Hello and 'mod collection' question

[Balimaar]

Hey guys Long time KSP forum lurker first time poster!

So I am playing KSP once again thanks to having some time to do so but now mods I have used are either abandoned or severely outdated. So my question to you all is:

What mods are you playing with?

I have enjoyed playing with mods that brought the game into the style of Scott Manley's Interestellar Quest series. So perhaps something similar.

Or even something wildly different? HIT ME BOYS! (and gals!)

[p1t1o]

I was recently in your position, here is a quick rundown of random advice:

Of all my tips, the biggest is: Get CKAN, it manages your mod collection allowing you to install/uninstall/update your mods with only a few clicks. Saves a LOT of time and effort.(Although you must be careful when removing, as it often leaves some files and folders behind, which can cause problems apparently. Manually remove folders.)

Another good thing is that it gives you a big list of mods, sortable by compatability, to peruse, instead of sifting through the forums or other sites yourself, you can just scroll down the list ticking boxes, then click install and boom, you're done.

part packs:

Definitely get KW rocketry, this is kept up to date.

B9 parts are exceptional, but check the thread as it is not "officially" up-to-date, but there is a version being worked on, and by all reports the parts are still working (I think it is mainly things like career-mode pricings that are outdated). It includes procedural wings and control surfaces, basically B9 is the only "aero" pack you will need.

AIES is still worthwhile

There are quite a few mods now which add "missing" parts, parts which fills gaps between others, such as niche engines and the like.

Resource:

Get Karbonite, Kethane still works but Karbonite is a little more modern and does all the same stuff basically. In fact, go for either.

Get SCANSat.

Visuals:

There are quite a lot of mods now which can spice up visuals by quite a great deal, however they are memory intensive, so you have to sacrifice quite a few other mods to support them.

For minimum visual spice-up:

Get Environmental visual enhancements, but just use one of the default configs (there are others, such as the astronomers packs, but they are VERY memory intensive, but look better obvsly).

Also planetshine adds quite a subtle but worthwhile effect.

Misc:

You need Kerbal Alarm Clock.

I like the mechanics that RemoteTech adds, its integrated with a lot of other mods now - not sure what will happen to this one with 1.1 coming which has its own variant of the communications mechanic.

ScienceAlert is a must in my book - especially helps early on in career, when you are still bumbling around Kerbin and need to hoover up as much science as you can find.

Contract configurator and contract packs - there are a lot of contract packs available which add some cool missions, personally I wouldn't add too many packs as your contract menu only shows you a few at a time and it can obscure the "progression" of your career.

You definitely need StockBugFixes, as it help a lot with weird thermal problems, which are new.

You don't really need Deadly Re-entry, as it currently doesn't add anything to the stock reentry heating, but it is being run by master modders and I think it will be updated eventually, as the stock heating has its problems, this is probably where solutions will come from.

I use "modular fuel tanks" as well, this allows you to customise fuel tank contents, within limits. Eg: all LF/OX tanks can be set to only contain LF if you want. Tanks are assigned types as well, so a service tank can also contain monoprop and electric charge too.

I tried "RealFuels" once as well, this works hand-in-hand with modular fuel tanks and adds realistic fuel types to the game, and the ability for engines to have different fuel set-ups (eg: an engine might have a regular setup, but can be switched to liquid hydrogen/oxygen for less thrust but greater vacuum Isp).

It was cool and all, but added quite a lot of complexity for not that much gain. You always just set the engines to the most powerful config, not many engines made hydrogen worthwile and the other setups with other fuels might have been realistic but didnt really change the game so now I just play with stock LF/OX.

Edited August 27, 2015 by p1t1o

[Gaarst]

As said above.

I'll add Kerbal Engineer or MechJeb that give you tons of useful information (I suggest you do not use MJ's autopilot until you can orbit a rocket safely, using it too soon might prevent you from learning how to launch a rocket properly with the new physics (I'm not going to get only friends on that one ))

Also, SpaceY is good alternative to KW rocketry, but only if you want to keep using stock parts for lighter launchers, as SpaceY provides parts essentially for larger (5m) launchers.

RealFuels is not really necessary if you're not using Realism Overhaul (or Real Solar System) as stock engine configs/fuels are powerful enough to do what you want in the Kerbol system.

If you get bored of the Kerbol system, you can add mods that change the solar system, such as Outer Planets, New Horizons, RSS...

Trajectories Predictions is also a really useful mod if you're planning to land somewhere precise, especially in atmosphere.

Precise Manoeuvres (or Nodes, not sure) to help you fine-tune your manoeuvre nodes.

Nav HUD for docking or orienting your craft.

Chatterer adds plenty of funny noises to your rockets/probes (essentially Kerbal coms and beeps)

And finally, I'll add Transfer Window Planner to be able to get your interplanetary launch windows IG.

[p1t1o]

Cant believe I forgot MechJeb and Engineer!

Docking Alignment Indicator is also very useful.