Best KSP version today: Old version with decent Mod Support or latest version

[ron1n1]

Hello People

I have finally bitten the bullet and decided that the 1000 hour career save game I was playing on 1.2.2 is only consuming my soul. I am going to update kerbal to a later version with fewer bugs and better mod support. I am having a dilemma though. Posters like ShadowZone dont seem to like the newer versions due to the "technical debt" issues and the very latest version (1.7) has very little mod support at the minute. A lot of my favourite mods seem to have skipped 1.6 entirely. I am leaning towards either using 1.6 or 1.5 but I would love to hear your opinions.
I MUST have Outer planets mods, KRASH And EPL and CPU performance/stability are important as I only have a humble i3 generation so if that was a factor in versions before, please let me know. I couldnt care less about vanilla features as mods usually trump them.

[Tonka Crash]

I have no idea what you mean by "technical debt" issues. Since 1.4 most mods compiled for 1.4 or later will work with the latest versions of KSP., no update needed. When mods break, they usually get fixed relatively quickly. This is with respect to mods using a .dll. Parts packs and module manager patch only mods without a .dll can work across an even wider range.

It's usually safe to assume mods are compatible unless you see problems and the forum thread is filling up with people claiming the mod is broken. There are exceptions: Kopernicus has a unique release for each KSP version and due to an API change KSP 1.7 did break a handful of mods like KAS, KPBS and WindTunnel which have since been updated for 1.7. Another thing to consider is that a lot of mod maintainers do little support for their mods on older KSP releases. If you aren't using the latest, don't expect fixes.

I'm running around 110 mods mostly installed through CKAN, of those:

• 42 for 1.7
• 41 for 1.6.1
• 3 for 1.6.0
• 2 for 1.5.1
• 6 for 1.4.5
• 2 for 1.3.0 (parts packs with no .dll)
• 12 with no KSP version restrictions.

The only mod I have that currently needs an update is Extraplanetary Launchpads. It's throwing errors due to changes with the latest releases of  KAS.

[klesh]

Dont believe other people’s hype.  Try it for yourself and decide. 

[razark]

5 hours ago, klesh said:

Try it for yourself...

So very much this!

If you have access to download any versions you want to try, you can.  Then, you can download whatever mods you want to try.  You can try old mods on a new game.  You can try new mods on an old game.  You can try whatever you want.  And it's an important thing to do, since no one knows what you want out of this game, except you.  There's so many different mods and combinations of mods that it's likely no two players have exactly the same game.  And if you screw up and install an incompatible version, you can remove it.

So go out there and try whatever you want.

[Zill4449]

On 5/4/2019 at 6:12 PM, Tonka Crash said:

I have no idea what you mean by "technical debt" issues. Since 1.4 most mods compiled for 1.4 or later will work with the latest versions of KSP., no update needed. When mods break, they usually get fixed relatively quickly. This is with respect to mods using a .dll. Parts packs and module manager patch only mods without a .dll can work across an even wider range.

It's usually safe to assume mods are compatible unless you see problems and the forum thread is filling up with people claiming the mod is broken. There are exceptions: Kopernicus has a unique release for each KSP version and due to an API change KSP 1.7 did break a handful of mods like KAS, KPBS and WindTunnel which have since been updated for 1.7. Another thing to consider is that a lot of mod maintainers do little support for their mods on older KSP releases. If you aren't using the latest, don't expect fixes.

I'm running around 110 mods mostly installed through CKAN, of those:

• 42 for 1.7
• 41 for 1.6.1
• 3 for 1.6.0
• 2 for 1.5.1
• 6 for 1.4.5
• 2 for 1.3.0 (parts packs with no .dll)
• 12 with no KSP version restrictions.

The only mod I have that currently needs an update is Extraplanetary Launchpads. It's throwing errors due to changes with the latest releases of  KAS.

Hey do you have a good mod list or can i find one somewhere? I know I can jsut scroll thru CKAN and pick up mods that look go to me but I have had trouble in the past trying to get a good set of mods that all play off each other or will run with one another. Also I seem to have issues with getting alot of mods that has similar features and part that make my parts list and contract list super long...

 

Would love a mod list if you could provide one or tell me somewhere else to look. Thanks

[Gargamel]

Moved to Add-on Discussion.

[Incarnation of Chaos]

The best version of any software is the version that supports the features you want; look at your modlist and see which ones are supported for 1.6.1/1.7; then ask yourself if that specific mod is worth running a older version. You'll be shocked how many mods you can trim when you really question why they're installed.

[Tonka Crash]

17 hours ago, Zill4449 said:

Hey do you have a good mod list or can i find one somewhere? I know I can jsut scroll thru CKAN and pick up mods that look go to me but I have had trouble in the past trying to get a good set of mods that all play off each other or will run with one another. Also I seem to have issues with getting alot of mods that has similar features and part that make my parts list and contract list super long...

 

Would love a mod list if you could provide one or tell me somewhere else to look. Thanks

When I started playing KSP, I did just scroll through CKAN and installed anything that seemed interesting. Over about a year I settled down to what I liked.

Mods are really personal preference. What I like and how I play may be very different than you. I prefer stock looking parts over total replacements of all assets or realism mods. I also heavily customize my install. I hate clutter, so I routinely cherry pick just a couple parts from a mod and delete the rest rather than keep parts I'll never use. I've also written a lot of patches to make my mods play together better for me.

Can't imagine playing without:

1. KIS & KAS makes EVA useful
2. Kerbal Alarm Clock
3. Kerbal Engineer Redux
4. MechJeb (Dev Branch)
5. USI Konstruction only for the Konstrution Ports, I delete everything else
6. Bon Voyage if you deal with rovers at all
7. Indicator Lights & it's community extensions

 

[Zill4449]

I would agree with most of those mods from when I did have aroun a 100+ mod list when i was heavy into KSP about 2 years ago. Since then I have gotten away from KSP and my game has "changed" been Delete or other wise just doesnt work right. Now I am trying to get back into KSP and looking for a more modist mod list but currently I cant get anything I want to run.... I have reverted to a 1.4 verson and most of the mods I want in CKAN for some reason wont install in a manner to run correctly. I have also tried the current 1.7.3?? I think it is version with CKAN and it doesn't seem to have most of the mods listed or available bc it say they are not compatible.

 

I can not find away around this to get back to an enjoyable version of KSP with building options, Life Support options, Unmanned before manned and Remote Tech, and I seemed to really Like SETI bundle.

[Tonka Crash]

5 minutes ago, Zill4449 said:

I think it is version with CKAN and it doesn't seem to have most of the mods listed or available bc it say they are not compatible.

 Have you set compatible versions in CKAN? I install most of my mods with CKAN and have very few problems with CKAN.

 

[Zill4449]

Yes I have and im currently as we speak reinstalling the current verson of KSP to try and just deal with what ever mods are listed as compatible with this version using CKAN. I know other night it was like only a couple hundred out of the some 2,000 on CKAN, That is there are only currently a couple hundred compatible with the current verison and several mod I am looking for are not listed as currently compatible. 

It kinda seems all the "Good Mods" or at atleast some of what I would call the mods that really improved the game are not being updated or maintained.... That is why I was gonna try and revert to version 1.4 but that didnt work ether.

[DStaal]

12 hours ago, Zill4449 said:

Yes I have and im currently as we speak reinstalling the current verson of KSP to try and just deal with what ever mods are listed as compatible with this version using CKAN. I know other night it was like only a couple hundred out of the some 2,000 on CKAN, That is there are only currently a couple hundred compatible with the current verison and several mod I am looking for are not listed as currently compatible. 

It kinda seems all the "Good Mods" or at atleast some of what I would call the mods that really improved the game are not being updated or maintained.... That is why I was gonna try and revert to version 1.4 but that didnt work ether.

What 'Good Mods' are you looking for?

[Tonka Crash]

13 hours ago, Zill4449 said:

Yes I have and im currently as we speak reinstalling the current verson of KSP to try and just deal with what ever mods are listed as compatible with this version using CKAN. I know other night it was like only a couple hundred out of the some 2,000 on CKAN, That is there are only currently a couple hundred compatible with the current verison and several mod I am looking for are not listed as currently compatible. 

It kinda seems all the "Good Mods" or at atleast some of what I would call the mods that really improved the game are not being updated or maintained.... That is why I was gonna try and revert to version 1.4 but that didnt work ether.

I think you missed the entire point of the post of mine you originally quoted. Just because CKAN doesn't list a mod as compatible doesn't mean it doesn't work. It doesn't really know. The version of the game engine KSP uses changed at 1.4 and has remained constant since then, so most mods compiled on earlier versions of KSP will continue to work without updates on newer releases of KSP. Every now and then something does change in a new release of KSP that breaks a mod, but users start screaming for help in the mod threads when that happens. And, most mod authors are pretty good about fixing these sorts of problems when they happen. 

I am on 1.7.3 with 108 mods installed through CKAN about half are explicitly listed as compatible with 1.7.3 or higher. I have CKAN set for 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, & 1.7 as compatible versions that show me 1079 compatible mods. I see no problems with the mods I choose to use, but there is no way to know without trying them out in the first place. If a mod ran on 1.4.5 it probably runs on 1.7.3. If it didn't work people would be complaining about it on the forums. If you are having problems have you asked about them on the forum?