(Request) Multiplayer Modpack Suggestions

[Suedocode]

Another mod suggestion request...

A couple of friends and I just bought KSP, and we are absolutely loving it.  We played with some mods, and it was awesome.  Then we discovered CKAN, and it was amazing.  Now we read about DMP, and we are all very interested.  Most of my mods are QoL (Kerbel Engineer Redux, BetterBurnTime) and graphics (SVE, scatter), but only a few actual gameplay additions (SCANsat, KSPX).

We are trying to decide on a good modpack for our multiplayer server that will keep us busy for a while, but it's hard to figure out which mods are themed together, and which mods are even compatible together.  I've read a couple forum posts (1, 2), but their requests seem a bit more tame than what we're looking for.  Here's a list of some stuff we are requesting:

1. Deep and wide tech tree
2. Reasonable and balanced science opportunities to fill out the tree
3. Kerbal life-support mechanics
4. Space Stations
5. Resource management
6. Lots of places to explore

We have pretty much decided on using Engineering Tech Tree (ETT) over Community Tech Tree (CTT) solely because it looks way bigger, complex, and has a much larger supported mods list on the forum page.  Here are the gameplay mods that we've selected based on theme, ETT support, and 1.1 support (it's a subset of ETT's list, and does not include QoL like KER).  We want to stick to the Kerbal theme, so no NASA or too-much-realism stuff.

1. Behemoth Aerospace Engineering
2. DMagic Orbital Science
3. FireSpitter
4. KWRocketry
5. ScanSat
6. Universal Storage
7. USI Life Support
8. Lithobrake Exploration Technologies
9. KSP Interstellar Extended (not on CKAN?)

So the incessant questions that I'm sure the forums have answered multiple times, but hopefully this is a bit different since it is DMP, ETT, and 1.1 centric.

1. What happens if we include mods that are not on the ETT supported mods list?  Are they just not included in the nodes, and thus unattainable?  I can't find any 1.1 Station mods on the ETT list.  I was verifying 1.1 compatibility with CKAN, but it turns out CKAN doesn't necessarily have all the up-to-date mods like KSP-IE.  As such, I may have missed some.
2. Similar to (1), USI Life Support looks great, but will ETT let me include USI Kolonization as well?
3. I haven't gotten past 100 science nodes in vanilla yet, so excuse the ignorance.  Is Kethane the only way to get resource management stuff, or is that additions to the vanilla game?  While Kethane is on ETT's list, it doesn't look like it's updated to 1.1 yet.
4. RemoteTech was a bit hardcore sounding for me (namely communication delays).  Is there a softcore version that requires the network, but nixes the comm delay?
5. Are there any more technology mods I should grab to compliment KSP-IE's deep space exploration?

Finally, and most importantly:

1. Is DMP okay with all of this?  I think I remember reading some stuff about warp rules and other syncing behavior.
2. Is DMP a headless server/client setup?  Can I run it on a minimal Azure server, or does it need to be a decent computer?  Is it actually computing any physics, or just handling network syncs?

Edited April 22, 2016 by Suedocode
Grammar, spelling

[Streetwind]

3 hours ago, Suedocode said:

What happens if we include mods that are on the ETT supported mods list?

Don't you mean "not" on the supported mods list?

But yes, such mods would be unattainable, unless ETT specifically lets the stock nodes live (and just moves them around). I can't comment on what, because I've never used ETT. So this question is best asked to the author.

The answer to question 2 goes right along those lines, too. Either it's supported, or it's not; and in the latter case, you need to find out if it works at all.

Question 3: Stock KSP has its own resource scanning and mining mechanic nowadays; but it only comes towards the end of the tech tree.

Question 4: RemoteTech itself can be set to run without comms delay.

Question 5, I can't say, I've not played with KSP Interstellar. It's a fairly large mod with a lot of parts and unique mechanics, though.

 

As for DarkMultiPlayer: IIRC, it's merely a sync relay. Your client calculates everything, based on the sync data it receives from DMP.

Mod support is always a big questionmark. I know for a fact that DMP is allergic to things that revert to previous game states. Something like Kerbal Contruction Time will run fine only as long as none of your players ever touches the simulation button. But apart from that? It's all up in the air. DMP is a bit buggy even in stock (due to forcing the game to do something it was never built for), so don't expect smooth sailing with mods even if the mods themselves don't conflict with DMP's mechanics.

[Suedocode]

I dug through ETT's forum and found this quote.  Looks like I can include CTT specifically for USI Kolonization nodes.  I may need to get a few more mods with science opportunities to unlock everything though...

FinalPantasy said:

Appologies - but what happens with not yet integrated mods. Are they just inserted with their standard nodes?

Yes. They show up in their stock or CTT nodes. Can be a bit odd depending on the node.

It looks like DMP still doesn't allow science sharing though, so this will probably end up being pretty difficult...

[Probus]

I'm in DMP IRC most of the time if you have any questions.  Right now I'm just adding mods as best as I can for people who ask.  Really need someone to overhaul the aviation part of ETT if you are planning on using that heavily.

The 9 mods you listed are in there already.  May not be to the latest rev of the mod.

[Suedocode]

@Probus Your tree looks amazing and I can't wait to get home and try it.  I noticed that there might be some stuff missing in the list on the main forum page, like USI Kolonization.  After reading through the whole thing, I found:

On 9/8/2015 at 6:30 PM, Probus said:

On 2/8/2016 at 5:21 AM, Probus said:

Is there a plan to implement the USI kolonization or station science to the right nodes?

Yes. Both of them were in there ages ago.  I have not updated them in a while.  I will give them a quick pass and see what needs to be done to get them up to date.

However USI Kolonization does not show up in the master list.  Is there a list more up-to-date that I should refer to instead?  (I haven't checked what CKAN suggests.  Perhaps that would be a better list since it is read directly from your mod)

 

EDIT: Formatting is way too hard, but the inner quote should say " On 2/8/2016 at 4:06 AM, Adik3714 said: ".  I'm not even sure why that got messed up...

Edited April 22, 2016 by Suedocode