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KSP needs a lazy newb pack.


Pbhead

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trying to install all the mods that scott manley is using, having lots of problems.

Dwarf fortress has this thing called "the lazy newb pack" which, shoves a lot of things together in a easy way.

It would sure be nice if the ksp modders could make something similar.

Maybe something with a nice installer, and checkboxes for different mod configurations...

/wishful thinking.

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I think this is something we are more likely to see after stable client releases of the game (1.0 and up). Do to they frequent updates required to keep up with the vanilla games dev cycle, and the unknown time frame until feature complete vanilla, it is unlikely. The amount of time spent collaborating would be obscene I imagine.

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There is also a general distaste it seems for the mod packs, I proposed the idea not too long ago and I didn't get much in the way of welcome reception to the idea. Oddly enough the mod authors I spoke with seemed to take a particular dislike to it.

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they take a dislike to it because it means giving up control, others taking their work and running with it, getting all the credit.

I see that time and again in games where there are mod packs, the people who put the packs together get the praise for the mods, the mod authors get called names and get all the nasty emails and ims (down to in some cases death threats, I've had those myself, oh joy) in thanks for making something that's got a but or isn't perfectly to someone's liking (one mod for one game the author got death threats because the slope of a cockpit roof was 0.1% different from what a user had measured using a ruler pressed against his screen in gimp on a photo of the aircraft that had stood model for the mod).

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I can only speak for myself, but I pretty much loathe mod packs.

1. As jwenting rightfully points out, the "packer" generally gets all the credit, regardless of their intentions. I've never received death threats myself but I've only modded two games.

2. Bug reports get scattered all over the place when mod packs get popular and that is a terrible thing.

3. The pace of development around here makes mod packs pretty poor choices because they must be constantly updated, which means the mod pack must be constantly downloaded.

4. There are many different ideas on how things should be done in this community and having an "outsider" make choices for your users is insulting.

LNP at least serves a decent purpose for DF by collecting community bug fixes into one place, but it also does some of the above. Also, and this is just my opinion, but the last thing we need around here are "lazy newbs"; play stock for a version and get a feel for the game before loading it up with mods.

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I'll add some more issues with mod packs:

1. A mod included in a pack has a serious bug; the mod author pushes an update to fix the bug, but the "packer" doesn't update the pack; people continue to suffer from the bug and continue to send bug reports, complaints, etc. to the mod author.

2. The "packer" loses interest in maintaining the mod pack, but leaves the download up; all of the mod authors have to deal with more and more complaints from users suffering compatibility issues because they downloaded an out-of-date pack.

3. Users are less focused on the mods as individual elements and are more focused on the pack as a whole; this means they are less likely to keep track of all of their mods and what versions those mods are, meaning that trying to provide support for them will be more difficult, since they will be less likely to provide enough info for a diagnosis.

Really, the issues with mod packs come down to the fact that for a mod author, it turns into more complaints, more issues to fix, more irritating support, all while someone else makes things harder or easier for you depending on how often they update the pack, and then they get all the credit too.

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Also, from what I understand, if you are `lazy` you might not be playing the right game. A lot of the fun in this game comes from figuring out ways to do stuff. If someone else figures that out for you then you do not gain the skill set to discover new techniques for yourself and so the game is lesser for it.

And all the things said about mod packs.

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I tend to agree, an actual bundled mod pack would not really be feasible. However, I think a database such as the one StoneBlue has set up HERE wouldn't be an unreasonable idea, so there is a centralized place where someone can go to find out what the most current version of mods and get links directly to the respective threads. I know I spend a lot of time checking through the threads to ensure I'm up to date, then rechecking to make sure I didn't miss one, then rechecking again...

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Hey Talisar...Looks like the past couple days we keep running into each other...lol

Thanx for the plug...

There are also a couple other lists that are updated more frequently, though...Especially the one by nismobg, stickied in the Add-on Releases forum, http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/55401-Community-Mods-and-Plugins-Library

I agree with every single reason posted by everyone already.

I could be wrong, since I dont play a whole lot of PC games anymore, especially those that can be modded, but with obviously several HUNDRED, if not thousands, of very well done mods for KSP, and many that do the same thing or overlap, giving players more choices, I think someone making a mod pack of what "they" think is the best pack, is not as likely to match exactly what a lot of "other" players are gonna want....

Heck, even WITHIN a single mod (such as B9 Aerospace), it would be hard to get a large group of people to agree which are the best parts for "them" to use... I know when I use B9, I delete about 2/3rds of it, since I'm in rocket/satellite/space station mode, and dont need the atmospheric parts, and could use the "room" to install other parts packs I DO use instead...

If it was a matter of only a couple, or a even few, dozen mods total, then yeah, a few modpacks might be better accepted...But i definitely dont see it ever being accepted well in the KSP community.

Edited by Stone Blue
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