Pros and cons of various base-building mods

[Norcalplanner]

Now that 1.1 has arrived with its more optimized code and 64-bit executable, I've decided it's time to really make a good Munar surface base or two.  I've only done it a few times before, but it always ended up turning into a lag-fest.  The furthest I ever got was creating a modular base using primarily SpaceY and Stockalike Space Station Expansion parts, as part of the Apollo Applications Program challenge - see photo album: 

So with that in mind, what are the pros and cons of the various base-building mods currently available for 1.1?  I'm running a new 6.4x scale career game, but I'm confident in my ability to deliver large payloads to the Mun once I get a bit further along in the Tech Tree.  Kerbalism is currently installed, and may or may not remain as it matures (I'm particularly concerned about the malfunctions over 6.4x interplanetary travel times).  I'm looking at UKS/OKS, KPBS, Pathfinder, EPL, OSE workshop, and other similar mods.  I'm thinking I don't necessarily want to dive too deep into the resource chain, so I'm leaning away from UKS/OKS, but am honestly still undecided about which mod or mods to use.  I also don't want things to be too easy, where you end up delivering one small payload and then use ISRU to make things 50 times bigger. The plan is to have fun building infrastructure, so I'm looking for things that will play nicely with an orbital station or two, crew and cargo shuttles making runs, miners, tankers, etc.

So - what do people like and dislike about these mods?  Strengths, weaknesses, things you wish you had known before devoting dozens of hours using a mod you ended up uninstalling?  The goal is to learn from others' experiences and make a well-informed decision.  If things go well on the Mun, then we'll look at colonizing Duna and possibly Laythe.  

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Edit - And just for the record, I now have a new i6600K-powered rig, which should also help a fair bit on the lag front.  I'm looking to put the new system through its paces a bit.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Norcalplanner
mention rig

[RoverDude]

My very biased opinion

If you are looking to put something on a planet that looks like a base, there are a ton of part mods out there (you mentioned a few already).

If you're looking for gameplay mechanics, that's been kinda my thing for years now.  There's of course UKS (which has been trimmed/consolidated over the years) which is pure gameplay but happens to have a bunch of parts (and works with EL).  MKS-Lite is the simpler cousin to it - a lot of the fun bits, but a lot fewer parts and simpler resource processing.  Some folks start there, then migrate to UKS (or just stick with MKS-Lite).

Side note - usually folks that get overwhelmed with UKS are overwhelmed because they are trying to do every single thing at once and use all of the parts... which is bad.  As a gameplay mod, it's more of a marathon and not a sprint.  And the new updates which give bonuses and rewards as you grow your colonies is there to encourage slow steady colonization, not 'launch it all in one go and poof - here's a colony!'.  

Me, I have fun doing the supply drops and multi-mission launches ala 'The Martian'.  Plus you have the capstone pieces coming out (they are near the end of development) that after you've proven you can manage a colony, reward you by letting you essentially turn your new colony into a mini-Kerbin, at which point lots of mechanics are extracted away, and your colony becomes a resource generator without all of the management.  So it becomes a meta-game of building multiple bases.  The use case being that you learn on Minmus or Mun, and once that base becomes a full fledged colony, you no longer have to manage it (it just spits out finished resources and handles all life support automatically), so you can leap frog to, say, Duna - without having to worry about managing your Minmus shipyard.

 

[CobaltWolf]

16 minutes ago, RoverDude said:

Me, I have fun doing the supply drops and multi-mission launches ala 'The Martian'.  Plus you have the capstone pieces coming out (they are near the end of development) that after you've proven you can manage a colony, reward you by letting you essentially turn your new colony into a mini-Kerbin, at which point lots of mechanics are extracted away, and your colony becomes a resource generator without all of the management.  So it becomes a meta-game of building multiple bases.  The use case being that you learn on Minmus or Mun, and once that base becomes a full fledged colony, you no longer have to manage it (it just spits out finished resources and handles all life support automatically), so you can leap frog to, say, Duna - without having to worry about managing your Minmus shipyard.

3

I did not know about this. That is a really fantastic idea! Reward a play for growing their colony into being self sustaining.

[RoverDude]

Yep   Today, you start getting resource harvesting bonuses, habitation bonuses, and farming (life support) bonuses.  You also get rewarded with funds, rep, and science.

The capstone bits have most of the models done, just need to tweak a few things and wrap up the code, but they will be released sooner rather than later.  After that there will be a new series of NASA inspired base parts that dovetail in as well.

[Octa]

I'm testing a combination of KPBS, KAS and USI-Life Support and it looks good so far. Ressources are fairly simple to calculate, from the first look, TACLS or fully grown USI Kolonization were a bit to complicated for me.

Just went so far as designed a larger self sutaining base which is planned to be put on Duna. It went 2 years without interruption on the first tests. The problems yet to solve are delivering all the parts to their destination and the assembly the whole structure on site. I also want to deliver some small outposts around kerbin.

[Norcalplanner]

Thanks everyone for your replies.  Definitely some good things to think about.  I still have a ways to go in this career save before it's base-building time, but I think I'll load up multiple mods and play with them around KSC in sandbox in the interim.

And RoverDude, I'd be upset if you weren't biased. 

[MaxPeck]

For early game bases, check out Pathfinder.  I use a combination of MKS, Pathfinder and Planetary Bases Inc., along with USI-LS.  Roverdude's stuff is on the money and all you really need, but I like a multi-layered approach to setting up a base.

Pathfinder is good for early bases, the parts are lightweight and inflatable, so it's possible (with KIS) to land a container or two with everything you need to get a base up and running.  I then usually get an Extraplanetary Launchpads setup and a workshop or two and start setting up a more permanent base using MKS and Planetary Bases Inc. modules.  Typically I'll land a couple of light probes to scout a landing site, and then I'll land the pre-supply pathfinder stuff, and then the crew, and then the rest follows.

Enjoy!

Edited April 29, 2016 by JJE64
Autocorrect butchered Roverdude's name