To Plugin or not to Plugin? This is the question. That I have. For you to answer.

[F5 Penguin]

Okay, so brand new here.. Just finding out what explodes and what strands Jeb out past the Mun (answers: too many rockets and hitting space bar too soon). I see a lot of notes talking about "well I accomplished this with this mod/plugin" and then I see "I was able to do this legit", etc.

What I'm curious to know, from you, the wonderful Kerbal community, is what plugins should I be looking for to get the most out of my gameplay? I am reading a couple of Mission Logs and see things like SatMapping technology, which seems cool, and then something like MechJeb, which people seem to either love or hate. I'd like to play the game as it was intended to be played (albeit changing through the constant updates) while also getting the best value for someone who isn't the most scientifically-inclined. The Plugin Essentials Pack seems to be a strong selling point, but again, I don't want to make it so easy that I just click buttons, as I enjoy learning that not attaching fuel lines and silver tanks makes orange tanks go KABOOM.

Any thoughts on all of this? I hope I made sense; I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment with the game and have been timid to dive right in without the proper tools. Although, I did my make my flag already

http://sdrv.ms/1atXqre

[NeoMorph]

Oh god... REALLY dicey thing are mods. Some like they and others hate them.

Edit: Ooops - killed my mod list when I selected them and hit enter.

I'm a mod lover and here are the ones I think are ESSENTIAL!

• Crew Manifest - For managing your Kerbals so you can choose to have none on probe driven craft to test them without killing anyone.
  
• Editor Tools by DeadB33f - This mod is slightly broken but is still useful for doing symmetry in the VAB
  
• Haystack - Makes using the map screen easier as it helps locate craft.
  
• KSPX - Nice Parts
  
• KW Rocketry - Also nice parts
  
• MechJeb 2 - VERY controversial but a lot of people (me included) use it to lesser and greater degrees. I personally love the darn thing.
  
• Protractor - Great for plotting interplanetary transfers.
  
• Subassembly Loader - For saving part built rockets to use again and again. You can then just build the payload and grab the booster sections you prebuilt from the SubAssembly Loader. Awesome mod!
  
• Romfarer's Docking Camera - Great for getting your manual docking skills.
  
• Engineer Redux - Great for building rockets for specific purposes
  

Edited June 19, 2013 by NeoMorph

[regex]

It's entirely up to you what you use. I personally avoid MechJeb like the plague, but mods like Engineer Redux and Protractor are things I consider vital. Chatterer is fun, too. As for parts mods, eh...

[F5 Penguin]

By no means did I mean to incite a riot or anything! I hope you don't think I was trying to troll; I'm really just curious and trying to figure this all out. My intentions are pure, I promise!

[Guest]

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/36634-NASA-JPL-Scientists-play-KSP-%28With-mods-of-course%29-%29

If mods are good enough for the JPL, they're good enough for me.

[technicalfool]

Mechjeb and ISA Mapsat for me.

I avoid FAR, not because it's "cheating", but because apparently it adjusts the game physics to the point where rockets that work in unmodded KSP won't work in FAR-modded KSP.

If you want a calculator for ÃŽâ€V and thrust to weight that doesn't have the Smart A.S.S and other flight computery parts of Mechjeb, then Flight Engineer will give you that (and has more accurate ÃŽâ€V calculations for oddly-staged rockets too).

[yongedevil]

If you're looking to learn and refine your rocket design and flight plans I highly recommend either

Kerbal Engineer Redux or MechJeb Both have displays in the VAB and flight giving you information on your ship and your situation. They let you build and plan more by the numbers, and you'll learn to be able to tell if you ship can get somewhere without having to test it and run out of fuel stranding your kerbals.

Engineer Redux dose the displays only, which I very much like, MechJeb has the display functions and also includes autopilot functionally. If you want to learn though that can be an advantage as MechJeb v2.0.8 actually shows you what it is doing when you ask it to fly you somewhere by plotting manoeuvre nodes.

Edited June 19, 2013 by yongedevil
typo

[skykooler]

The Kethane mod is essential if you want to do a lot of interplanetary flight.

[Scarecrow88]

I am trying to play the game as intended but there are a few mods I use that eases that task.

Protractor is useful for letting you know when the planets are lined up for interplanetary missions. Kerbal alarm is great when on long time warps to help you avoid overshooting the next significant event on the mission. The last one I use is the Lazer camera docking mod. It doesn't do any docking for you, that still has to be done manually, but it does give you read outs to let you know when you are lined up properly which saves having to keep swapping camera viewing angles.

I am still fairly new to the game myself so all missions are still a challenge but I believe I am still playing the game in the spirit it was intended and still get a great sense of achievement when something goes right.

[NeoMorph]

Scarecrow... do you think the devs would have made the game mod-able if they didn't intend for us to mod the game? Just something to think about.

[Pontiac]

I'm on the side with Neo, but not for the same reason. The game is seriously SERIOUSLY no where near completion. The availability of actually moding the snot outta this game is fantastic, and considering the advancements that Kethane and MechJeb have done, its incredible.

I don't think Squad "intended" for us to go so far with it, in respects that I don't think they EXPECTED us to go so far with it as we have.

So far, everything that has been mentioned is a great addon.

[Scarecrow88]

I'm not saying they didn't intend the game to be moddable, it's just that I enjoy playing it the way they have currently released it. If I thought mods were I complete no-no, I wouldn't be using any.

[F5 Penguin]

Thank you ALL so very much for the insight. I'm gonna load up on some of these recommendations, play around a bit, and report back in my blog and mission log with my findings. Time for some planned 'sploding.

[NeoMorph]

Penguin, just play the game however you want to play it. Some get their fun out of using the stock system. I tend to want to push the envelope with all my mods a little heh. I'm not knocking the purists, in fact I tip my hat to them because they can submit true bug test results without the mods to muddy the waters.

Oh and those mods I listed are only a FEW of the mods I have installed. I have several others that are really awesome but it's best to play with a smaller load at the beginning because it starts to get hard to find things. Even I have to open the part files at times just to find which section they are in lol. I do wish Squad let us list in alphabetic mode and search for specific parts in the future....

[neurotoxin]

Penguin, just play the game however you want to play it. Some get their fun out of using the stock system. I tend to want to push the envelope with all my mods a little heh. I'm not knocking the purists, in fact I tip my hat to them because they can submit true bug test results without the mods to muddy the waters.

Oh and those mods I listed are only a FEW of the mods I have installed. I have several others that are really awesome but it's best to play with a smaller load at the beginning because it starts to get hard to find things. Even I have to open the part files at times just to find which section they are in lol. I do wish Squad let us list in alphabetic mode and search for specific parts in the future....

On that note, I highly recommend Simple part organizer once you do start having trouble finding parts:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/34779-0-20-Simple-Part-Organizer-(v0-250)