I wouldn't recommend IR3 to a new player. It's significantly more difficult than the base game - there are a lot more intermediate products involved in making almost everything, the steam phase is a wacky layout puzzle, and it's got some mechanics like ore washing which require circuit controls.

It's a neat mod which I enjoyed playing (and I wish it were playable in 2.0!), but it's aimed at experienced players. Someone with only a few hours in the game will hit a wall pretty quickly.