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KSP: Hard Mode

Captain Sierra

By Captain Sierra
in KSP1 Mods Discussions

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Which 'Hard Mode' mods do you use?  

2 members have voted

  1. 1. Which 'Hard Mode' mods do you use?

    • Ferram Aerospace Research (FAR)
      127
    • Deadly Reentry (optionally with heat shield packs)
      125
    • Ioncross Life support (optionally with supplemental mod parts)
      34
    • TAC Life support system (brand new
      74
    • RemoteTech satellite relay system (or possibly RemoteTech 2)
      99
    • Other (please specify in thread)
      44

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Ralathon

Ralathon

Posted
Posted
I would use remote-tech if it did not have delays in signals. I know it is more realistic, but the fun for me is setting up a stable communications satellite network, not having to pilot probes differently.

I had the same problem with it, especially during landings. I fixed it by simply cranking up the speed of light by a factor 1000 in the config file, made the delay so small you didn't even notice it. Once RT2 is a bit more stable I'll stick with the normal speed of light and use the build in computer to write descent algorithms however.

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KerbMav

KerbMav

Posted
Posted

Ferram Aerospace Research (FAR)

Trying at the moment - first thing I noticed: gravity turn resists me ... but seems good so FAR ... *tshing-bom*

Deadly Reentry (optionally with heat shield packs)

Not sure - would like some difficulty sliders, setting a modifier to resistance or something ... but giving it a try soon

Ioncross Life support (optionally with supplemental mod parts)

TAC Life support system (brand new

will probably never use them - basically add parts as far as I read into these - as long as a craft has power there is life support I think - and I am not a big fan of supply runs

RemoteTech satellite relay system (or possibly RemoteTech 2)

without delay maybe just for the fun of it in a safe once ... but not really ... well ... not sure

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Lexif

Lexif

Posted
Posted
I would use remote-tech if it did not have delays in signals. I know it is more realistic, but the fun for me is setting up a stable communications satellite network, not having to pilot probes differently.

In the old version (1), you could adjust the speed of light in a config file. I don't know about v2. I increased it a lot because there was just no way to land a probe on, say, Eeloo, and needing a signal connection provided enough of a challenge to me.

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Ferrit

Ferrit

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Posted

As a self imposed thing all my Kerballed craft will have a LES or ejection system, everything possible is done to preserve crew life. Once TAC Life Support is more complete I'll be adding that to my standard mods (FAR and DRE are essentials for me). Been in two minds about RemoteTech for a while, the added realism would be welcome but not sure my planning up to scratch for it.

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theflyingfish

theflyingfish

Posted
Posted

I have grown so used to FAR that I cannot play KSP without it. Everything makes sense with FAR. I actually have to think about my aircraft design!

And re-entry is MUCH more realistic with FAR installed. I hate how in stock KSP the higher altitudes have no air resistance, but your craft suddenly "hits a brick wall" once it gets below 10,000 m. With FAR there is much less resistance at low altitudes, so your craft carries a lot more speed into the lower altitudes. You have to be careful with your re-entry profile or else the pod will be going too fast when the parachute deploys, tearing your ship apart (giving drogue chutes a purpose!)

There are various small things, too, like the raycast shielding of parts not exposed to the airstream, useful nosecones, etc. etc. It just makes KSP a much more nuanced game, and in my opinion makes spaceplanes much more effective.

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  • 3 months later...
Moach

Moach

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Posted

Why isn't Engine Ignitor in the list? - It's a whole new thing when you realize that you can't actually just keep relighting those engines forever... :rolleyes:

FAR - might make it a bit easier really... it does correct the massive amounts of drag from the stock lower atmosphere, so you get more stuff up to orbit with less dV wasted

I also use DR and that new LifeSupport plugin that is not IonCross nor TAC, tho I have it tweaked so that interplanetary trips don't require more O2 than fuel being packed aboard... still makes planning for those long trips a LOT more critical - even with the heavy hardware

what else? I think i'm forgetting one more here... ah well, it'll come back to me eventually :P

cheers!

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Ralathon

Ralathon

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Why isn't Engine Ignitor in the list? - It's a whole new thing when you realize that you can't actually just keep relighting those engines forever... :rolleyes:

FAR - might make it a bit easier really... it does correct the massive amounts of drag from the stock lower atmosphere, so you get more stuff up to orbit with less dV wasted

I also use DR and that new LifeSupport plugin that is not IonCross nor TAC, tho I have it tweaked so that interplanetary trips don't require more O2 than fuel being packed aboard... still makes planning for those long trips a LOT more critical - even with the heavy hardware

what else? I think i'm forgetting one more here... ah well, it'll come back to me eventually :P

cheers!

Engine ignitor isn't there because this thread was necrod from late august, a time predating engine ignitor.

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  • 3 months later...
RedPine

RedPine

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Posted

It lives! IT LIVES! THE THREAD IS ALIVE!

Deadly Re-entry. I can't play without it anymore, simply dropping a craft of arbitrary shape into an arbitrarily steep angle of descent feels like cheating now.

TAC Life Support. Rescuing immortal kerbals from obscure orbits is entertaining, but not as stressful as trying to save them on a time limit.

Final Frontier. Gives me a reason to try to keep my Kerbals alive. Wouldn't want to lose the very first Kerbonaut to land on Minmus would we?

I plan on adding Remotech and FAR once .24 is released. FAR makes Deadly Reentry deadlier, and Remotech makes it harder to rescue suffocating TAC Life Support kerbals with unmanned probes. As a special treat separate from my main save, I plan to add: Chatterer, FirstPersonEVA,and RasterPropMonitor for the ultimate first-kerbal-perspective challenge.

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John FX

John FX

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I played with RT until I had a system wide collection of communication satellites meaning wherever I was I did not lose signal.

Then I deleted RT and played as though it was still there because there meant there was no difference between RT and stock at that point.

I looked at the life support mods but from what I can gather if you just add a few parts and some mass to your craft it works out the same as stock there too.

I would say things like Stupid_Chris`s realchutes (not exactly a difficulty mod though) where you have a limited number of packed chutes or engine ignitor limiting the number of times you can fire an engine make things more interesting than some of the `hard mode` mods I have tried.

I`ll be interested if RT gets a hook with RPM and MJ. The `control room` mod for RPM giving an `IVA` for unmanned probes looks very interesting.

I currently re-enter from orbit to a 39km Pe which means my craft don`t suffer more than about 2-3G on re-entry now anyway. I`m not sure DR or FAR would enhance my gameplay. I`ve been told the rockets I build already work fine with FAR so I`m not sure I want to get to orbit any easier.

I set my chutes to predeploy at about 10km once I am subsonic and deploy at 500m and have numbers on them that mean I get slowed down quite gradually by air resistance mostly and the predeployment is only for attitude control.

I may try FAR as so many people say it is good but I`m suffering from too many mods as it is. A lot of them just for `pretty` like exhaust FX, clouds etc

TBH I don`t run many mods anymore that `do stuff` like FAR or KSP Interstellar. I like mods like RasterPropMonitors that enhance the stock game (A LOT!) or procedural fairings that make stuff pretty but don`t OP stock parts or unbalance the game.

I used to be a big fan of engine packs, part packs, anything I could find but then I suffered mod fatigue and I`m heading for `augmented stock` it seems now with an aim to get some of the mods I see as essential to be part of stock. Realchutes for example or procedural fairings. Things that don`t alter the game too much but add a lot to gameplay. The ability to make custom fuel tanks and the decouplers to go between them.

It would be nice even for stock to have RT, FAR and DR built in as reality options which could be turned on and off in gameplay settings depending on your ability. (signal on/off, signal delay on/off, Atmosphere gradient on/off, heat effects on/off)

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WaveFunctionP

WaveFunctionP

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Posted
I played with RT until I had a system wide collection of communication satellites meaning wherever I was I did not lose signal.

Then I deleted RT and played as though it was still there because there meant there was no difference between RT and stock at that point.

I looked at the life support mods but from what I can gather if you just add a few parts and some mass to your craft it works out the same as stock there too.

I would say things like Stupid_Chris`s realchutes (not exactly a difficulty mod though) where you have a limited number of packed chutes or engine ignitor limiting the number of times you can fire an engine make things more interesting than some of the `hard mode` mods I have tried.

I`ll be interested if RT gets a hook with RPM and MJ. The `control room` mod for RPM giving an `IVA` for unmanned probes looks very interesting.

I currently re-enter from orbit to a 39km Pe which means my craft don`t suffer more than about 2-3G on re-entry now anyway. I`m not sure DR or FAR would enhance my gameplay. I`ve been told the rockets I build already work fine with FAR so I`m not sure I want to get to orbit any easier.

I set my chutes to predeploy at about 10km once I am subsonic and deploy at 500m and have numbers on them that mean I get slowed down quite gradually by air resistance mostly and the predeployment is only for attitude control.

I may try FAR as so many people say it is good but I`m suffering from too many mods as it is. A lot of them just for `pretty` like exhaust FX, clouds etc

TBH I don`t run many mods anymore that `do stuff` like FAR or KSP Interstellar. I like mods like RasterPropMonitors that enhance the stock game (A LOT!) or procedural fairings that make stuff pretty but don`t OP stock parts or unbalance the game.

I used to be a big fan of engine packs, part packs, anything I could find but then I suffered mod fatigue and I`m heading for `augmented stock` it seems now with an aim to get some of the mods I see as essential to be part of stock. Realchutes for example or procedural fairings. Things that don`t alter the game too much but add a lot to gameplay. The ability to make custom fuel tanks and the decouplers to go between them.

It would be nice even for stock to have RT, FAR and DR built in as reality options which could be turned on and off in gameplay settings depending on your ability. (signal on/off, signal delay on/off, Atmosphere gradient on/off, heat effects on/off)

I don't play with any of those. I've played mostly only with stocklike mods, I do use the stock rebalance now, and I've dropped a lot of parts mods. I do play interstellar as I like it's angle of deeper progression, but I run a custom version that I'm tweaking and it's mostly why I still find it fun. I don't go for realism so much as just wacky fun, so I tend towards those.

I tried RT, but it was just tedium, same with scansat, though it was at least useful. I'm somewhat annoyed by kspi power network limitations for similar reasons, but I hardly use the networks on nay playthroughs now. I don't use far, because I don't find planes that useful in the game. And deadly reentry just makes one do more calculations and add some parts to ships. Since there is no way to simulate a reentry in-game, you just end up going to a website or doing some math, or quicksaving. Not really my style of fun.

Essentials right now are: (custom) kspi, stock rebalance, realchutes (so much better), For Science! (mod I'm developing), mechjeb (for all sorts of reasons), and the boulderco stuff for more pretties and performance.

various non-essentials are useability stuff like custom navballs, indicators, toolbar, editor extensions, ship manifest, kac, resource window, and lots of stockalike parts I really don't need.

I don't like using so many mods, especially part mods. (.5 let me get rid of KW) But it's very hard to get away from the non-parts stuff. Thankfully, they don't tend to bog the game down much.

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R0cketC0der

R0cketC0der

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I'm currently using all of the recommended and required mods for realism overhaul, except for remotetech. I haven't touched remotetech yet because of its buggy state right now and the fact that the 0.24 update will break backwards compatibility. I'm more excited about it being finally updated than about the actual features of .24(although those will be awesome, too).

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technion

technion

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I found TAC added a very interesting element to short missions like Kerbin's moons and Duna.

By the time you wanted to haul five Kerbals to Jool however, half the rocket's mass is food. And you find yourself saying "launch windows be damned" and spending tonnes of dv trying to get back as fast as you can before you run out of it.

I'm playing with DRE and FAR. The general reviews that DRE isn't too significant depends where you're going. MOST missions, I haven't found it to be a huge impact. However:

* Spending 2km/s+ of dv trying to get captured at Jool because you can't aerobrake the whole way means hauling a lot more out there

* Trying to land anything on Eve capable of returning is all forms of difficult

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