I'm Turning to the Dark Side!

[Wachman]

So I've been playing this game for awhile now. I cut my teeth on the demo and eventually bought the full game. Throughout this time I've always played stock. I wanted to "learn" the game and mechanics before adding anything extra to the game. Now, I did utilize some on-line "helps", the parachute calculator and the interplanetary guide for example. Lately I'd been finding myself getting frustrated by having to "guess" so much on making my rockets. It was getting frustrating playing for a couple of hours only yo realize the mission you've been on the whole time was always going to fail because I didn't have enough fuel (ie dV) to make it home again. So earlier this week I relented and installed not 1, but 2 mods for the game. Still trying to rationalize my decision as not having a direct impact on the game play. I installed Engineer Redux, and Kerbal Alarm Clock. I kept telling myself that they weren't changing the game, just giving me information I should have already had.

I have already noticed a big difference running these mods. First and most noticeable, I'm finally starting to build small. I've always been afraid of not having enough fuel, enough thrust to finish a mission, so I've tended to build big. With Engineer giving me the TWR and dV of my rockets as I build them, coupled with the excellent dV charts I've started to strip down my builds.

Engineer has also helped me make my landing more efficient. I always wasted a lot of fuel coming down by slowing down too early. By placing a maneuver node on the surface set to basically zero out my velocity to show me the needed dV and estimated burn time, coupled with Engineer's terrain altitude and time to impact, I can better plan my landing burns to be later and use less fuel than before. By needing less fuel to land, I can build smaller landers. Smaller landers can be launched using smaller rockets. Or, smaller landers can be sent to farther places with my current rockets.

I can stop at just 2 right?

So, am I Doomed?

Are there cookies?

[Cirocco]

1) you can probably hold out for quite a while, but I'm afraid the lure of the darkside is strong. I always vowed never to install mods that would really alter the game instead of just help me do calculations. Yet recently I installed FAR. For which I will now require a mod for fairings. And I'll probably start running with deadly re-entry at one point. And I don't yet have kerbal engineer so I also build big. ... You can see where this road leads to...

2) Probably.

3) Yes, mine are chocolate. Dark chocolate obviously.

[Random Tank]

I don't quite see how mods are the dark side, as quite a few just add things that are missing from the game... Ah well, figure of speech.

Good idea on getting experienced on stock before modding, it means that these mods will help you, rather than make the whole process harder to learn.

Will you install more mods? Maybe, depends on your willpower... But yes, there are cookies (Nom Nom Nom)

[Seret]

KAC and KER are so useful I find the game a lot less interesting without them. No reason you can't just install those two and live happily ever after.

[Guest]

Well... Go ahead do mods.... *sighs* another KSP life ruined.

1) PLEASE. PLEASE ONLY 2.

2) Yes.

3) Yes.

If you are gonna get a mod... Get texture replacer.. It is the only mod on the planet I like.

Edited June 3, 2014 by Guest

[nimbim]

Don't forget to get Enhanced Navball.

[Joe32320]

Kerbal Alarm clock, in some form, not necessarily the full bells and whistles it currently has (particulary the launch window stuff), should be stock imo anyways. Just something that allows you to warp to Ap/Pe, manoeuvre nodes, AN/DN, and SOI changes, since they all appear in the map view anyway.

KER could be too, but I fully understand the devs decision not to go down that route (still irritates me playing stock and launching a rocket without being able to see the Ap though in staging view).

[smart013]

I wish there will someday be someone that develops a mod that stops the player worrying about what others may think or say. Some kind of XVM antidote But of course there will be multiplayer, so that is that.. *sigh*

But if you really want to get hooked ... try KAS (kerbal attachement system) ... suddenly your kerbals on distant planets can use their spare time (and spare parts) to fiddle around with their ships and bases, build things, pump things, mine things, explode things ... your game will never be the same heavenly stock hey-mom-look-what-pancake-i-shot-into-orbit-mom?-moooom?? experience again

[Red Iron Crown]

I've gone back and forth over my KSP career. I used to fill up the tabs in the VAB with part packs, then I got tired of the clutter and went vanilla, now I just use informational mods.

[rtxoff]

Active texture management is also a must when going into mods

[Starwhip]

Engineer Redux, Alarm Clock, Protractor, Enhanced Navball, and Distant Object Enhancement (A visual mod, lets you see planets and such over long distances as little glowing dots, like IRL) are my key mods for a better game. I do have others, like the Stock Rebalance Project and TweakableEverything (For solar panels/ladders/landing gear placement clarity), and even the Chatterer mod (for a more enjoyable listening experience - let's have those radio transmissions, people!).

I don't like part mods, though, like NovaPunch or KW Rocketry. But some I do like, as 6S Service Modules demonstrates. I enjoy aesthetics over function, so that one is a must as well.

In general, I like utility mods and aesthetic ones, but not game-changing part ones. And things like MechJeb ARE useful, with node SAS and things like that, but autopilot is not my style. SAS is good enough for me.

But in the end, it's up to you. It's your game, play how YOU like.

[KvickFlygarn87]

Join ussssssss!!

[Hattivat]

I could never understand this whole attitude of seeing mods as something shameful, or even taking pride in not using any. I mean, it's like vowing to never use a mouse or headphones with your laptop, because they were not included in the box. Or like refusing to pour ketchup on a microwaved pizza because you prefer it "stock".

[smart013]

Beside ATM, and if you really like smooth playing with full textures and less and lesser memoryproblems you should give this one a try:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/73236-WIP-Loading-textures-only-as-required

For Windows its really great in combination with ATM. Lots of mod, and the game ist still going strong (and fast)

[Tortoise]

Go ahead, use mods. Mods make the game so much better than stock you won't believe it.

[bobcook]

Kerbal Alarm Clock seems like a "must have" for any mission outside the Kerbin system. Engineer is highly useful, I used it for quite a long time, although I found it started to randomly fail me (hiding its own windows with no way to get them back) when I started to build a huge ship for a trip to Jool (728 parts, 2217.72 tons, read about my mission here) so I switched to MechJeb for the informational displays. I still do nearly all of my own piloting but there is a certain elegance to the game when I don't have to manually hold position on a maneuver node for a 2.5 hour burn.

[Guest]

AM I THE ONLY HUMAN ON THE PLANET THAT DOESN'T LIKE MODS? Seriously. Guys. Think about It. You know what... Forget It.

[Red Iron Crown]

AM I THE ONLY HUMAN ON THE PLANET THAT DOESN'T LIKE MODS?

No, but you're one of the few who goes on about it.

Edit: Starwhip was referring to a deleted post in his reply below. We're friends, right Starwhip?

Edited June 3, 2014 by Red Iron Crown

[Starwhip]

You are the one who's talking...

But anyways, it is up to the individual. Don't hassle them.

[Cirocco]

But anyways, it is up to the individual.

But in the end, it's up to you. It's your game, play how YOU like.

True words. All joking aside, just install and play the mods you want and don't let anyone ever tell you your way of playing is wrong. KSP is still a game. You play to have fun. If you prefer stock, play stock. If you prefer (certain) mods, play those mods.

KSP is about having fun with rockets and science and explosions. The rockets and explosions aren't mandatory, but in my book, if you're not having fun, something is wrong.

[J4CKAL2014]

If you've gone to the Dark Side, I've already gone full Darth Vader got a fair number of mods, including MechJeb

True words. All joking aside, just install and play the mods you want and don't let anyone ever tell you your way of playing is wrong. KSP is still a game. You play to have fun. If you prefer stock, play stock. If you prefer (certain) mods, play those mods.

KSP is about having fun with rockets and science and explosions. The rockets and explosions aren't mandatory, but in my book, if you're not having fun, something is wrong.

Exactly. KSP is great because of how easy it is to integrate player mods (on games like ArmA it can be a pain). Plus remember that some mods add stuff which perhaps should (and in some cases, will) be in the game, e.g. Deadly Reentry and the proper view for the Mk 2 cockpit (love those mods)

[Navy2k]

Don't get started, Mods are worse than crack!

You install one and it is nice and you can't live without it, then another and another, and then your reducing Texturesizes to fit more mods.

All of a sudden your playing a Kerbal with real solar system, Lifesupport, and all the other nice mods and you install another mod to save your vehicles automatically because your ram is so full that at any moment your game could crash. But you can't do anything about it because you can't decide which mod to dump. This isn't just madness, this is KERBAL!!!

Greetings

Ben

Edited June 3, 2014 by Navy2k

[Cirocco]

... and the proper view for the Mk 2 cockpit (love those mods)

WHAT?!

THIS IS A THING?

Please tell me the name of this mod! Not having an IVA for the mk II and mk III has been annoying me beyond all measure!

[J4CKAL2014]

WHAT?!

THIS IS A THING?

Please tell me the name of this mod! Not having an IVA for the mk II and mk III has been annoying me beyond all measure!

I think its just called "Mk2 cockpit", I found it on the list of mods on Reddit that Scott Manley uses for his Interstellar Quest videos. Sadly it was on Spaceport and I don't know if it was moved in time but try having a look on Curse, its worth getting

[KerbMav]

Use any mod that will deepen your experience, make the game more fun for you, take away problems that might else turn you away from KSP.