SeaBlock VS FactoryPlanner

I would recommend starting with Krastorio 2 or Industrial Revolution 3. Krastorio (the original) isn't currently being developed, and afaik K2 is better. Industrial Revolution 1 and 2 are unavalaiable. Both are great starter overhaul mods, and can be a good way to get into modded games. Some other mods that you might want to check out are MSI II, Warptorio, Seablock, and Space Exploration. MSI II is an expansion of the base game, making it a bit more linear and storylined. Warptorio is vanilla factorio with a fun twist of base management. Seablock and Space Exploration are bigger overhauls, and aren't usually ones that beginners to mods jump into. But they're not the worst out there, and many people have played and enjoy them. I think you would like IR3 and SE the most, based on your preferences. But be sure to search around the factorio mod site to see what peaks your interest.

So - you finally decided to start a seablock run after playing around in vanilla factorio (or maybe some space exploration / K2 / AE / etc). You load up a new install of factorio, search the mod listing for seablock... and find 2 options: seablock, and seablock pack. Perhaps going by the latest update (seablock), or by just the name, you decide to select seablock - start the game... and its not quite the same as you expect (or perhaps you post some screenshots of your starter base online and notice all the comments of 'you got the wrong modpack!'). So let me clarify for you!

Found and fixed for the next version.

You should grab the seablock pack from the mod directory instead of just the seablock mod. It will have all the needed dependencies to get you started, to which you can add whatever QOL mods you wish.

Second this - dont just look at the base 'seablock' mod, but also grab the 'seablock pack' mod. The second provides all the necessary mods you should play with (including QOL mods like helmod and FNEI).

(Or you can just use a site like factoriolab or a mod like factory planner to do the math for you and have perfect ratios anyway. The only wrong way to play is whatever way you don't find fun.)

Use Factory Planner to figure this kind of stuff out. https://mods.factorio.com/mod/factoryplanner

SE has quite complex recpies, especially for space science and processing of the new ores. I would have stopped playing a long time ago if it hadn't been for planner mods like Factory Planner ( https://mods.factorio.com/mod/factoryplanner ). I found Helmod's interface to be rather complicated so I mostly use Factory Planner even though I keep both around (Helmod provides some additional options like planning your build around the amount of available ingredients or number of crafting machines). With the "matrix solver" feature, you can plan a factory layout that produces the amount of materials you need and takes care of most/all byproducts. This makes the process of planning fun instead of tedious and then putting it in action and watching your new factory section go brrrrrr as it produces a new shiny thing for you to enjoy feels very rewarding.

Using a planner like YAFC, Foreman, Helmod, and Factory Planner is highly recommended. Also, the following mods are recommended for a megabase needed to finish a high-multiplier game:

FactoryPlanner or Helmod - Helps designing production chains. Quite complex at start, but well worth it. Factory Planner is the newer and cleaner design.

Factory planner. This mod allows you to plan out the production before hand (makes making everything pretty way easier as you know how many machines are needed)

Secondarily, you could use a mod like Helmod and/or Factory Planner to help you figure out how to make items. These mods are better focused for chains - i.e. breaking down an item (e.g. a science pack) down into smaller parts (e.g. ores), but they can also serve the function of letting you know which machine to use for which recipe.

I personally use the Factory Planner mod because it has some nice in-game features like automatic blueprints from the calculation.