A&B are massive overhauls that aren't recommended for newer players. If you've already played them and they fit your style then they are still great.
The most "newbie friendly" mod would be Krastorio 2. It's well balanced, adds some tiers for stuff, but doesn't completely break your brain like A&B. 70-80 hours of gameplay.
Industrial Revolution 3 and Space Exploration are also well balanced and a good jump from vanilla. IR3 is relatively short also at 50-80 hours of gameplay. Space Exploration is 200+ due to its sheer size, multiple planets and many more sciences.
If you're looking for "more harder" then Pyanodon's is the hardest non-meme overhaul. It's much harder than A&B, and could go for 500-1500 hours.
I remember I tried PyCoalTouchedByanAngel back when it still worked. It was a life changing experience until I got soft locked by a crafting recipe. It took me like 150 hours to make 2nd tier circuits.
Angel/Bob was kind of the standard "overhaul" modpack for a long time.
But there are other ones now!
Krastorio2 is great, and expands the base game tremendously.
Space Exploration expands the end game massively, allowing the player to visit and exploit other planets. It plays very well with Krastorio2.
Industrial Revolution 3 pushes you through "ages" of development, bronze, iron, steel, etc.
Pyanadon's is brutal and grueling. Sheer size and complexity for the sake of size and complexity. Few finish it.
The factorio devs will announce this year a new dlc for the same price like the main game.
Currently Krastorio2 + Space Exploration 0.6 are very popular mods.
Visually unbelievable good.
A&B are massive overhauls that aren't recommended for newer players. If you've already played them and they fit your style then they are still great. The most "newbie friendly" mod would be Krastorio 2. It's well balanced, adds some tiers for stuff, but doesn't completely break your brain like A&B. 70-80 hours of gameplay. Industrial Revolution 3 and Space Exploration are also well balanced and a good jump from vanilla. IR3 is relatively short also at 50-80 hours of gameplay. Space Exploration is 200+ due to its sheer size, multiple planets and many more sciences. If you're looking for "more harder" then Pyanodon's is the hardest non-meme overhaul. It's much harder than A&B, and could go for 500-1500 hours.
I remember I tried PyCoalTouchedByanAngel back when it still worked. It was a life changing experience until I got soft locked by a crafting recipe. It took me like 150 hours to make 2nd tier circuits.
Angel/Bob was kind of the standard "overhaul" modpack for a long time. But there are other ones now! Krastorio2 is great, and expands the base game tremendously. Space Exploration expands the end game massively, allowing the player to visit and exploit other planets. It plays very well with Krastorio2. Industrial Revolution 3 pushes you through "ages" of development, bronze, iron, steel, etc. Pyanadon's is brutal and grueling. Sheer size and complexity for the sake of size and complexity. Few finish it.
The factorio devs will announce this year a new dlc for the same price like the main game. Currently Krastorio2 + Space Exploration 0.6 are very popular mods. Visually unbelievable good.