Recomended add-ons for noobs

[Biker Joe]

Hello everyone!

Only been playing KSP for a few weeks but already I'm hearing a lot about add-ons, stuff to make the game more interesting, give you more stuff to do really.

Here is what I have so far:

KAS - adds winches and stuff to the game

Firespitter - adds rotary engine parts

Kethane - resource mining add-on

I know this has probably been asked many times before (I tried the search function but wasn't much help) but what mods/add-ons would people suggest for noobs that would help them make the gameplay more interesting/add to the KSP experience?

If you suggest anything would you mind putting in an explanation of the add-on just to make it easier to undersand how it helps and what it does.

Also I've heard about MechJeb and decided not to download it for the time being to make the game more challenging.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Payload]

Kerbal engineer redux for TRO. http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/0-18-1-kerbal-engineer-redux-v0-5/

You will need a docking alignment indicator. You can either use laser docking cam. http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/lazor-docking-cam/

OR

Docking port alignment indicator. http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/dock-align-indicator/ If you ask me, the second one is lighter and better.

The laser cam is nice but it comes with a bunch of other things that may cause problems.

The mods you listed are good. I have all of those but I took out the parts that I don't use.

I would say you definitely want KSPX. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/30472-0-21-x-KSPX-Kerbal-Stock-Part-eXpansion-mod-reposted-v0-2-3

Try to keep it light on the mods if you are a new player. Those few things I stated above are the essentials.

I wouldn't go installing all of those parts heavy mods until you have a better understanding of the quirks of KSP.

At some point, when you are familiar with all of the orbital maneuvers, they will start to get boring and time consuming. You will want some sort of flight computer.

There is a mod that will let you program your own. kOS. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/47399-kOS-Scriptable-Autopilot-System-0-84

There is also as you know MechJeb which is excellent and it is already programmed for you.

Then you can actually use all of those parts heavy mods to do things. Kethane mining without a flight computer of some kind is not as fun as it seems.

I do agree that you will get greater enjoyment in the meantime by doing things yourself. Concentrate on the fundamentals and learn how to think like a rocket scientist.

Learn to build proper rockets. Many people find that they can fly bricks into space manually but they cry foul when a computer can't fly that same brick.

At some point you will know the mods you need based on your mission plans and ideas. It will probably be when you understand exactly how you want to use them.

As your goals grow so will your needs. It's a great way to play if you ask me. MJ isn't a win button either. If you don't know space flight, you wont be able to use it properly. It's just a tool.

[Gailardia]

I really recommend HyperEdit. It may be a cheat, but I find it really useful for just screwing around or testing designs before truly launching them.

[regex]

If you are a complete noob to the game, I recomend using only one mod, Chatterer, for awhile. Figure out the stock game and enjoy the challenges presented you. Once you feel comfortable docking and making missions to Duna and beyond, stack on some mods.

You've got some decent ones listed, I'd also second what you and others have mentioned:

Engineer Redux for all your maths and flight displays.

Kethane for more gameplay options.

KAS for even more gameplay.