Rayne's World - KSP1 Remaster Mod List

[RayneCloud]

Everything begins with Inspiration, that little spark that pushes you forward. For me, that's where I'd like to start with my load out, which I imagine isn't all that far off from everyone else's. The loadout that follows the KSP2 Road Map, attempts to "Remaster KSP1" and pushes KSP1 to it's limit and unlocks it's full potential. For me, that inspiration started with these two videos,

 

With those videos out of the way, let's get started...

(note: If I don't mention a requirement, just assume you should download the requirement...because it's a requirement,  )
(Note 2: Please remember this is just my personal load out and recommendations, feel free to add others, suggest alternates, etc.)

Formatting Guide
Bold = In my Load Order
Italics = Alternates and other suggestions that I am not currently using.

First things First, a Solid Foundation is important to any mod load order and I am certain most of you know these,

Foundational Mods (Should all be present on CKAN at last check.)
*  KSP Community Fixes - You all know this one, one of the single most important in our foundation in my opinion. Fixes, patches, Updates, etc
* Docking Port Alignment Indicator - Situated in our foundation to make docking a better experience overall
* Navball Docking Alignment Indicator - Alternate to DPAI
* Trajectories - I would consider this one an "Optional" part of the Foundational mods, but if you want help with nailing that runway landing, or that Falcon landing, go here.
* Kerbal Alarm Clock - Again, Optional, and not something I use since the default alarm clock in game works well enough for me.
* BetterBurnTime - Does what it says on the tin and makes burn times better. Gives more info on burn timing.
* BetterTimeWarpContinued - Grab this for the sweet sweet "lossless physis warp" Ya know, so you can burn during time warp.  (Can be buggy and cause issues, make sure to read the mod page for instructions.)
* Kerbal Engineer Redux - I mean, we all know this one, gotta have all that info.
* Community Tech Tree - Gonna need this sitting in the foundation for when we add all our parts mods.
* Toolbar - Toolbar button support for mods.
* IndicatorLights & IndicatorLights Community Extensions - Something I like using to help with visibility.
* Orbital Survey Plus - Vanilla+ Overhaul of orbital survey features.
* SCANSAT - Use this if you want a much more intense overhaul to orbital survey. This is one of my all time faves, but I've moved to OSP lately.
* Procedural Parts - Not something I've used personally and not currently in my load order, but I hear good things.
* Procedural Fairings - Also not something I've had the need to use, but a good mod regardless and a suggestion.
* Kerbal Joint Reinforcement - Not sure if Next or Continued, but this was recommended.
* Precise Maneuver - Replaces and overhauls the Maneuver Node Planner.
* Hide Empty Tech Tree Nodes - Does what it says.
* Waypoint Manager - Not played with this one myself, but it is recommended for better navigation.
* The Janitor's Closet - Helps with parts management in the VAB/SPH

Now, we make KSP look Pretty,
Visuals (Most of us know or use these)
* Restock and Restock+ - Overhauls the vanilla parts sandbox and adds more parts. This is one of my personal faves that I don't play without.
* EVE + Volumetric Clouds Version - We all know EVE,  On the Clouds part, go to BlackRack's Patreon,  It's worth it, trust me, support Blackrack.  
* Parallax  & Parallax 2- Stock Planet Parallax and Parallax support for OPM is recommended.
* Scatterer - Again, we all know this one, go support Blackrack.
* TextureReplacer and Textures Unlimited - Kerbal customization and texture support.
* PlanetShine - Get that pretty planet light bounce back.
* Distant Object Enhancement - Gotta love seeing those pretty dots all the way out that way eh?
* Waterfall / Waterfall Restock / Waterfall Restock Expansion / RSMP - THE PLUMES, OMG THE PLUMES. SO PRETTY.  There are some issues here, but make sure to just install everything with CKAN, and I think RSMP comers bundled with the rest.
* Pood's Milky Way Skybox - Personal recomendation.
* TUFX / Shaddy / Shabby - I know next to nothing about these, and people seem to recommend them and I think they might be pre-reqs for things. 
* DE_IVAExtension + RasterPropMon - Gotta make those IVA's and Cockpits smexy.
* FreeIVA - Not something I use, but highly recommended.
* Re-Entry Particle Effects Renewed - Does what it is says, makes re-entry a lot cooler.

Let's add some new parts,
Parts Mods (Just my person list here, way to many to count.)
* Stockalike Station Parts - One of the single best parts mods and a personal fave. Has the spinny bits we all like for making those deep space ships yeah?
* Kerbal Planetary Base Systems - My personal fave for building bases on the surface.
* The ENTIRE Nertea Suite - Yeah... all of it.  Near Future Solar, Propulsion, Electrical, Space Craft, Construction, Kerbal Atomics, Cyrogenic Engines, Launch Vehicles, Cryo Tanks, Heat Control, System Heat, Far Future, Space Dust, System Heat, Mark IV SpacePlane I do mean all of it, the single greatest parts and gameplay suite and total overhaul of KSP of all time in my personal opinion.
* Blueshift - If you want FTL and you want an actually "balanced" FTL mod that really makes you work for FTL? This is my suggestion.
* Feline Utility Rovers - Cause, they're cute, and help with ground exploration. (There are some other neat rover mods as well, ASET Rover, Malemute Rover and Buffalo are some suggestions.)
* KAS + KIS - Used to be absolute faves, not sure how they hold up now-a-days, but would highly recommend.
* OPT Spaceplane - Highly recommend, but not currently using.
* MK-33 - OP as all get out, but also awesome.
* SPOCK and SOCK - For that Shuttle and Pathfinder goodness. Haven't used these in a bit tho, so, not sure how they're fairing. 
* Hullcam VDS - It's neat, suggest giving it a looksee.
* SpaceY Heavy Lifters  & SpaceY Expanded- Not sure if this is needed, but it is a cool alternative to really large lifters. 
* Kerbal GPS - One of my old faves, not sure how this works with Waypoint Manager but gonna add it in here as something I recommend.

Any other suggestions are most welcome.

Edited May 4 by RayneCloud
Added some more mods.

[RayneCloud]

How about some places to go and things to do?

Exploration and Gameplay Mods
* Outer Planets Mod - Next to GU, one of the single best Planet Mods for KSP, fleshing out the Kerbolar System and giving you things to strive for well before you go interstellar.
* Speaking of Interstellar - I would recommend GU (Galaxies Unbound) but I don't know if it's supported currently or available since I think @StarCrusher96 is fully invested in KSS2. So instead, I'll recommend Kcallbeloh for now.
* Oh, if I could, and I think there's a way to get it working, GPP Secondary, Grannus Expansion Pack with OPM and Kcallbeloh would be a wonderful set of mods to add exploration to your load order. This turns Kerbol in to a trinary star system and adds that interstellar exploration that we were promised in KSP2. 
* TAC-LS - For me, the best Life Support Mod out there. 
* Sandcastle - Base Building Yo. Tho, I have another set of mods that I think I prefer using for that.
* Simple Construction / Not So SimpleConstruction / Keridian Dynamics - I think this is probably the best full suite set upt for building colonies and bases.
* Stockalike Mining Extension - Parts mod, sure, but adds a lot to mining and resource gathering.

 

I think that about covers it for me, for now at least, will no doubt make updates in the future. This is my prefeed personal best mod list to bring KSP 1 in to the future and make it everything KSP 2 was supposed to be and more. Going well beyond to the goal of something like this...

(Note: I don't play with RSS/RO or other "Full Realism Mods" but this is the goal none the less. 

For @cocoscacao & @Fizzlebop Smith here ya go, my current load order as promised.

Edited May 4 by RayneCloud

[cocoscacao]

Big thanks

[RayneCloud]

Thoughts on the list so far? Anything you'd recommend or that I missed?

[StarCrusher96]

The mention is appreciated 

[FleshJeb]

Some very good ones in there.

THE foundational mod: MechJeb. Learning why and how it worked is what taught me orbital mechanics. Without MJ and KER, KSP is still an alpha-quality tech demo. With them, it’s a beta (that I have 6000 hrs in).

I know MJ was in bad shape after the “assistants” took over a few years ago. Has it been fixed yet? I had a long Discord conversation with Sarbian at the time, to clarify a few things I didn’t understand in the source, and I REALLY should have fixed it myself.

For a more functionalist/engineering type player, my essential list would add Editor Extensions Redux, CorrectCoL (or Kerbal Wind Tunnel), RCS Build Aid, TAC Fuel Balancer, and Navball Docking Alignment Indicator (much more elegant/intuitive than DPAI).

For automation, KOS or KRPC. KRPC is much more powerful but harder to start using.

Janitor’s Closet for hiding or permadeleting parts out of all those bloated part mods. I think you can even take out stock parts.

If you’re designing a comms network, I prefer this spreadsheet to in-game tools: https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/topic/149099-commnet-signal-strength-calculator-antenna-selector/

OhioBob’s jet engine and atmosphere graphs for speed, thrust, temperature, and pressure on the wiki are essential basic references for those of us that like spaceplanes and/or really hot aerobraking.

For whimsical and slightly overpowered ISRU, Karbonite. (I might be addicted to gas-giant diving, and a Tekto-Sarnus (OPM) dive is amazing.) AFAIK this is the only mod with atmospheric gas scoop refueling.

Last and certainly not least, ZeroMiniAVC because miniAVC is functionally spyware; I don’t care how they try to rationalize it.

[Fizzlebop Smith]

There are a couple mods that i think are awesome QOL editions.

Waypoint Manager 

HUD / Nav View
The waypoint manager allows users to make custom waypoints that can be integrated with other mods (like Mechjeb) and HUD projects and AR style HUD around the ship. Essentially making flight view an overlay navball.

One of my all time favorite QOL mods is EVA Follower. It allows you to chain Kerbal together and walk where ever you want to go while all the Kerbals follow along in a line!! Awesome if you are using the KIS inventory  systems.

Thanks for taking the time to share with us

[Kerbart]

5 hours ago, RayneCloud said:

Foundational Mods (Should all be present on CKAN at last check.)

[...]
* Docking Port Alignment Indicator - Situated in our foundation to make docking a better experience overall
[...]

The Navyfish DPAI is an invaluablue tool. I would never have mastered docking without it. But I would humbly suggest and "OR the Navball Docking Alignment Indicator" as it provides a similar service at a fraction of the real estate cost.

Edited May 4 by Kerbart

[RayneCloud]

Added some more mods.

@Kerbart - Added your suggestion as an alternate.
@Fizzlebop Smith - Added Waypoint Manager as a recommended mod.
@FleshJeb - Added in Janitors Closet as a recommended mod.  Gonna keep the automation out, as it's not for me, but others can toss that in if they want.  

[Nuko]

Some mods that i use like forever:  Real chute, Missing History, Easy vessel switch, Simple Fuel Switch, [x] Science! Continued, 4kSP_Expanded, Chatterer. Im gonna try some of your list tomorrow and maybe the ZTheme.

[GluttonyReaper]

Great list, definitely going to use this when I set everything back up! I was going to make some suggestions, but this pretty much is my mod list, as far as I can tell... the only (very optional) mention I can make is:

Engine Lighting Relit - adds a minor lighting effect to engines which I think looks nice!

Personally, I've also used Kerbalism and JNSQ as an alternative to TAC and Outer Planets, but that's definitely for a bit of a different play style. I would also recommend SCANsat and DMagic's Orbital Science... but I have no idea if they even work on the final KSP1 versions.

Edited May 7 by GluttonyReaper

[jsteve]

You mention TAC-LS for life support, do you pair this with any other mods for growing food locally etc? Others I'm assuming it's not possible to establish permanent offworld settlements 

[RayneCloud]

8 hours ago, jsteve said:

You mention TAC-LS for life support, do you pair this with any other mods for growing food locally etc? Others I'm assuming it's not possible to establish permanent offworld settlements 

A lot of the parts packs listed have support for this. For example, Stock alike Station Parts Redux has full support and compat with TAC-LS. There's a greenhouse and aquaponics lab in these for example,

If you pick up PET (Planetside Exploration Technologies) it also supports TAC-LS, as well as Kerbal Planetary Base Systems.

 

Edited May 8 by RayneCloud

[Infinite Aerospace]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:33 AM, RayneCloud said:

Thoughts on the list so far? Anything you'd recommend or that I missed?

All of the part mods made by Benjee are 100% recommended, they're great and should be part of any mod list. Also, as for Life Support I find it hard to recommend any Life Support mods that aren't Kerbalism, it's the most in-depth one.

Edited May 8 by Infinite Aerospace

[RayneCloud]

9 minutes ago, Infinite Aerospace said:

All of the part mods made by Benjee are 100% recommended, they're great and should be part of any mod list. Also, as for Life Support I find it hard to recommend any Life Support mods that aren't Kerbalism, it's the most in-depth one.

So, in terms of Life Support mods.. I rank them like this..

* Easy  - Snacks
* Medium - USI LS with MKS/OKS
* Hard - TAC-LS
* Very Hard  - Kerbalism

I tend not to recommend people to Kerbalism as a starting point for Life Support mods and for supporting Colony Gameplay. as it might as well be a total conversion and overhaul of the game in multiple areas that I don't think the average player coming in to modding and entering in to the LS gameplay space is ready for. I stick with TAC-LS as it has a lot of compat with a lot of the part packs I use to make colonies with such as KPBS/SSPER/PET etc.

That being said, I fully agree and recommend SOCK, PET, Hab Tech 2, from Benjee. 

[Infinite Aerospace]

23 minutes ago, RayneCloud said:

So, in terms of Life Support mods.. I rank them like this..

* Easy  - Snacks
* Medium - USI LS with MKS/OKS
* Hard - TAC-LS
* Very Hard  - Kerbalism

I tend not to recommend people to Kerbalism as a starting point for Life Support mods and for supporting Colony Gameplay. as it might as well be a total conversion and overhaul of the game in multiple areas that I don't think the average player coming in to modding and entering in to the LS gameplay space is ready for. I stick with TAC-LS as it has a lot of compat with a lot of the part packs I use to make colonies with such as KPBS/SSPER/PET etc.

That being said, I fully agree and recommend SOCK, PET, Hab Tech 2, from Benjee. 

That seems fair with LS mods, though I can't really get away with anything but Kerbalism now. It's the best one for showing the perils, and troubles of spaceflight. Like, even having to deal with waste and such, and radiation, it's fabulous. 

[RayneCloud]

Just now, Infinite Aerospace said:

That seems fair with LS mods, though I can't really get away with anything but Kerbalism now. It's the best one for showing the perils, and troubles of spaceflight. Like, even having to deal with waste and such, and radiation, it's fabulous. 

Hey, I'm with ya! 100% lol. I'm the one that started playing Fallout 4 on Survival Mode and then went.. "How can I make this HARDER? OH I KNOW!!"  (2-3 shot TTK, tarkov style limb damage, bleeding, and medical gameplay oh and advanced needs like showering  and stuff... That will be FUN.. Right? Right...)  xD 

[qwewew]

Thank you for collating these. I am returning to KSP1 after a long time away (was sort of waiting for KSP2, but have now given up) and it is good to get a reminder of what is worth attention first. I like a 'stockalike' experience for my modded KSP and I think what you've suggested so far seems along these lines.

I have 3 further mod suggestions to consider. These are very much just 'QOL' mods but I've tried to pick ones that took me ages to discover but have improved my gameplay experience.

1) Mk1 cabin hatch: I usually like to keep it fairly close to stock in terms of parts, but I consider this more of a fix than a mod:

2) Xenon ISRU: For mining, whilst it might not be too realistic, I feel from a gameplay angle this change to allow Xenon generation via the ISRU is reasonable if you want to really go for it with Xenon engines (works with v1.12.5) without getting a ton of extra part mods:

https://spacedock.info/mod/1010/Xenon ISRU

3) ISRU Thanks But No Tanks: Also for mining, in the interests of saving on part count (and sanity) I've recently started using this. Gives a small amount of ore storage to the ISRU.

 

[RayneCloud]

16 hours ago, qwewew said:

Thank you for collating these. I am returning to KSP1 after a long time away (was sort of waiting for KSP2, but have now given up) and it is good to get a reminder of what is worth attention first. I like a 'stockalike' experience for my modded KSP and I think what you've suggested so far seems along these lines.

I have 3 further mod suggestions to consider. These are very much just 'QOL' mods but I've tried to pick ones that took me ages to discover but have improved my gameplay experience.

1) Mk1 cabin hatch: I usually like to keep it fairly close to stock in terms of parts, but I consider this more of a fix than a mod:

2) Xenon ISRU: For mining, whilst it might not be too realistic, I feel from a gameplay angle this change to allow Xenon generation via the ISRU is reasonable if you want to really go for it with Xenon engines (works with v1.12.5) without getting a ton of extra part mods:

https://spacedock.info/mod/1010/Xenon ISRU

3) ISRU Thanks But No Tanks: Also for mining, in the interests of saving on part count (and sanity) I've recently started using this. Gives a small amount of ore storage to the ISRU.

 

Interesting, I can totally see using the Mk1 Cabin Hatch. With the other two, I can see adding some ore storage to the ISRU but not so much the xenon production. The reason being for the second one, is that I think (I need to go play with it again to test) Space Dust, one of the mods in the Nertea suite, should allow that harvesting via atmo harvesting. Thanks for suggestions (I'll update the OP later today) and welcome back. <3

[M0nk3y101]

Really cool list! I have been out of the KSP modding scene for a few years now and this has helped get me back into the saddle without.

I had an issue with CKAN and a handful of the mods in your list not supporting version 1.12. How did you get around these limitations?
When i force installed the mods the game crashed with a lot of "B9 Part Switch" errors.

I think it was a lot of the Not So Simple Construction mods that caused the problem.

 

Edit: Turns out i had selected the old, unmaintained version of Not So Simple Construction :-).

Edited May 10 by M0nk3y101
Fixed my issue.

[RayneCloud]

7 hours ago, M0nk3y101 said:

Really cool list! I have been out of the KSP modding scene for a few years now and this has helped get me back into the saddle without.

I had an issue with CKAN and a handful of the mods in your list not supporting version 1.12. How did you get around these limitations?
When i force installed the mods the game crashed with a lot of "B9 Part Switch" errors.

I think it was a lot of the Not So Simple Construction mods that caused the problem.

 

Edit: Turns out i had selected the old, unmaintained version of Not So Simple Construction :-).

 

Make sure CKAN is set to show mods from 1.10.x forward as Compatible,
Settings > Compatible Game Versions > Check 1.10, 1.11. and 1.12.

[AtomicTech]

On 5/4/2024 at 4:01 AM, RayneCloud said:

Waterfall Restock Expansion

OOOH! Is that my Restock Waterfall Expansion?

[RayneCloud]

16 minutes ago, AtomicTech said:

OOOH! Is that my Restock Waterfall Expansion?

Yes, yes it is,  Thank you for making it. <3

[Grenartia]

Some mods that haven't been mentioned that I think are pretty useful:

Structural Tubing: 

Airplanes Plus: 

(currently only the outdated version is on CKAN, but the mod itself is must-have enough for me that I'm willing to risk mixing CKAN-added and manual installation)

ReCoupler:
 

FruitKocktail is also a great QoL modsuite:
 

Speaking of fruit-named mods, GRAPEFRUIT is another good one, great for building honest-to-Werner wet workshops:
 

[Fizzlebop Smith]

Restock has some developers return  and it looks better than ever!!!
I just wanted to let anyone coming back to KSP and leaning on the abundance of mods to create a more personalized experience know to check Curseforge for the most recent versions. You will not be disappointed. 

Also learned a few things after a forum dive..
Alot of people use ExtraPlanetary  LaunchPads to help create that off world colony experience.  Well, there is a significant learning curve that applies to learning the various resources and the manufacturing chains requires to make "rocket parts' The much needed resource required to fabricate VAB designs with ExtraPlanetary LaunchPads.

Simple Construction has long been heralded as the solution. Trimming it down to a simplified resource chain with addition Module Manager patches to add it into RO play throughs.  I always thought that  this mod was incompatible with the most revent KSP1 release. Some Developers do not use CKAN so be sure to keep an eye out on CursedForge / Spacedock