"Real-alike" Mod Suite

[jdub3350]

Just a little experiment to see if anyone else has a similar desired play-style- 

I often float back and forth between my RO/RP-0 install and my "Real-alike" install.  However I can't seem to ever quite get the feel of the non-RO install quite right, and end up continuing in RO/RP-0.  So my question for anyone who plays in a "real-alike" style is what have you found to work well?  Basically my goal is to feel like I'm flying mostly real rockets, but not necessarily be totally bound by reality (crystal clear definition, I know).  Bear in mind this post is mostly just a thought experiment and in no way a comment on any of the mentioned mods, the potential for customization and the community contributions have kept me glued to this game the last 2.5 years, so I'm always looking for ways to mix it up.  This is all for a career game, I find I'm too scatterbrained to play sandbox or science only. 

My "Real-alike" mods- 

Realism- RemoteTech, TACLS, RealFuels, DeadlyReEntry, RealHeat, RSS/KSCSwitcher, SMURFF

Tech Tree- UnmannedBeforeManned or plain CTT

Parts- SSTU, KW Rocketry, Procedural Parts/Fairings, ProbesPlus, Soviet Engines (don't seem to place right in CTT or UMBM, which I suppose is expected), DMagic Science, NearFuture/CryoEngines, CxAerospace, Kerbal Planetary Base Systems, SCANsat, Ven's SR, Real Scale Boosters

Quality of life type mods- MechJeb, KER, Part Commander, ForScience!, KJR, etc. 

 

Curious to hear if anyone has anything they would add/omit, or any other input.  I played the first year and a half or so without any real knowledge of the forums at all, and my enjoyment has only increased since finding them/becoming more active.  

Edited July 7, 2016 by jdub3350
forgot a few

[Van Disaster]

It's possible you're not happy with your install because you don't know what you're aiming for what's wrong with RO that you need another install? that'd be a place to start.

[jdub3350]

22 minutes ago, Van Disaster said:

It's possible you're not happy with your install because you don't know what you're aiming for what's wrong with RO that you need another install? that'd be a place to start.

If I had to narrow it down I probably would say I got so used to CTT/SetiCTT/UMBM when I was playing more stock that the RP-0 tree feels foreign and less fun to me.  Or better yet, if you think of it as a spectrum, with one end being stock/fun and the other being RO/full simulation....I can't seem to find a happy middle.  But I've definitely grown more drawn to the RO end.  

[regex]

If you don't find simulation to be "fun" (or think "simulation" and "fun" are mutually exclusive) then a full-blown RO/RP-0 install is probably never going to sit right with you.  RO/RP-0 will give you a very realistic experience, insofar as a computer game can approach "realism", from the engineering to planning to research to actual launch.  If you're looking for a bit more of a stock experience, try RO with something like 64K; the combination should provide a good middle ground of larger solar system with more stock-alike elements (shorter launches, less delta-V required to get places).  I'm not sure how career mode will pan out in that case but before RO was "a thing" i was playing 6.4x (the predecessor to 64K) with Real Fuels and stock parts packs, and it made for a fantastically gamey experience with some good realistic elements.

All that being said, I have so far found the RO/RP-0 experience to be the best that anything in KSP can offer.

[Norcalplanner]

Speaking for myself, I found that RSS with RO was just too much. Instead, I'm currently having a lot of fun with RSS and SMURFF. I've also decided to use stock career contracts (with some contract packs), but with funds bumped up to 250% to account for the larger rockets needed in RSS.

I've also decided that I'm not a fan of procedural parts, so I'm not using them. Instead, I've got most of NecroBones' and Nertea's mods installed. Somehow, being limited by a fixed (but still large) parts pallette just seems to get the creative juices flowing better for me.

[jdub3350]

14 minutes ago, regex said:

If you don't find simulation to be "fun" (or think "simulation" and "fun" are mutually exclusive) then a full-blown RO/RP-0 install is probably never going to sit right with you.  RO/RP-0 will give you a very realistic experience, insofar as a computer game can approach "realism", from the engineering to planning to research to actual launch.  If you're looking for a bit more of a stock experience, try RO with something like 64K; the combination should provide a good middle ground of larger solar system with more stock-alike elements (shorter launches, less delta-V required to get places).  I'm not sure how career mode will pan out in that case but before RO was "a thing" i was playing 6.4x (the predecessor to 64K) with Real Fuels and stock parts packs, and it made for a fantastically gamey experience with some good realistic elements.

All that being said, I have so far found the RO/RP-0 experience to be the best that anything in KSP can offer.

I find it to be fun in short bursts, but tend to get burnt out a bit more.  That being said, I think the first time I managed to get something into orbit in my RO/RP-0 install felt like the biggest achievement ever.  RSS has become a big staple for me, so I think that with Real Fuels and some parts packs is probably the way I'll go, it just needs some fine tuning.

12 minutes ago, Norcalplanner said:

Speaking for myself, I found that RSS with RO was just too much. Instead, I'm currently having a lot of fun with RSS and SMURFF. I've also decided to use stock career contracts (with some contract packs), but with funds bumped up to 250% to account for the larger rockets needed in RSS.

I've also decided that I'm not a fan of procedural parts, so I'm not using them. Instead, I've got most of NecroBones' and Nertea's mods installed. Somehow, being limited by a fixed (but still large) parts pallette just seems to get the creative juices flowing better for me.

This is the direction I'm trying to fine tune I think.  I played RSS with SMURFF and the NecroBones/Nertea packs for awhile, but then got used to procedural parts and Real Fuels playing RO, and have found it hard to go back.  I think i'm probably trying to span the gap between two elements that are too distinctly different.  I would like to have my cake and eat it too.  Or something like that.