Need a few tips as I return to KSP after years away

[GungaDin]

I'm returning to KPS after a few years away. I was really into it when it first came out and reached a point where I could actually rendezvous (but never quite learned to dock).

Anyway I would appreciate some advice on getting set up again. My goal is to set things up so that I can do a career with things set up as realistic as possible in terms of actual planet names and historic parts.

1 - What mods would you recommend to recreate our solar system names.

2 - I have the "making History' expansion installed but how do I got about using those parts from within a career? (It's OK to mix in standard Kerbal parts as long as I can also use a Gemini capsule if you see what I mean.)

3 - What other navigation, construction or just cool mods would you recommend?

4 - Is there a co-op aspect to the game now and if so how is that employed?

Thanks for any answers and give me a wide berth as a sally forth!

[Superfluous J]

2 minutes ago, GungaDin said:

I'm returning to KPS after a few years away. I was really into it when it first came out and reached a point where I could actually rendezvous (but never quite learned to dock).

Welcome back!

 

2 minutes ago, GungaDin said:

1 - What mods would you recommend to recreate our solar system names.

The mod you're looking for is Kopernicus, and with it Real Solar System if you want real sizes, or Stock Sized Real Solar System if you want the smaller planets, so Earth is roughly the size of Kerbin. It's a bit of a rabbit hole though so prepare to do a lot of reading, installing, testing, uninstalling, reinstalling, and whatnot of various mods and configs.

2 minutes ago, GungaDin said:

2 - I have the "making History' expansion installed but how do I got about using those parts from within a career? (It's OK to mix in standard Kerbal parts as long as I can also use a Gemini capsule if you see what I mean.)

Nope they'll just show up in the appropriate tech tree nodes, or just show up in the VAB if you're in sandbox.

2 minutes ago, GungaDin said:

3 - What other navigation, construction or just cool mods would you recommend?

There are hundreds. I made this half-jokingly years ago but it's also a pretty good list of all the mods you're likely to get recommended.

 

KSP MOD BINGO

B	I	N	G	O
Contract Configurator	Konstruction	Kerbal Joint Reinforcement	Waypoint Manager	Visual Enhancements (Any)
Any Kopernicus Packs (inc. Realism Overhaul)	Any Fuel Balance / Pump	Real Solar System	Extraplanetary Launchpads	Precise Node / Maneuver
Kerbal Attachment / Inventory System	Docking Port Alignment Indicator	FREE SPACE (ModuleManager)	Strategia	RCS Build Aid
Kerbal Engineer Redux	Transfer Window Planner	MechJeb	Kerbal Alarm Clock	Procedural Anything
Distant Object Enhancement	Life Support (Any)	Editor Extensions	Anything ending in -atterer	Better Burn Time

 

2 minutes ago, GungaDin said:

4 - Is there a co-op aspect to the game now and if so how is that employed?

There's a mod called Dark Multiplayer and I even saw activity on it this week, saying they had it working in 1.7. I have no experience with it though so won't say more.

 

[fruitsbar]

I came back after a few years too. I've been playing it for a few months now, trying to get used to all the new stuff ;p

Last time I recall playing was back in 2016.

[Snark]

On 4/20/2019 at 7:48 PM, GungaDin said:

What other navigation, construction or just cool mods would you recommend?

Lots of good advice from 5thHorseman above.    One other suggestion I might make... depending on how long you've been away, the game may have changed quite a bit.  So you might want to consider playing stock for a little while, just to familiarize yourself with what the "base" looks like before jazzing it up with mods.  Major new things added to the game in recent years (for varying definitions of "recent"):

• KSP 1.0 was a hugely transformative event-- it added a completely new aerodynamics model, plus re-entry heating.  Playing post-1.0 KSP is almost like a completely different experience from pre-1.0 KSP, you nearly need to learn rocket design all over again. 
• KSP 1.2 added CommNet, which (depending on what degree of "realism" / difficulty you set it to) can add a whole new dimension to the game.

There are also lots of little "quality of life" things, but those are probably the two biggest changes in terms of actual gameplay, so if your last KSPing was before either of those, it would be worth taking some time to familiarize yourself with them.

[StrandedonEarth]

Welcome back!

lots of good advice here already, and I also recommend playing basically stock. But the two quality-of-life mods I found I really wanted when trying to play stock are Kerbal Alarm Clock and Navball Docking Alignment Indicator (makes docking much easier without taking up screen space)

BetterBurnTime is also handy

[Guest]

I wouldn't do a career first... I would recommend science though

[Just Jim]

Already some great advice. Not much I can really add, other than to say welcome back!