Is there a mod that you couldn't live without?

[Xyphos]

Kerbal Joint Reinforcement (KJR) - I absolutely MUST have this installed at all times or I will flat-out REFUSE to play.

before I played mods, everything I built would fall apart and explode on the launchpad before ever pressing the spacebar, and I got tired of adding a bajillion struts to everything causing severe physics lag. the stock joint system is too weak and in no way humorous at all. it's down-right frustrating and a game-breaking mechanic.

[cantab]

2 hours ago, regex said:

For serious?  Probably the only missing mod that would make me quit outright would be Module Manager.  But it'd take awhile.

Well very few end users use Module Manager, it's used by other modders. Who would adapt. Most likely if nothing like MM could be done in KSP, we'd have to switch to using an external tool to patch config files.

[regex]

1 minute ago, cantab said:

Well very few end users use Module Manager

And?  That's the missing mod that would end up making me quit playing.  It's just too damn useful, makes things like Realism Overhaul possible.

[Foxster]

I think it says something about the flexibility and breadth of KSP that people play it in such different ways that things as diverse as KAC, MM, MJ, KJR, RCS Build Aid, Texture Replacer, etc are considered essential to some people's experience. 

[AlamoVampire]

1. Mechjeb: need infos and automation.

2. Procedural fairings: need this as it is superior to stock. Period.

3. Novapunch: i like the parts. Not too few not too many.

[Draco T stand-up guy]

2 hours ago, Enorats said:

There are plenty. Delta-V indicators are at the top of the list. KER, Mechjeb. The stock game just doesn't give enough info to properly play.

Yep. That is what's getting to me about the stock game. Stuff that should be there simply isn't. Sure, you can play without it but it makes the game more 'real' when you have it.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Draco T stand-up guy

[klgraham1013]

Kerbal Engineer.  Until there's the necessary readouts in stock, they should just add a link to KER on the main menu with instructions to install immediately. 

Edited April 7, 2016 by klgraham1013

[Redhotita1]

I guess the whole Real Solar System package. I literally can't play Kerbal without... Kerbin feels way too small... even for planes.

[Jabbman]

I could live without mods, but the one parts mod I have had on every version since 0.19 is Tantares. It is virtually 'stock' for me now!

[Jetski]

5 hours ago, Foxster said:

Is there one mod that if it wasn't updated to work with KSP1.1 would mean you would just quit playing? 

Kerbal Engineer Redux.  I havent read more than the OP, but I suspect this is the consensus?

[moogoob]

I can *live* without MechJeb (and have been during the little 1.1 testing I've been able to get to) but what kind of a life is it without the Maneuver planner, ascent autopilot and myriad custom readout windows (like the Suicide Burn timer) I end up making? I really like being able to see time to AP and AP height outside of map view - even if the autopilot features were missing, the readouts alone would make MJ a must-get.

[Foxster]

51 minutes ago, Jetski said:

Kerbal Engineer Redux.  I havent read more than the OP, but I suspect this is the consensus?

That or MJ for pretty much the same reasons - the readouts. 

[FyunchClick]

KER, KAC, Texture Replacer rank pretty high on my requirement list. RCS Build aid would be sorely missed, as would the fuel connectors from KAS. Would missing any make me give up KSP? Dunno, probably I'd spend a lot less time with it.

[Cornholio]

KER, KAC, KJR, TAC (or a similar LS), RT.

 

The first 3 are obvious.  The last 2 are more of it feeling too easy/not limited enough if they did not exist.

[RA3236]

KER, SpaceX Expanded+Core, Larinax (which is my own mod), Alternis, Kopernicus, Transfer Window Planeer, KAC, KJR, KIS, KAS, Vens Stock Revamp, Procedural Parts, Procedural Everything, B9 Procedural Wings, Dynamic Texture Loader, Stock Bug Fix modules +Plus, KittopiaTech....

The list goes on.

[mrclucks]

KER hands down.  Knowing thrust and dv in space and at different altitudes, as well as knowing burn times, are critical to my rocket building.  KAC comes pretty close as well as KJR, tweakscale and tweakable everything

[Kyrt Malthorn]

Nope.  Mods may be icing on the cake, but KSP is still a cake.

[RA3236]

23 minutes ago, Kyrt Malthorn said:

Nope.  Mods may be icing on the cake, but KSP is still a cake.

Is it a piece of cake?

[John JACK]

4 hours ago, regex said:

That's the missing mod that would end up making me quit playing.

MM is not a mod by itself, it does not change a game even slightest, it's just a tool for installing mods. No MM means no most other mods, so you are implying that you need ALL of them, or maybe just some you don't want to specify.

Most necessary mod for me is GoodSpeed Fuel Pump. Building, navigating or docking big enough ships in stock game is not easy, but kinda fun. Manually managing all the fuel in all tanks, LF and OX separately, is a nightmare without any redeeming challenge, simply waste of time.

Also I would be sad without HGR parts pack. 1.875 m size fills a gap between small 1.25 and big 2.5 nicely, Soy modules look both stock-alike and distinct from boring old pods and cans.

[blorgon]

This thread hits a little close to home, because ALCOR by alexustas is looking pretty abandoned. I can't not fly all-IVA now.

...Which means I'm still playing 1.0.5

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Edited April 7, 2016 by blorgon

[regex]

19 minutes ago, John JACK said:

MM is not a mod by itself, it does not change a game even slightest,

Module Manager is a fantastic mod that allows me to make pretty much any change I want to certain parts of the game without editing a single game file.  That's invaluable, and means that my changes can be carried from version to version with very little work.

Quote

it's just a tool for installing mods.

No, it's a tool for making changes to config files.

Quote

No MM means no most other mods, so you are implying that you need ALL of them, or maybe just some you don't want to specify.

Yeah, that's exactly why not having Module Manager would be about the most likely scenario for me quitting playing the game.  I mean, I can only handle the bone stock game for so long at a time...

I'm sure you're all desperate for more KER/MJ or KJR voices to amplify the current gripes but MM is pretty much the backbone of the modding community and I have a calculator and struts what I know how to use.

Edited April 7, 2016 by regex

[John JACK]

6 minutes ago, regex said:

No, it's a tool for making changes to config files.

Making changes to config files is a word: "modding".

Mod is something that changes a game. MM does not change a game, it allows changing it [easier]. If MM is a mod, than your favourite text editor and file manager are a mod too. MM without changed config files does nothing — therefore is not a mod. Is changing config files such important, so you'd better not play KSP, instead of tweaking them manually (and keeping a spreadsheet of all diffs)?

I have vague feeling that someone is too obsessed with keeping status quo, not rocking a boat and resisting every single motion to actually make the game better. Even if devs does think that it can be made better, just not right nao™.

[regex]

Just now, John JACK said:

Mod is something that changes a game. MM does not change a game

Oh, but it does!  It changes the game so that the game can merge and override config files!  Without Module Manager the game can't do that, ergo Module Manager changes the game.

Just now, John JACK said:

I have vague feeling that someone is too obsessed with keeping status quo, not rocking a boat and resisting every single motion to actually make the game better. Even if devs does think that it can be made better, just not right nao™.

I used to have that same sneaking suspicion.  Fortunately 1.0.x showed us the devs wanted to up the realism of the game for the better.

[cantab]

I believe that modders could manage without it. Like I said, obvious alternative is config patching handled by a separate program that the user runs when they install a new mod. It would be clunkier, but workable, and CKAN would probably try and make it transparent to the user. After all, KSP modding had a long history before Module Manager even came out.

[Aragosnat]

As soon as I get to and from every planet while still stock. Maybe one day. I'll use mods. Going by Steam. Looks like I can do fine wthout mods. 3190 hours minus about 10 for pre 1.1 and about 6 for limited Kerbal Engineer Redux.