Bought this today, built something in peaceful mode.
First impression: this game is awesome, and building the whole base in a way that works is rewarding.
Second impression: peaceful mode quickly gets boring, I'll try non-peaceful next.
Third: I have little to no idea what I'm doing most of the time.
Here is my base:
Disregard the french notes.
The copper and iron come from opposite sides and meet in the middle. They are fed in the furnaces on the middle left, with the coal coming in on a separate lane and picked up with red inserters.
Iron and copper plates then go on a merry-go-round on the f***ing mess of an automated factory and feed the whole thing before being put in chests.
The factories pick the plates on the right belt and put the products on the left belt (plates use both sides of the tight belt to avoid clutter). Advanced factories then pick from both lanes to make their own products, and it all end in chests and beakers. Not the most efficient thing ever but it works.
I am however quite proud of the steel foundry. Only 12 tiles thick from raw iron to steel plates, and extendible ad infinitum. My most clever use of red and yellow inserters yet.
You can also spot a tentative of oil refinery, from which I managed to extract flamethrower fuel (tested on the forest nearby and some gribleys on the eastern side of the lake).