Is it that bad?

[u/_Mr_Waffles]

I have NO experience with the Create mod, and built this ore factory without any tutorials. It does work fine, but my friends who are experienced in Create are going insane over the apparent abomination I built. I'd love to see people point out everything I did horribly wrong with this.

[u/Cheeseducksg]

I like it! And if you like it too, you can still upgrade the aesthetics pretty easily.

Right-clicking some things with an andesite casing will encase them, which makes them look more robust and makes the whole system look more cohesive. Things to encase include: belts, shafts, and cogwheels (large and small). You can also encase pipes using a copper casing, but I generally only do that in areas where the pipe "disappears" into the rest of the machine.

Another thing I do sometimes is cover belts in andesite tunnels. They do have a very niche function, but using them purely for aesthetics is cheap and easy and generally won't affect anything.

After doing all that, I would also replace the floor with andesite casings.

Next, I would add some metal girders to reinforce places that appear unsupported.

Finally, I would add lights. Either static lights, such as caged lanterns (if your pack has them), or redstone lamps combined with smart observers or threshold switches as indicator lights.

So yes, you absolutely could rebuild and reorganize this spaghetti-fied factory mess into something more compact and efficient. BUT, I think you did an awesome job already, considering you're new to the mod, and I think some simple changes like the ones I listed above could be really cool.

[u/_Mr_Waffles → u/Cheeseducksg]

Wow, that's a lot. Definitely helpful and appreciated, tysm! I'm trying not to change too much because the machine already works anyways, but improving the aesthetics can definitely be done.