The search for a specific type of mod.

[Specula]

One of the reasons I've resented a lot of mods in games like Minecraft, KSP, Skyrim, World of Warcraft and other really open to modding games is that many of the mods are either akin to cheating, are blatantly outright cheating (*cough*MechJebFTBHealium*cough*), or just cheapen the game compared to unmodded vanilla/stock and make it much, much easier to play than it would be with pure stock/vanilla gameplay or parts. I'm curious though... Can anyone suggest any good mods for KSP that add parts, dynamics or even new mechanics to the game that don't utterly cheapen the game, break it or take any challenge out of the game? (EG: Mods that add new dynamics or new sets of parts which offer different, but not better alternatives to regular stock)

[Legendary Emu]

AEIS Aerospace just recently updated to .21. It adds a ton of new probes and fuel tanks and engines and such things, without adding stupidly powerful engines things.

Another mod I find interesting is the Hooligan Labs airship mod, which adds blimps that build to colonize Jool itself. Might want to try one of these.

[UbioZur]

Remotetech will add you some nice challenge to the game. It's a satellite communication network mod. basically you can't control unmanned rockets if it's not in the area covered by the communication network.

B9 Aerospace have the reputation to be well balanced. It adds lot of parts.

Ferram Aerospace will add a more realistic aerodynimics to the game.

Chatterer will add some sound to the game, it's more for fun and imersion than anything else.

There are also a lot of weapon mods if you are into that.

[Specula]

Thanks for the suggestions both of you. Remotetech looks like just the thing I'm after, UbioZur. Making the game harder than it already is is -EXACTLY- my thing. Yes, I'm a masochist.

[User Unrelated]

My 3 favorite mods are:

KW Rocketry - simply adds more booster and tank choices to the game, (along with some other things that I may have forgotten about, or that have blended into what I believe to be "stock" parts) most notable are the 3m tanks and boosters (MASSIVE thrust, but big, and ridiculously heavy)

JARFR Tri-hex struts - adds a bunch of structural elements to the game, and a couple fuel and thrust solutions for the new form-factor. I love building stations and probes out of this stuff.

Kethane - adds a mineable fuel source that can be converted into many other types of fuel. It isn't easy getting that stuff!

none of those, I feel, "break" the game. I used to run a ton of mods, and I noticed how easy the game was getting, so I cut back.

Those are the 3 main mods that I run, alongside a couple more utilitarian mods, like one that adds more xenon engines, telemachus, and chatter.

Edited August 19, 2013 by User Unrelated

[Nuke]

i kinda like to think of it, in starcraft terms, of micro and macro. in the context of ksp micro would be doing everything yourself, in stock, or possibly only using mods that enhance this kind of gameplay, without doing everything for you. eventually when you have landed kerbals on every sphereoid in the kerbol system and returned them home safely, you really dont have much of anything to proove anymore. you download other mods like kethane and extra planetary launch pads to begin colonizing the kerbal system. at this point the game becomes tedious if you micro manage every aspect of your save. so then you bring in mech jeb to do all the stuff you already can do in your sleep, to speed things up, and this is akin to macro. i sometimes keep ksp running in the background so i can have mechjeb move resources into place, while i do other things, like pretending to do actual work and/or looking at lolcats.

Edited August 19, 2013 by Nuke