I play KSP missions vanilla, "not because they are easy, but because they are hard"

[Mercy]

(In b4 person claiming that the navigation data is for noobs and that everyone should fly to space based on engine sound and stopwatch with their screen off)

inb4personclaimingNASAusesmechjebsoit'smorerealistic

Anyway, to get on topic. I use few mods, and none of them are things like part packs. KAS and KER are good examples, as they add new gameplay features entirely. Play how you want, just be prepared to deal with people with differing opinions when you post about it.

Also, I recommend anyone using Mechjeb for information downloads KER, it leves the screen less cluttered and you can see your info in the VAB. Goes better with the games menu aesthetic too.

[KerbMav]

I use mostly cosmetick mods or mods that add more structural parts - I dont trust modded engines etc. because I cant decide if they are op or in line with stock specs.

I also use a bunch of UI mods like Protractor and Engineer - and will try out the data output of MJ when the new version is finished and use the autopilot whenever -> I <- see fit.

Yesterday I installed Fuel Balancer for the first time and this morning I wondered if it was a bit cheaty in MY eyes - I used it to balance the fuel in 10 orange tanks of a Mainsail first stage with four Skipper boosters so they flameout at the same time - I wondered if the mod did something I myself would not be able to do by hand or design - I came up with a complicated yet probably working design of fuel ducts and cross-fuel-disabled parts and will try this on the next launch of the same vessel. If I can solve the problem with a part intensive built, then the mod gets greenlighted for ME.

The 100% balanced distribution of fuel in itself cannot be accomplished (without lots of patience and wasted playing time) stock, but that I dont care about, at all.

And if there never will be a way to automate the transporation of mined fuel to a refueling station i orbit, then Fueltastic will stay in my mods folder.

[OopsThatNotWork]

I totally intend to play career mode vanilla (probably wont have any option). But on sandbox I only draw the line at light/warp speed items.

[Crown]

The only plugin I use is the Kerbal Alarm Clock. Very useful with the growing number of vessels not to loose track of important events.

[Beowolf]

I use several mods regularly including MechJeb. MechJeb doesn't usually fly for me though, except when I'm performance-tuning a booster running the same automated ascent a zillion times. The others directly add features (Infernal Robotics, KAS, Deadly Reentry) or add pretty parts (NovaPunch and FASA Gemini And Mercury).

Why are vanilla players so concerned about how I play my sandbox game, that the topic seems to come up in half of the threads?

Does this happen in other modifiable games? Should I feel smug that back in the dark ages I played Doom (and hundreds of games since) without mods?

[M83]

I don't play with mods normally, but I do appreciate some parts of mods, such as Mechjeb's built-in Delta-V calc or the Chatter mod, which are nice when you realise that it's good to have information and realism at times. Mods are nice and help fill the gap for some players who are waiting for the updated stuff to end up in future versions of KSP.

[alacrity]

I like mods... ALOT... the new parts and game mechanics make things interesting and really add challenges that are not in stock game yet (Ever tried to actually fly and land the extraplanetary launchpad).

I do understand the sharing craft files problem. There is almost no chance I can share 99.9% of my craft files, which kinda sux, but I deal with it and soldier on. I do recommend the little mentioned but very handy NUKEMod... great 1/2 meter parts that have become the corner stone of my rover fleet.

Alacrity

[wooaa]

I use stock, not because i do not like the idea of mods, I just find installing and trobbleshooting them not worth the effort.

[Kerbol Prime]

All my ships are stock. I do however use plugins including steam gauges, editor extensions, subassembly manager, and kerbal engineer (I always remove the chip later).

[Themohawkninja]

I don't use mods as I A: Increase the chance of the game crashing, B: Risk not having the mod available come next update, C: Like to accomplish tasks with the tools that Squad gives me (Okay... plus some external programs).

[hugix]

I think mods make the game more complicated. When you are adding more parts you create more possibilities. Which makes the engineering side more challenging.

I love the KW rocketry pack because it challenges me to make the perfect launch vehicle for my missions. I got an entire range of new solid rocket boosters that I can use. A lot more than the 2 standard SRB's that are in the stock pack.

And what to think about the fairings. I made for myself the rule that my payloads have to fit inside the fairring. This challenges my designs a lot.

And even the mods that add more functions to the game are an addition. Mechjeb sure can do a lot. But you still have to know what it is doing. And it is adding a bit of realism to the game. When the Apollo missions landed at the moon the commanders didn't control the throttle but the descent rate of the craft. More like the translatron function of in Mechjeb. and what to think of the Kerbal Alarm clock function, how can anyone think that is a bad addition to the game?

Edited August 10, 2013 by shadowsutekh
Rule violation

[Gus]

OP here. I was wrong. Mods open up whole new realms to investigate. Explore them.

Cheers

[OtherDalfite]

I've recently started using quite a few mods. Just picked up the modular arm mod as well as KAS and the new version of Kethane. Mods do add a lot to the gameplay, but can also subtract from it from what I've seen.

[BeefTenderloin]

I like mods such as NovaPunch, and KW rocketry, but I can just never keep on top of all the new parts in the editor D:

So mostly I play vanilla, until I install a mod, shortly after which I end up uninstalling it It'd be nice if we could drag and arrange the parts menu in the editor, to reduce the clutter a bit.

[Karriz]

I can't play the game without knowing my delta-V anymore (Mechjeb or Engineer Redux). Once the career mode comes, I'll probably have to learn to calculate it myself.

[shadowsutekh]

Closed for cleaning

[shadowsutekh]

Reopened. People in the future please read the forum rules to avoid having threads closed for cleaning.