[qwertyuiop924]

Thanks for the comprehensive answer! As a fan of Zachtronics games, This definitely sounds like something I might like.

>so much of modern modded minecraft consists of building a single pipe and attaching appropriate outlets to it (AE2 being one of the worst offenders).

That is one of the things I really hate about AE. It just sucks all the fun out of things, as does any other mod that makes things too easy (cough cough EE2 cough cough). I miss being able to leak items, screwing up your machines because you needed a stepup/stepdown on your power supply, and blowing your reactor core. AE is like liquid anti-fun. And I really miss RP2...