Um, I'm not getting any new pearls from my oyster. I come log in, the oyster is open, I click on it, I go into monuments menu, I still only have 7 pearls.
I just realized the reason why the switching has gotten slower is not because my browser or machine slowed down, but because of the Mayan Totem. *derp*
It is always much cheaper to buy 2 of the same level than to increase the level. Increasing a level is 2.5 of the previous cost and it *accumulates*, so the total price of a level 2 is 3.5* one (although this diminishes), where it is 2* one for two of the same.
Fun fact if you put the feedstock production right next to the factory that uses it no roads are needed. There are some weirdnesses though when buildings are close, especially with power plants -- sometimes factories pull from certain power plants and ignore others even if it means sub-optimal power. Also some combinations, like a coal quarry next to a power plant, need to be "primed" with a road/warehouse/tunnel but once going they can be removed.
This is the minimum to generate a self-contained 1 fiberglass/sec:
17 Woodcutter -> 14 Charcoal + 14 Iron Ore -> 12 Iron; 13 Sand -> 9 Glass; 10 Coal + 12 Oil -> 7 Plastic + 10 Water -> 1 Pultrusion.
Energy production needed: 1,112,976 -- I did this with five solar panels: a 7, a 6, a 4, a 2, and a 1; and two hydros: a 9 and a 16.
I also set up a self-contained concrete production of 1 with 11 Stone, 6 Sand, 5 Water, powered by a 4 Hydro and a 9 windmill.
I did these with no pipes or cables except for connecting to the oil rig out of necessity. I did use roads, but by and large I connected resources via adjacency.
There's weirdness going on when you put multiple power plants next to multiple buildings, where sometimes the building will draw from the stronger plant and totally ignore the weaker one, even if by doing so results in less than 100% power. So some spacing was needed to avoid these quirks.
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Thanks for the report, this was fixed in the latest update :)