Graphic improvment suggestion

[chicco]

Hi,

I´m new to KSP and would ask you a suggestion for the best main mods, at the moment , for graphic and sound improvment, thanks.

Fortunately I am playing KSP on 34"inch monitor to 3440*1440 resolution at max settings.

There are too many mods to choose.

Thanks in advance.

Federico

[Dman979]

Hey @chicco! I've moved this to the Add-On Discussion subforum, where you'll get better answers about mods.

[KerbolExplorer]

In my opinion  these are the best Graphics mods

[Tyko]

Everything @Kerbol Explorer said for planets... I'd add a few things to make space look better. use Skybox and Scatterer (linked) for sure...Also look at Distant Object Enhancement and Planet Shine (not linked to keep the post from getting too long)

 

[Jacke]

Besides the ones mentioned by @KerbalExplorer and @Tyko, there's a number of other Visual Enhancement mods in KSP.

First starting point is the Community Mods and Plugins Library topic, which links to its Google docs spreadsheet with info on most of KSP mods.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SxrQS319Vup1NcE9ehrk5hHAtosynH9_O0Qqq4q3nfM/edit#gid=0

In that spreadsheet, click to sort it by Catagory and look at all the mods in the "Visual Enhancements" Catagory.  Any that have released a version for KSP 1.4.0 through 1.4.4 should work in 1.4.5.  (Some for 1.3.1 and earlier may work.)  There's also a link for each mod to its topic here in the KSP forums, which is important for getting up-to-date info and assistance with the mods.  I'll just name the mods and you can look them up in the spreadsheet for more info.

There's also a number of other mods in the "Audio and Visual" Catagory.  I'll mention some of them after the big visual ones.

There's a lot of dependencies for some of the best mods here, so it's important that gets done correctly, either yourself in a manual install or using a mod enabler like CKAN (which also handles downloads and dependencies).  Some of the mods can work together.  Others form sets of alternatives that can only have one of them in use.  There are a few dependencies that go one way or another; best example is some mods depend on TextureReplacer (TR) and others depend on a remake of it called TextureReplacerReplacer (TRR), so you have keep that in the back of your mind.

MAJOR VISUAL

There's a couple of framework mods that form the basis for a lot of the improvements.  They are the important ones that need to be up to date, often needing exact KSP version matching.

Biggest is Environmental VIsual Enhancements (EVE).  EVE needs a set of configs to work.  To not cause problems, EVE has to have just *ONE* set of configs installed.

EVE has its own default set of configs (put in a directory called BoulderCo) but it is normally not used.  There are many mods that offer EVE configs.  Install only *ONE* of them (and that includes NOT installing the BoulderCo default configs if you use another set of configs).

Roughly from highest quality and highest computer load to lowest they are in this order (with #1 through #3 being very close together):

1.  Astronomer's Visual Pack
2.  Spectra (uses TRR)
3.  Stock Visual Enhancements
4.  Sci-Fi Visual Enhancements
5.  Para-Sci High-Performance Atmosphere Pack (last released for KSP 1.2 so may have issues in 1.4.5)
6.  EVE default configs in BoulderCo directory

Again, install only *ONE* of these.  Most of these also have detailed install instructions, as they often have different sized textures and also mod some of the others mods, like Scatterer and the other 3 mentioned with it below.

If you use the Outer Planets Mod (needs Kopernicus, see below), there's Pood's OPM-VO to improve their look that can be added in as well.

Other mods that can be used with EVE and a config mod to improve things further.  Add any number of them.

Distant Object Enhancement
KS3P
PlanetShine (needs TRR but its KSP 1.2 version uses TR)
Scatterer

The other common framework mod is Kopernicus.  It is the guts behind

Stock Visual Terrain

which improves the look of the surface of the object, planet or moon, that is in play.

As @Tyko mentioned, another common change is replacing the skybox, the space background of the whole game.  That can be done in a number of ways, including using Pood's Skyboxes, which uses Sigma-88's SIgma Replacements: Skybox as its framework.

OTHER VISUAL AND AUDIO

There's a lot of others in the Catagories "Visual Enhancements" and "Audio and Video".  Here's a few of the best.

Ambient Light Adjustment (for KSP 1.3 but still works) to adjust overall scene brightness
Audio Muffler Redux
Chatterer (not Chatterer Extended or Chatterer+) for shear sound immersion
Destruction Effects
Engine Lighting
RealPlume Stock (configs for stock rocket engines used by the SmokeScreen plugin and RealPlume from the Realism Overhaul (RO) mod set)
Reentry Particle Effect
ShipEffects Continued
Vapor Vent

Edited September 19, 2018 by Jacke