It is a fun pack, but can be "too easy" for some. But with some of the mods, you can create new systems... that you cant in others. Moo fluids, magical crops and some other really strong mods make the pack fun and its nice if you need a break from the hard packs.
They aren't though... If you are having an issue making the pipes you need to use stone slabs where NEI has metals. The it will look like nothing was crafted, but if you click the output you will get your pipes. This has been changed in the latest push, NEI is now correct!