Fraking

[Rake]

by the time i get fracking i'll have run out of the other ore i need, got everything i need except air, which im told i need a blast furnace, which is probably another 2 hours of research. This is getting way out of hand :(

[Fenix]

I had used up 2 Ignium nodes, 2 Xenoferrite node and 1 Technum node by the time I unlocked fracking,... I didn't have to go that far to get more...

[Silvertongued Devil]

You don't need a blast furnace in order to get fracking. You need the hot air stove. I could've sworn it was a separate tech - but either way, you can just enjoy the game more by creating a more extended mine in whatever veins you need.

Explosives are loads of fun and make it super fast, along with elevators, so I enjoyed the expansion, tbh. <_<;

[Fenix]

Originally posted by Silvertongued Devil:

You don't need a blast furnace in order to get fracking.

You have to unlock the Blast Furnace Research, to get the Air Blower,

[Silvertongued Devil]

Oh? I could've sworn it was a separate thing. My bad.

[Reformatio]

Originally posted by Rake:

by the time i get fracking i'll have run out of the other ore i need, got everything i need except air, which im told i need a blast furnace, which is probably another 2 hours of research. This is getting way out of hand :(

Might be you play it wrong or have a wrong understanding of the game.
Please share some more information because while fracking is deep in the tree you should be able to reach it without tapping too many nodes.

On a normal run a player might run out of the first 1-2 close Xenoferrite nodes near your starting area.
Unfortunately by this point you won't have cargo ships yet.
You may also have to dig / blast a deep hole to reach it (the elevator helps with that)
What I did is using the ore scanner to find some nodes further away from my base and build a long conveyor line to that location.

[GD]

What's the problem here? The map is endless. Just move out further there are always more nodes. Worst case you have to move some ore manually until you made enough for more belts to automate it.