Essential Mods?

[AstroCat127]

Hi! This is actually my first post... be nice for my sake!

So i've been playing KSP for about a year now and have devoted a lot of that time to finding decent mods. I have a relatively powerful iMac (2013-14) so the size of capabilities of the mods don't matter. Right now I only have two installed:

TweakScale

MechJeb

I would like to find a mod that is easy to understand and useful as well. Thanks in advance!

[linuxgurugamer]

Kerbal Engineer

[Ten Key]

Kerbal Alarm Clock is pretty straightforward and very handy. It keeps track of all your scheduled maneuver nodes and pokes you if you're about to miss one. 

Welcome to the forums.

 

[OhioBob]

The first four mods that I install with any new installation are:

• Kerbal Engineer Redux
• Kerbal Alarm Clock
• Transfer Window Planner
• Precise Node (or Precise Maneuver if you prefer)

There are a bunch of other mods I like, but these I consider most essential.  I don't even want to play without them.  Everything else is optional.
 

[Pand5461]

Well, "useful mod" is a very vague definition.

The mods can be roughly split into categories:

• Info mods (provide information readings that are unavailable / inconvenient in stock)
• Piloting aid (ranging from simple tools like keeping an airplane level to MechJeb the Omnipotent)
• Graphic enhancements
• Gameplay changes (things that add new gameplay elements like life support, radio signal with delay, cosmic radiation, failures etc.)
• Tech trees
• Contract packs
• Planet packs
• Bells and whistles (like Chatterer, Audio Muffler, Texture Replacer, Final Frontier etc. - do not add anything gameplay-wise but help better immersion)

What is essential and what is not depends much on your playstyle and wishes. For example, life support mods are a must for those who wants to taste difficulties of real space programs but hardly a good choice for those struggling to get to the Mun.

So, which of these categories are you interested in?

[Zeiss Ikon]

For me, Better Burn Time is almost a no-brainer.  It changes the node countdown display to indicate when to start the burn (which, if it uses up a significant mass fraction, may be best not divided equally around the actual node); it also warns when reentry and leaving atmosphere are imminent, gives both time to impact and burn time to stop during a landing (very useful for approximating suicide burns without, well, suicide), and gives approach distance and burn time to kill closing velocity for rendezvous.  Takes no screen real estate (replaces the original, "dumb" node countdown) and requires very little system resources (the calculations it does are very basic compared to running the game physics).

My computers are on the slow side for KSP (Core2Duo 2.7 GHz and Core i7 dual-core 2.9 GHz), and BBT doesn't add any discernible lag on either machine.

[katateochi]

4 hours ago, AstroCat127 said:

Hi! This is actually my first post... be nice for my sake!

Welcome! (we're always nice here, mostly!)

Yeah everyone has their pet essentials and it really comes down to what you want out of the game.  My recommendations for core mods are 
MechJeb (which u already got, or Kerbal Engineer, I'm just more used to MJ so i stick with it)
KerbalAlarmClock - it saves lives...and your sanity if you're planning on having more than one mission going on at the same time.
RCS Build Aid - adds another center of mass marker to the editors to show where you CoM is when the fuel is drained and also shows the rotational forces applied by engines and thrusters.
EasyVesselSwitch - at a glance it doesn't seem like this adds much but I love this mod, no more cycling through craft with [ ] and the camera pans smoothly as you switch rather than doing a hard cut. also makes switching focus to different parts of the craft much nicer.
IndicatorLights - more than just pretty. Adds lights that show statuses to various stock parts. ie batteries have a red, amber or green led depending on their charge, science parts flash when there's an experiment they can run and various other handy bits of visual feedback. Adds a nice bit of color but also is functionally v useful. 
Crew Manifest - v helpful if you are doing things that involve moving large numbers of Kerbals between craft (handy when using the Tourism Plus contract pack, which I really like). 
Those are all helpful mods that don't add any parts to the game and (aside from MJ) are fairly lightweight.

I also can't be without some visual enhancements with Stock Visual Enhancements and Scatterer (but those will drop your FPS a bit).
And add a bit of color to aircraft (or whatever) with aviation lights.

Kerbal Attachment System and Kerbal Inventory System are great and really give a purpose to going EVA and they make building bases much more flexible and fun. 
If you want to have a more engaging experience with satellites then SCANsat is great (I consider it essential). 
and that goes great with DMagic Orbital Science (by the same author). That adds a bunch of new science parts and science contracts.
I also really like RemoteTech as an improvement to the comms system, but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. 
If you want things to move then Infernal Robotics, but make sure to read the posts about installing it. 

oh...and of course, you need the KerbalX mod so you can share your craft on KerbalX  

[Guest]

So pretty much everyone has their own favorite utility mods, but as far as parts are concerned pretty much every install I've ever built, for stock and RO,, has included at least two of Nertea's Near Future mods. I consider those to be absolutely essential.

[Superfluous J]

KSP MOD BINGO

B	I	N	G	O
Contract Configurator	Take Command	Kerbal Joint Reinforcement	Waypoint Manager	Visual Enhancements (Any)
Realism Overhaul	Blizzy's Toolbar	Real Solar System	Extraplanetary Launchpads	Precise Node / Maneuver
Kerbal Attachment / Inventory System	Docking Port Alignment Indicator	FREE SPACE (ModuleManager)	Strategia	RCS Build Aid
Kerbal Engineer	Transfer Window Planner	MechJeb	Kerbal Alarm Clock	Procedural Anything
Distant Object Enhancement	Life Support (Any)	Editor Extensions	Anything ending in -atterer	Better Burn Time

Use this card any time anybody asks any question about anybody's opinions on mods in general.

Edited November 4, 2017 by 5thHorseman

[Gordon Fecyk]

Your choice of mods totally depends on your play style. I'm a story teller on YouTube so I add visual mods, and I'm becoming a veteran that is tired of switching between screens for needed info so I add informational mods. I toss Ferram Aerospace in there for just a tiny sprinkle of realism.

[DAL59]

6 hours ago, AstroCat127 said:

Hi! This is actually my first post... be nice for my sake!

So i've been playing KSP for about a year now and have devoted a lot of that time to finding decent mods. I have a relatively powerful iMac (2013-14) so the size of capabilities of the mods don't matter. Right now I only have two installed:

TweakScale

MechJeb

I would like to find a mod that is easy to understand and useful as well. Thanks in advance!

If you want life supprt without making the game 10 times harder, just install Snacks! life support.  It is easy to use, and is customization.  It also won't kill your kerbals while they wait for a rescue, but you can be fined, lose rep, or delete science.   

[RatchetinSpace]

I think Kerbal Alarm Clock (for transfer windows) and Kerbal Engineer for Delta V readouts and surface information.

Trajectories is also useful, it tells you roughly where you will land on a ballistic trajectory based on aerodynamic forces. It's not 100% accurate but it's good for SpaceX-style first stage returns or for aerobraking.

[JadeOfMaar]

3 hours ago, regex said:

So pretty much everyone has their own favorite utility mods, but as far as parts are concerned pretty much every install I've ever built, for stock and RO,, has included at least two of Nertea's Near Future mods. I consider those to be absolutely essential.

My world is powered by NF Electric.  And I'm getting quite close to Heat Control (Nertea's radiator pack).

[MinimalMinmus]

9 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

KSP MOD BINGO

B	I	N	G	O
		Real Solar System

I'd have put planet packs in general, but the rest is quite accurate.

[AstroCat127]

Thanks everyone! I seriously didn't expect to get this many replies in one night! So it looks like most of you are pointing towards:

Kerbal Alarm Clock

Real Solar Syatem

Near Future mods

I will install all of these and hopefully my gameplay will be improved! Thanks again!

[Geschosskopf]

21 hours ago, AstroCat127 said:

Hi! This is actually my first post... be nice for my sake!

Welcome to the madness!

 

21 hours ago, AstroCat127 said:

I would like to find a mod that is easy to understand and useful as well. Thanks in advance!

Well, there are a number "Quality of Life" mods that I consider "essential" and always use regardless of what my game is actually about.  These are:

• MechJeb:  which you already have.  I find this way more useful than KER.
• Custom Barn Kit:  Allows you to set the price for hiring Kerbals, upgrade buildings, and a variety of other useful things.
• RCS Build Aid:  Really, really useful if you plan on doing any docking or flying air/space planes.  It allows you to build the ship so the CoM doesn't move as fuel burns, and then put RCS thrusters where they don't cause any unwanted rotation or translation when used.
• Kerbal Alarm Clock:  Absolutely vital if you've got lots of ships flying around at once, and very helpful for even 1 ship but it's on a long trip.
• Kerbal Joint Reinforcement:  Solves the issues of noodle rockets.
• Surface Mounted Stockalike Lights for Self-Illumination:  If you have to right-click on a bunch of small parts (such as science instruments) in the dark, it's nice to have some small lights on your ship so you can see what to click on.
• FlagRotate:  Once you plant a flag, you can rotate it however you want so you can take the best screenshots or use the flags as directional markers.
• HyperEdit:  Want to "simulate" your Duna lander design without having to actually fly it all the way there and then find out it doesn't work?
• Better Burn Time:  Fixes a rather annoying problem with the stock UI
• DMagic Orbital Science:  Adds a slew of new science experiments you can do, so more science/trip and thus less grind
• Universal Storage: Neat, compact, re-entry-friendly way to mount science instruments, even most of the DMagic ones.
• SCANsat:  Allows you to make biome and radar maps of planets, very useful for both science and resource exploitation.  Can also be used to replace the stock resource-hunting mechanics with something more intuitive and realistic.
• TAC Self-Destruct:  Causes parts to explode harmlessly but spectacularly.  Great entertainment value, plus keeps space free of junk.  Put 1 bomb on each booster and have it trigger when you decouple the booster.  Yay!  My favorite mod ever.
• Trajectories:  Shows predictions in the map view of how the atmosphere will affect your trajectory.  Wonderful for plotting maneuvers for aerobraking or aerocapture, or for landing in an atmosphere.  Otherwise, you're usually stuck with trial-and-error, F5/F9 repeatedly.

That's the baseline.  After that, it really depends on personal taste and also with any main goal/plan you have for a particular game.  Mods can be divided into a number of broad categories, such as parts (rocket, plane, station, base), realism tweaks/overhauls, life support, and gameplay additions.  You might or might not want to even get into some of those categories, or you might consider some of them essential to your style of play.  Determine what you like and get mods to taste.

A cautionary word about part mods, though.  I really advise against going overboard on them.  Odds are, you'll only use a few favorite parts from any of them, and all the others will just clog up the editor, making it harder to find the ones you actually use.  Plus, the game has to load them all anyway whether you use them or not.  So unless you want to go through your \GameData folder and delete the subfolders for all the parts you'll never use, I'd say just pick 2 or 3 part mods and stick with them for that game.  Next time, maybe use different part mods to change the look of your rockets.

[bigcalm]

The mods I have installed, with most loved at the top:

 

FinalFrontier:  Who was the first Kerbal in space?  The first to land on the Mun?  The first to swim in Laythe's oceans?  Who has run most missions?  I completely love this mod.  And no, it's not Jeb for any of them in my game!

Kerbal Alarm Clock: Because running multiple missions is essential

MechJeb:  Ok, his mechanical brain doesn't always get it right, and I can do a better job than him mostly (though I'd be fairly lost without Smart-ASS), but he's always willing to help!

MKS: Because it's not enough to just go there.  We have to colonise too.

KIS/KAS: Because MKS

(Everything below here is for me largely optional - they're installed, they provide useful stuff but they're not necessarily included in a new game)

UnmannedBeforeManned: It's not so much the unmanned part that I like, but the earlier access in the technology tree to better plane parts.

Extraplanetary Launchpads: Because it's not enough just to colonise.  We have to build as well.

Tac Fuel Balancer: Such a handy little tool - basically allows dumping of fuel and equalising of fuel tanks.

[x]Science!: Find out when new science can be done.

SXT: Because I want electric propellers and seaplanes.

ScanSat: Extra science and easier finding of Anomalies.

Scatterer/PlanetShine: Because it's pretty!

NearFuture: Helpful extra parts.

[The Cuttlefish Empire]

This is a screenshot of my GameData folder, but be warned: if you install all the listed mods, your computer is likely going to kill itself, and unless you have a LOT of RAM like I do, the game won't even load. Also, the visuals won't work - I performed surgery on these to make them all work together.

Spoiler

Translation of mod names: Delta Sigma = Heidon Mod;

KPlus = Kerbol Plus;

Olei = Gameslinx's Planet Overhaul;

WarpPlugin = KSPI

 

Some of them are "other" bits of mods (like some of the Near Future stuff) btw, so keep that in mind.

Edit: the whole amount of planets here goes up to 209 if I remember correctly, so that's why so much RAM is required

 

Edited November 5, 2017 by The Cuttlefish Empire
planet #

[ARS]

I love to build stuff that's aesthetically looking good without sacrificing utility. Since my computer cannot handle graphic mods or planet mods, most of my stuff are parts-related

GN Drive: An ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL mod for omni-directional self-sufficient engine with absurd performance. Mandatory when I'm building massive stuff and normal engine won't do the job

HRP (Heat resistant parts): Stock parts pack with nice shiny black aesthetic with much more tolerance against heat. For building stuff that looks cool and too lazy to reduce speed for reentry

Mk2 expansion: Expansion parts pack for mk2 body, essential when looking for parts to build spaceplanes

Mk3 expansion: Same like above, but with mk3 body

Mk4 spaceplane parts: Even bigger parts for massive spaceplanes

SXT: For propellers and aesthetic purposes

Solaris hypernautics: Long range self sufficient engine and stuff

OPT Spaceplanes: Futuristic style spaceplanes

BDArmory: When I'm bored and want to blowing things up

NKD (North kerbin dynamic): When I'm really bored and want to mess with nuclear bombs

[qzgy]

KER, EEXR, CorrectCoL, RCS build aid, trajectories, precise maneuver. And spectra. (ITS SO PRETTY)

IMO, all (except the last) are super awesome things to have. Essentially QoL things.

[kerbalfreak]

Don't forget Janitor, a mod for cleaning parts from other mods (or even stock) that you don't want, saving ram, loading times and reducing the parts list.

[NSEP]

Kerbal Engineer is the only mod that is essential to me.

[Vanamonde]

Modding question moved to the modding subforum. (Better late than never.) 

[Jesusthebird]

On 11/27/2017 at 11:36 PM, Vanamonde said:

Modding question moved to the modding subforum. (Better late than never.) 

*cough* NECRO *cough*

Ksp Mod Admin. Download all the parts  your RAM can take if you want. Its an addon seperate from the game. Theres a parts tab in there. Scan and then delete the ones you dont want. Reload ksp. ??.  Profit? 

[artwhaley]

Mechjeb

Docking Port Alignment Indicator

KAS

KIS

Kerbal Alarm Clock

KRPC

I'll swap out parts mods as my mood and objectives change, but those are the ones I consider 'foundational' to the way I play the game.  Honestly, most of those features (except probably KRPC) should be in the game, in my opinion.  (not to start that argument, just making my point that I think those mods 'round out' the game to the way I like to play it - making the mundane things automatic and giving data that any space craft would have to have!)