my thoughts are no, I have tried this with my play style and all it has done is maybe get me through 2-3 more cycles than I would have otherwise, if anything its encouraged me to plan out more and think before expanding, as opposed to my normal "must mine metal since im low"

that's kinda huge imo 2-3 cycles is the difference between a colony wipe or not

I guess it depends on whether you tend to wipe in the first few cycles or not. If you're the sort to have O2 set up ASAP, then this has minimal effect. If you like to cut things close, get them just in time, then this mod could make the start much easier. Just depends on your playstyle.