Let's get some mod discussion going. Finally launched my first rocket early this year and have discovered the wonderful world of mods.
Personally, I've been playing a lot of seablock. For me, it is the best mod for doing it in small chunks. The lack of biters, the fact that I need to place landfill to start up a new area, it makes everything feel very intentional, I guess you could say. Versus normal factorio where expansion is the default.
Also have small SE and py saves going. SE only have the first few sciences and py only have basic power, so haven't really explored deep at all into those.
I've done a few Angels/Bobs runs in the past. While the added complexity of Angel's Petrochem provides a lot of complexity, it doesn't really add a lot of challenge. It's mostly just a chore.
My favourite for my last 2 playthroughs has been Krastorio 2 + Rampant, really focus a lot more on defense and fighting your way to resources.
SE and py scare me, don't think i'll ever touch those lmao.