Okay, not entirely true. Technically, the most recent update of Component Compression is still on the workshop, and will remain there until such a time as I have reason to delete it. But I am no longer maintaining that version of the mod, and have moved on to the vastly improved MaCo. Enjoy!

When you start up a new game, choosing whether or not to enable research progression will impact how quickly you can start using this mod. If it isn't enabled, move on to the next paragraph. If it is, you'll only be able to start using this mod after you have built a Jump Drive. Return to this guide after you have, or read on to get a look ahead.

Once you have access to the first block in the mod, you can find it in the "Compressed Devices" tab in the Block Menu, attached to the X004 Assembler. You'll have to scroll through a few things, but it's pretty straightforward once you know where everything is. The first block you need to place is a "Dimensional Compressor Tier 1." In addition to the components you'd need for an ordinary assembler, you'll also need 10 "Dimensional Superconductors" These require platinum, so be sure you have at least 1 liter handy.

Alright, the first block is placed and you're ready to start upgrading. The Tier 1 DC is a special kind of Assembler. Instead of taking refined ingots and converting them into components, it takes refined ingots, and compresses them into a new more effective version which is needed to produce any of the compressed components in this tier.

Every ingot used by this mod requires 8 of the ingots of the previous tier to craft 1. This cascades into ever increasing costs the higher you go.

Once you've created some compressed ingots, you can find the new components in any full sized assembler, and the new blocks as well.

Alright, you have access to all those X004 blocks, but what if you need something more powerful and you have the resources to spend? In order to build the Tier 2 DC, you'll need Tier 2 parts from Tier 2 ingots. You can easily find the Tier 2 DC in the large block list on any full sized assembler, which will automatically start building the necessary components, but remember, you'll need Tier 2 ingots instead of Tier 1.

Once you've upgraded to Tier 2, upgrading beyond that is just more of the same. Use the previous DC to make materials for the one you want. You'll need to keep each one in the line, as you need to ladder your way up the material chain to make higher tiered materials.

This is where I'll put any notable questions I get asked, along with accompanying answers.

Q: "Can I break this mod down into smaller pieces for people who want to use different mods that overlap the function of this one?"

A: In short, yes. But I won't unless there's a very compelling reason to. After giving this a bit of thought, I've decided that with 3 versions of this mod already on the workshop, I don't want to confuse anyone. If someone else wants to do it, I don't care. I honestly don't even need credit. This mod is just a collection of very time consuming SBC edits.

Q: "Can you do X about the GUI?"

A: Maybe. Keep in mind that Space Engineers has a lot of hard coded stuff that I can't do anything about without an amount of work exceeding my patience. If the problem you have with the interface is purely cosmetic, rest assured that it probably annoys me just as much, and that I've already either implemented the best solution, or there wasn't one. If you're having an actual problem like there's a block missing or something similar is actually impacting playability, leave a comment and I'll fix whatever I can as soon as I can.

Q: "I think this value is wrong, can you correct it?"

A: YES. PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT ANY VALUES YOU THINK ARE WRONG. Yell jokes aside, I built most of this mod in the throws of a terrible cold working off tiny amounts of fitful miserable sleep, there's bound to be a few errors that I missed. I already found a few that I corrected as I worked to finish the mod.