Anyone not using mods?

[Reahreic]

Is there anyone not using mods in this game to orbital dock, travel to other planets and land. Almost every video i've seen on you tube has a plethora of mods or unlimited fueltanks to get their ships to their destination.

Subtext to the question is: Am i just crazy for doing all this manually using stock parts?

I have 12 active flights if you include one kerbal stranded in muns orbit. (The recovery vehicle caught his pod but one of the landing legs i used to trap the pod broke and it slipped free again. After the 2nd attempt's claw broke off i scrapped the recovery program, just too difficult getting within 3m of another craft orbiting the mun in a parabolic orbit)

[Bluejayek]

I am mostly stock. I have mechjeb installed, but only have used it to find my crafts launchpad mass, never acually taken off with mechjeb onboard.

I also occasionally use the crew tank part, but thats about it as per mods.

[Rickenbacker]

I use Protractor, because it's a handy way to have all the angles on screen, but that's it. Otherwise I'm a 'stock purist'. I prefer the challenge of it .

[Jason_25]

Have you seen the intelligence of the comments on Youtube? These are people who have trouble reading so they must resort to mindless videos in order to disseminate information. The vast majority use only stock parts. The people on this forum are only a small subset of KSP users and the people on Youtube are of the dumb, attention hungry persuasion. Check the spacecraft exchange for all the threads with [sTOCK] in the title.

[pebble_garden]

I don't generally use any mods. Not because I don't like them, I just prefer to do things myself when I can.

There are a couple of mods I've used: the attachable camera (which is pretty great), and a standalone on-screen protactor. But I haven't used them in some time. I also tried MechJeb and was impressed by its robustness, but I haven't felt a need to use it beyond that first experimentation.

That said, there are some mods that make up for temporarily absent features, such as the docking mod(s). Also, I have to believe some sort of protractor tool will to become stock because interplanetary flight is so hard without it. Those mods are the ones I'm most likely to use.

Just to be clear, I'm NOT knocking mods or anyone who uses them! I consider the mod-creators some of the cleverest people around.

Oh, and the Kethane mod looks really fun, actually.

Edited October 16, 2012 by pebble_garden

[T10]

I used to be a purist, but recently I've started using mods for things that add features and difficulty, rather than grabbing a bunch of autopilots and super engines (you all know who you are).

I have the Zoxygen mod, with some cool extendy solar panels. This mod just made the game a little harder but a lot cooler, so that was easy to justify.

I'm using one of the relay mods, which is giving me a challenge of creating a good relay network for unmanned spaceships. Planning and implementing the infrastructure is pretty cool actually.

A couple of asthetic mods, such as payload fairings and landing/nav lights for my planes.

And the robotics mod. I've yet to find a use for it, but I'm sure I will. Probably the only 'easier' mod.

[Ted]

I tend to fluctuate for each version. With a new release I will play stock until I run out of things to do. Then I tend to add Add-Ons that bring in new parts and add functionality and most of the time I'll add in MJ for luck/emergencies.

[AmpsterMan]

I find the challenges Stock offers to be fun to work around.

[PakledHostage]

Is there anyone not using mods in this game to orbital dock, travel to other planets and land.

I have never used a mod to rendezvous, to navigate to another celestial body or to land.

I have used mapping, atmospheric probes and re-entry heat mods.

[segaprophet]

I have an open attitude towards most mods, as I feel they make the game better, more flexible and more fun, with the exception of mods with cheaty parts in regard to unrealistic/unbalanced fuel capacity and thrust/weight ratio.

[AlternNocturn]

I don't use mod engines or fuel tanks just for the challenge of using the stock parts (in my copy of 0.16 I have KW installed because 0.17 crashes and 0.16 doesn't have much to do). I have MechJeb, probodobodyne, Damned Aerospace props, crew tank, cart mod, MapSat, Protractor, MMI satellite pack, PlanEx interplanetary probe pack, a ballprobe thing, hull cam, and TT Modular wheels. I have nothing to gain by being a purist and nothing to lose by installing mods and expanding the game without having to wait for a major update, so if I like a mod, I'll download it and use it, even if it is a little cheaty, like the engine on the ball probe.

Also, I really don't like the attitude of this forum towards users who choose not to play the game under their own definition of "legitimately". So what if someone used KW parts and MechJeb to get their ship into orbit, Protractor to get to Duna, and a drogue chute from probodobodyne to land? I got to Duna the day the patch came out, 100% stock. Do I think of myself as better than someone who used MechJeb and NovaPunch? No, of course not. That's not the point of the game. If you want to be competitive, take a challenge from the Challenges forum, otherwise leave these people alone.

[PakledHostage]

Also, I really don't like the attitude of this forum towards users who choose not to play the game under their own definition of "legitimately".

Do you mean this "forum" or this "thread"? I don't think most posters to this thread are being self-righteous. Reahreic asked if anyone is using mods. Most respondents are just answering that question.

[TheDarkStar]

I don't really use mods. The only times I use them are for special purposes (piloting empty ships for challenges, finding weight, special parts needed for challenges like the balloon mod). I don't fly my actual missions with MechJeb, I use currently use it solely for it's PANIC function to eject stages when a Kerbal is not in the ship. All orbital transfers that I do are without mods (or much math, although I could cut fuel costs with it). Stock parts make it more of a challenge for me, although I sometimes can't do as much.

[segaprophet]

I have an open attitude towards most mods, as I feel they make the game better, more flexible and more fun, with the exception of mods with cheaty parts in regard to unrealistic/unbalanced fuel capacity and thrust/weight ratio.

I'd like to add, that being said, I learned to play the game well and do all ascent/orbital/landing maneuvers manually, so it's not like I couldn't play without something like MechJeb (it seems like a lot of people can't), I just regard MechJeb as a timesaver, especially when testing craft through repeated scenarios.

[AlternNocturn]

Do you mean this "forum" or this "thread"?

I meant the forum. The people in this thread appear to be acting civilized so I don't know why I'd target them. But there are a few people who frequent this site that have a marginally negative orientation towards anything that may or may not make the game easier.

[TheHengeProphet]

I personally run completely stock. I don't really want to bother with installing them, and I admid that I am a little proud of not using them; however, I have been considering using mechjeb, as getting into orbit over and over can get tiring. I don't use quicksaves, because I like the idea that if I mess up, I mess up and have to deal with the consequences. This can be both fun and frustrating, as I don't use maths for transfers, either (I fudge pretty much everything).

While I may be on a "high horse" of not using mods, I'm not going to nay-say people who do, because I'm not playing the game for them. It's not like it diminishes my fun, I just like the challenge of a stock game!

[Genolution]

I havent used mods at all yet. but I'm sure one day I will want to dock with other ships and stations, and grab some new gear for my rockets. but I'm of a mind that the game should present to me a challenge above all else. so I dont think ill be using ultra powerfull rockets and tiny fuel tanks with millions of gallons in them. but I may have to take a look at that protractor thingy soon as i plan my trip to mars. after all, I dont have a team of astronomers and physists planing my optimal trajectory. and really I dont feel mech jeb is cheating as some would say simply because the apollo astronaughts had all the same info and automation available.

[Nemoricus]

I mostly use mods that extend the game's information display. MechJeb, Protractor, and Flight Engineer all provide information that I have no access to otherwise. I don't need any of it by any means, since I've landed on Ike without using any of them. However, having them takes out a lot of what's to me frustrating eyeballing, and they give me tools that allow me to put a great deal of knowledge about orbital mechanics to work.

The only autopilots I use on a regular basis are MechJeb's attitude controls, and that only because I don't have the information to do it well otherwise. A standout here is the orbit normal autopilots, which are absolutely critical for making accurate plane changes. I can and have eyeballed this, but I find that using the autopilots gives me more time to do what I enjoy, which is planning and executing maneuvers to get me to where I want to go.

Bottom line? This is a sandbox game, and while some people might like building sand castles entirely by hand, I like having the rulers and protractors to make my constructions more precise. They won't do the job for me, but they help immensely.

[robly18]

I've been running stock ever since 0.17 came out, but I used to have mods like zoxygene and remotetech, that didn't make the game any easier or harder, but just changed it about a bit. And especially those two complement eachother quite well tbh.

[PakledHostage]

Bottom line? This is a sandbox game, and while some people might like building sand castles entirely by hand, I like having the rulers and protractors to make my constructions more precise. They won't do the job for me, but they help immensely.

Clearly the issue of mods such as MechJeb, Protractor, etc are very controversial... But just as AlternNoctern and others have expressed frustration about members of this forum who diminish players who use mods, I get frustrated by the recurring claim that flying without using mods is imprecise. It isn’t. It just requires playing the game in a different way. It requires careful planning, observation and calculations that many players would find tedious, but that other players like myself really enjoy.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll re-post a link to an example of a free-return trajectory that I flew around the Mun back in January, long before MechJeb or the Patched Conics trajectory projection system even existed. Per the challenge, I jettisoned everything but the pod and parachute immediately after completing my TMI burn. I had no way to adjust my trajectory after that but the boys still made it home on the first try. I could dig up many other examples of precise mod-free flying by other contributors to this forum, as well.

For me, the challenge of achieving my missions “NASA style†(i.e. get it right the first time I try, no do-overs) while working within the limitations of the existing instrumentation and flight controls is what keeps me hooked.

[Markus Reese]

I use mod free to get started going. have made it to jool etc. After I can acheive certain goals on stock parts, I then will go ahead and get mods that increase the versatility of what I can do. Ie the bigger engines and tanks to help reduce lag. Parts for solar etc on style and shieldings to make it more realistic in style. There are two ways you can view mods. One is to make stuff easier, ie unlimited fuel tanks, super efficient engines, mechjeb, etc.

Myself, I mod once I get the feel and accomplish the challenge to just enjoy the flight. Using damned robotics for cool setups. Rovers to explore around. Solar panels and heat exchangers for roleplay. The biggest problem with mods is that some of the best ones are getting a bit complex, and small tweaks are occuring in the base plugins which can cause problems.

[Bioman222]

The only mods I use are DYJ's Crewtank and my very own unmanned command pod mods.

[Qumefox]

I played totally stock for a long time, and made it to mun, minmus, eve, and duna. Then finally added protractor and kerbal engineer redux to reduce the math/random guessing needed to deal with interplanetary transfers.

I don't really agree with autopilots, but to be honest, I in general don't care how people play their own game. What generally annoys me the most about it isn't the autopilot itself, but more the 'Why should I learn to do it when there's something that does it for me?' attitude that's prevalent in the current generation.

The only other mod I have is pretty silly. The left for dead Cadillac rover/capsule.. stumbled on it here http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/24141-From-a-Linkerlb-67 and it's now my rescue craft of choice (Seats 5 in style!) It also required tosh's carts, but I haven't done anything with those otherwise. In general I try to stick with stock parts, most of the other mods i've tried in the past have made the game significantly easier, which isn't why I play. Using stock parts presents a challenge, which I like.

[Nemoricus]

Clearly the issue of mods such as MechJeb, Protractor, etc are very controversial... But just as AlternNoctern and others have expressed frustration about members of this forum who diminish players who use mods, I get frustrated by the recurring claim that flying without using mods is imprecise. It isn’t. It just requires playing the game in a different way. It requires careful planning, observation and calculations that many players would find tedious, but that other players like myself really enjoy.

I never claimed that flying without these mods was inherently imprecise. However, the mods do allow for a degree of planning and instantaneous feedback that makes it easier to be precise. Again, it's the difference between building a sand castle with a ruler and without. Using the ruler allows you to get to a desired degree of precision more readily, but with enough time, patience, and skill, eyeballing it can do so as well.

I can and have done interplanetary missions without them, and even managed a rescue. What they do allow me to do, though, is to spend less time guessing at the details of a maneuver, and spend more of it doing what I enjoy in this game: building and flying rockets. And using the mods as I do, they won't do my flying for me, leaving me as the one to figure out when and how to burn. And since it most certainly won't build my rocket for me, I feel that using them provides the right level and kind of challenge for me.

[Bashkire]

I play 100% stock, simply because I like the extra challenge that that gives. Much as someone else said on here before me, while I am proud of not using any mods or config edits, I do not mind people using them. This game does not have a defined set of rules saying that it must be played 10% stock. Nor does it say that it cannot be, however.

What people forget is that the one thing that each member of the human race has in common is that we're all different and therefore we all have different opinions on the best way to play this game. In my opinion, as long as the end user has fun playing it the way they want to then I don't see any problem.