No mods

[Gravaar]

Have used mods in the past ( FAR DRE RSS and other realism types)

At 0.24 done a clean install no mods and loving it

It is YOUR game you play it how YOU want to

Try some mods if you don't like it just remove them

It's a single player game there is no right or wrong way to play it

[Pecan]

OP has a forum join date of March 2012!

Yesterday I had call to re-install and play around with the demo version which doesn't even support mods. It was an interesting, and not unrewarding experience but I'd rather have my core mods.

Chatterer is still "totally useless, totally fun" (it just adds random, meaningless 'radio chatter' sounds) but makes the whole thing feel more real.

[allmhuran]

I don't think it's possible to make a generalization either way as to whether mods "make the game harder" or "make the game easier". Sure, we might say that some mods create new challenges (deadly reentry), whereas others make existing challenges easier, such as mods with bigger engines/fuel tanks/etc, mechjeb, and so on.

But in the end, whether the game is easy or difficult really depends on what kind of challenge you are setting for yourself.

I play with stock parts and stock gameplay elements, but I install a mod here or there when it fixes something that is currently broken, not fully implemented, or annoying in the stock game. For example, I do use precise node, because the maneuver nodes are currently still pretty annoying to use in terms of their response to mouse input, the inability to place them sometimes, the inaccuracy of the handles, and so on. Similarly I use editor extensions which enabled some features which the game already supports in the construction buildings, but which are for whatever reason not yet actually implemented in the game.

Once the game reaches a very stable state and all that's left to do is polishing I might look at additional mods, but not while the game is still being developed and mods are likely to break on upgrades, or need updates that they might not get if the mod development has stopped.

[lammatt]

playing vanilla is like you buy a pingpong bat and dont glue a rubber sheet

yes, you can still play the game, just that you miss 90% of the game.

[Ringkeeper]

Most of the mods add stuff that's not in the game, yet or never will be. And that's a good thing. Squad has to build a game that satisfies most of the players in a basic way because that is the common part of all players. The rest and special needs are then supplied by mods. Some like way more realistic stuff, some more painted stuff, some more boom, some like more automated stuff etc etc. That is what mods are for then.

[John FX]

I say play stock until you get bored or find your limits then look at mods that expand gameplay in the areas you find restrictive.

rinse, repeat.

Sometimes you will find that removing some mods increases your enjoyment.

I used to love kethane but now don`t install it. Same with KAS, Novapunch, FASA, BTSM, DRE, RT.

They were all fun for a while but then were not.

The main mods I have are mechjeb, KAC, procedural fairings and stretchy tanks. The rest are just to make everything pretty.

[KerbMav]

Procedural Fairings are just making everything pretty if you are not using FAR/NEAR.