(...) but they are slightly tedious in the early game. Metal former makes it fine though.
What, no, the metal former makes everything MORE tedious. Especially with AE, I find it better to just waste iron making tons of hammers and cutters than using that slow machine that needs a bit way too many overclockers before getting anywhere near reliable.
I've given the new IC2 a try, but really, I just can't bother anymore (even after trying to make it more subjectively fun with Dartcraft's additions). The changes... well, they actually did succeed in bringing more life to it, but they were pretty much change for the sake of change and didn't add anything to the gameplay or the progression. The new set of machines is just an attempt to compete with TE (and it's still inferior) and in the end only adds more steps to the microcrafting party that this mod is. As for the good things, I guess I like how there's an actual reason to bother with nuclear power now, other than novelty -- as "OP" as it might sound, getting essentially free power after hours of running your reactor thanks to the whatstheirnames pellets is a nice thing.
The absolute worst thing, though, is the fact that for a mod that heavily punishes errors (hello there voltage), this mod has a serious lack of
up-to-date official documentation.
In the end, I think IC2 (sort of like BC) is pretty much just a relic of the past. I found interesting back when it was new and shiny for me, but after seeing nearly everything else get new features and/or better usability while it remained the same for so long, it grew to be... I don't know. Boring? Even with the 1.6 changes or additions, it's still basically the same mod under all the coatings of paint. I'm happy without it, I can do everything that I would use it for with alternatives that I find much more interesting, and I don't think I'll use it again anytime soon.
[/rant]