Recommended Mods and Recommended Recommendations

[More Boosters]

Hey guys, I've been lurking for a time and I decided to sign up.

I am positively surprised that this name wasn't taken before, but it's thanks to that that I was allowed to pick it so I am not complaining.

So, here's what I'm going to ask, what I'm going to ask is which mods you guys find to be absolutely crucial for yourself and then those that you would recommend for me. And then maybe some tips and tricks if you're feeling like it.

Some background:

I've done multiple Minmus/Mun visits and returns but nothing interplanetary.

I've never done any docking.

I've never used a rover.

I've never built any spaceplane and I suck at it... I think.

I can't go anywhere without manuever nodes but they aren't always as precise as I would have liked them to be.

Launched about a dozen satellites but couldn't be precise enough for a geostationary orbit outside of a a mission. (usually eyeballing it is enough for a mission I know that)

I don't know how to go about launching a mission to Duna/Ike.

I hate clutter but I liked SpaceY enough and found it to be stock-like enough so I use it as my only mod currently.

Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to your advice!

[falloutaddict]

Cannot live without:

Precise node (does what it says - allows for very precise adjustments to maneuver nodes rather than dragging the adjuster all willy-nilly (an absolute must have for me))

Kerbal alarm clock (sets alarms for maneuver nodes, sphere of influence changes and much much more, but even more helpful, transfer windows (no more guessing when the best time to do your interplanetary transfers)

Very useful:

Kerbal engineer/mechjeb (your preference) (I mainly use engineer just for calculating dV during construction but engineer offers a wide variety of helpful information in flight as well. Mechjeb does much of the same but also includes a bunch of useful tools for newer players (landing help, takeoff help, node flyer - some people don't like it because they say it makes the game easy but i found it to be a great learning tool.)

Kerbal attachment system/kerbal inventory system(such a cool mod, maybe one of my favorites - allows you to attach and detach parts from your ship and also includes a slew of cool parts that can be used for a whole crapload of stuff. seriously check it out.)

Science alert - this one is just handy. sick of looking for that thermometer to check your temp? not sure if you crossed into a new biome and can do your eva report? this mod will tell you and you can run the experiment right from the popup rather than finding the unit on your craft

Edit: I almost forgot to mention, if you want to be playing with mods CKAN is a lifesaver. Download it, take 5 minutes to figure out how to use, and never look back. It streamlines the process of adding and removing mods. Seriously if you want to be messing around with mods, you will want CKAN, it will make your life much easier

Edited July 1, 2015 by falloutaddict

[regex]

Instead of Science Alert, I recommend ForScience Continued, which just runs all the experiments for you. Saves on drudgery and makes the generally crappy science system a background sort of thing.

[Motokid600]

Here's something that's not a mod as a recommendation. Lower your field of view drastically. Mod key (alt)+ -+ to move your FoV in and out.

Find the Mun in the sky then make its apparent size the same as the Moon's in real life. This gives your game a realistic FoV, can help performance, gets rid of egg snapped planets at the edge of the screen and my favorite... Makes Kerbin look WAY bigger and WAY better from orbit.

Seriously lowering your FoV makes the game look better all around.

[FlowerChild]

I'll 2nd PreciseNode as being a huge boon as the stock maneuver nodes are a huge pain to deal with.

I play a very mod-light install myself (despite being a modder). The ones I always play with are:

-PreciseNode.

-Chatterer: no added functionality but HUGE added ambiance during flight.

-Waypoint Manager: probably only needed if you play career mode, but also extremely useful for just plotting navigation points on the surface of Kerbin to tell you important stuff like where KSC is

[falloutaddict]

I will have to check out science alert, I imagine the difference being just the level of automation you like. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Yakuzi]

Welcome to the forums More Boosters!

My essential mods are:

Stock fixes

Kerbal engineer

Kerbal alarm clock

FAR (until stock aero settles down)

I'd suggest getting into spaceplanes, it is quite rewarding getting your first recoverable SSTO back at KSC. There's heaps of other truly great stuff out there, so don't be afraid to make a couple of copies of your KSP folder and try out a few mod combos.

I am positively surprised that this name wasn't taken before, but it's thanks to that that I was allowed to pick it so I am not complaining.

It's because you spelled it wrong... it's Moar Boosters

[Yemo]

The SETI mods (techtree, contracts). I really do not like the stock "progression", probes and airplanes should come first. Feels more natural/historic, especially with life support mods.

[Nansuchao]

Kerbal Engineer, Mechjeb (to learn), b9 and Far (for spaceplanes fun and beautiful ships) and Interstellar (extremely fun and difficult too).

[Grumman]

Part mods:

Infernal Robotics

I've actually only installed a couple of parts from this mod, but if you want something like a rotating space station or a crane, this mod can help you do it.

Kerbal Attachment System and Kerbal Inventory System

These mods add three important things: winches, EVA-attachable pipes and EVA-attachable struts.

Non-part mods:

Chatterer

Adds radio chatter between your ship and the KSC, and beeps from probe cores.

Connected Living Space

Not really a necessary mod, but it modifies how the transfer crew function works to only allow kerbals to be transferred through parts they could realistically pass through. So a docking port or a structural fuselage doesn't block passage, but a fuel tank does.

Texture Replacer

Lets you vary the heads and suits of your kerbals, either randomly, by profession or by hand.

[Fenris]

Cannot live without:

Precise node (does what it says - allows for very precise adjustments to maneuver nodes rather than dragging the adjuster all willy-nilly (an absolute must have for me))

Kerbal alarm clock (sets alarms for maneuver nodes, sphere of influence changes and much much more, but even more helpful, transfer windows (no more guessing when the best time to do your interplanetary transfers)

Very useful:

Kerbal engineer/mechjeb (your preference) (I mainly use engineer just for calculating dV during construction but engineer offers a wide variety of helpful information in flight as well. Mechjeb does much of the same but also includes a bunch of useful tools for newer players (landing help, takeoff help, node flyer - some people don't like it because they say it makes the game easy but i found it to be a great learning tool.)

Kerbal attachment system/kerbal inventory system(such a cool mod, maybe one of my favorites - allows you to attach and detach parts from your ship and also includes a slew of cool parts that can be used for a whole crapload of stuff. seriously check it out.)

Science alert - this one is just handy. sick of looking for that thermometer to check your temp? not sure if you crossed into a new biome and can do your eva report? this mod will tell you and you can run the experiment right from the popup rather than finding the unit on your craft

Edit: I almost forgot to mention, if you want to be playing with mods CKAN is a lifesaver. Download it, take 5 minutes to figure out how to use, and never look back. It streamlines the process of adding and removing mods. Seriously if you want to be messing around with mods, you will want CKAN, it will make your life much easier

I use everyone of those mods and recommend them as well, although I will try ForScience Continued as Science Alert seems to like to tell me to EVA when I'm do 3k m/s and a ball of fire going through the atmosphere.

I'll also add:

KerbPaint - Allows you to paint stock parts

Final Frontier - Your Kerbals will get awarded with ribbons for completing missions.

I just installed but haven't tested them enough to recommend yet:

Navball Docking Alignment Indicator - Just adds a dot on your navball as a target to make docing easier.

Connected Living Space - If you have modules that Kerbals can stay in, then instead of having to EVA from one to another you can move from one to another without leaving your ship/base. Ok, read the below post on this one as I got it wrong.

And lastly one I'm really hoping gets an update or becomes stock:

Trajectories - Stock KSP does not take into account atmosphere when showing you your projected flight path, this mod did. With the new atmosphere changes this mod does not work correctly, but I'm keeping an eye on it hoping it will receive an update.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Fenris

[Grumman]

I just installed but haven't tested them enough to recommend yet:

Connected Living Space - If you have modules that Kerbals can stay in, then instead of having to EVA from one to another you can move from one to another without leaving your ship/base.

You've got this one backwards. The ability to transfer crew around your ship is stock, CLS makes the game more picky about how the two parts are connected.

[Fenris]

You've got this one backwards. The ability to transfer crew around your ship is stock, CLS makes the game more picky about how the two parts are connected.

I did not know you could move crew around in stock like that, I guess you can tell I haven't made very many ships or stations that required crew movement Changed above post to reflect my error.

[SorryDave]

My favorite mods are:

Kerbal Engineer Redux

-Avoids leaving the app to calculate dela-v and TWR. Also gives useful information in neet display windows.

Kerbal Alarm Clock

-Useful for setting up transfer windows and running multiple missions.

Welcome to the forums.

[FlowerChild]

I did not know you could move crew around in stock like that, I guess you can tell I haven't made very many ships or stations that required crew movement Changed above post to reflect my error.

The stock interface involves clicking on pod hatches to get it to work, so it's a little inconsistent/tough to notice if you don't know about it in advance.

[Vanamonde]

Modding question moved to the modding subforum.

[TheSoundOfTrees]

I am a beginner too, here are my "helps to play" mods recommendations :

I use [x] Science : it lists experiments you already did or not, lists everything you can experiment on with your ship right now, etc. No alerts, no automation, exactly what I was looking for.

Kerbal Engineer is very, very useful when building, and the two HUDs give you a lot of useful informations. Keeping an eye on your orbits parameters when in flight view is incredibly useful.

I have Mechjeb, but didn't test any of the planning features yet. But I did not try to reach the Mun yet.

My other mods are either of the "enhancements for visuals/audio" kind, or of the "moar things to do" kind (ScanSat, for instance).

[micha]

Hi More Boosters, and welcome to the forums!

My "essential must-have mods" are:

* Kerbal Engineer (both while designing and flying rockets) Why I should have to switch to map-mode during ascent to check my apoapsis (for example) or to IVA to check the current radar height above the ground is beyond me. The game already provides this info in-game, this mod makes that info available on the main screen. I do turn off most of the displays though; the main one I leave on which the game does not provide is remaining delta-v.

* Kerbal Alarm Clock - while some people say it's no longer necessary because Squad added the "Warp-To" feature, I tend to run many simultaneous missions, so this mod alerts you when another ship needs attention.

Useful/nice mods which I almost always install in a new game:

* Docking Port Alignment Indicator - makes docking a doddle.

* Waypoint Manager - better way to navigate either to your own landing sites or to contract locations

* Trajectories - plot reentry burns

* Blizzy's Toolbar - declutter the main toolbar and have appropriate icons at your fingertips in each scene

* Enhanced Navball - adds a few useful features to the Navball

* RCS Build Aid - helps you place RCS thrusters aligned around your center of mass

* Ship Manifest - easily transfer resources around your ship/station

* AntennaRange - make the different antennas actually mean something without going overboard

* SCANSat - very very nice way of scanning planets and provides a reason for probes

* Final Frontier - Kerbal achievements, adds immersion

* EVE - clouds and other visual effects

* Distant Object Enhancement

* KAS/KIS - gives EVA a real reason

* K2 command pod - a 2 Kerbal command pod situated roughly half-way in the tech tree between the stock pods

* Procedural Fairing - sorry Squad, but these fairings do beat the stock system for usability and looks. IMHO.

* various science mods such as DMagic Orbital Science, Nehemia's collection of Orbital Science mods, Station Science, KDEX, Munar Surface Experiment Package, ...

* Universal Storage - great way to build nice looking rockets and stations

I usually play with quite a few more, but these are the core ones.

And agree with the above - try out CKAN to manage your mods!

Edited July 3, 2015 by micha
remove spurious '

[Diazo]

One thing I will point out is that while pretty much all the mods I consider essential that add new things to the game have been mentioned, the "fix-it" mods haven't.

Everyone has their own issues with what KSP currently gives us to use, mainly in the control/UI, and a lot of mods are out there to fix those issues.

Can't land a skycrane because your old clunky keyboard changes the throttle 10-15% on the lightest touch of a key? Write a mod to control your vertical velocity for you. The same clunkyness mean you can't pitch your vessel around accurately to cancel your horizontal velocity? Write a mod for that. (Vertical Velocity Control and Landing Aid in my sig.)

Want to control spaceplanes but don't have a joystick? There are several out there that turn your mouse into a joystick.

Something else is bugging you? Do a search of the mod release forum, chances are it bothered someone else and there's a mod out there to mitigate the issue.

D.