot place that many miners on it and they will soon suffer from decreased efficiency.

So you are forced to expand, build your first outpost (probably iron) and by the time you have automated a few more things for easier expansion, your second outpost starts to slowly produce less ore / second. You'll have to be considerate of your train network.

Ok, enough of that. As I said, I wanted a slightly different RSO and ended up with a rewrite. So I put it here and see what people think. Any (constructive) feedback is welcome.

Recommendations

When using this mod I recommend the following:

• use FARL, you'll cry if you don't
• use your favorite mod with better radars, the vanilla one will most likely not get you to the second patch
• use some way of tracking trains

Known issues

Resources and enemy bases can spawn in water