Recommendation/Advice Sought: EVE and/or similar?

[Srpadget]

In the months I've been playing KSP I've stayed totally stock while learning the ropes. I think it's time to make the jump to mods. (I'm sure this will please the folks here!)

I'm looking to start with something that doesn't actually change gameplay (idea being it's less likely to 'break' when KSP updates) but still improves the overall user experience. Art upgrades (i.e., EVE or something like it) would seem to fill that bill.

So: EVE seems to be the "go-to mod" for things like adding clouds/weather to planets. But (unless I'm misunderstanding) a quick look at the mod list suggests that EVE is just the foundation for a bunch of other stuff.

Question, then, is: what all should I be installing in order to make those ever-so-pretty planets and better lighting that I see in other people's videos? (Newb needs help!)

[NathanKell]

For the record, gameplay changes are no less or more likely to break when KSP updates than anything else; but yeah, EVE is a good place to start for beautification.

Actually, the stuff that doesn't need updating is usually parts; plugins of any type often (though not always) need updating.

[BudgetHedgehog]

PlanetShine and DistantObjectEnhancement (the 0.24 patch works fine in 0.25) make space feel like space, simply thanks to lighting (talking of which, remember to bring some!).

For things that are less likely to break, there's Stock Part Revamp or Squad HD Re-Texture Project, both just make existing stock parts look nicer and won't break until Squad change part filepaths again.

Edited October 26, 2014 by ObsessedWithKSP

[Srpadget]

Okay, so now it's time for me to reveal the profundity of my total ignorance.

The sum total of the installation instructions for EVE (at least that I've found) is: "Dump the contents of the zip file into your KSP install folder. Make sure to MERGE contents."

But when I go to the GitHub link where EVE resides, I see TWO .zip file download options, with file sizes that imply they are VERY different beasties. There is a *7-4-LR.zip at ~9.5MB and a *7-4.zip which is over 35MB. Do I need them both? Do I need to install them in some particular order?

And what does it mean to "dump the contents of the zip file into my KSP install folder", anyway? Dunno about you, but my KSP install folder has a whole raft of subfolders, many of which have their own sub-sub-folders. Do the contents automagically know what subfolder(s) they should go into?

Are these zip files self-extracting, or do I need to scare up a zip/unzip utility? (Yeah, I could find out the answer to this question via simple experimentation, but as long as I'm asking questions which doubtless sound stupid to most of you...)

What is this "MERGE" that is apparently so important? Is that an option that will show up when unzipping and be self-explanatory, or is there a whole fresh series of questions I will have once I get that far, which I do not yet know enough to ask now?

I assume that, as always, it's basic good practice to back up my entire KSP install prior to adding any mods, in case I screw something up...

[micha]

TL;DR:

Only ever copy stuff into Kerbal Space Program/GameData - it's the only directory which should contain Mods.

And yes, you have to open the ZIP file with an archive utility and extract yourself.

General installation instructions for Mods is:

1) Read the Installation Instructions.

2) Read the Installation Instructions

3) I mean it. Read the Installation Instructions. Every mod author seems to have their own preferred way of laying out their mods and how to install them.

Unfortunately, for EVE, they are slightly less than ideal, as you discovered. And there are some other mods which are similarly brief in their instructions.

So for those:

4) Download ZIP

5) Open ZIP in an archive manager (no, they are not self-extracting)

6) Find readme or similar and see if that contains installation instructions (unlikely if the Forum release thread didn't point to some)

7) Find a "GameData" folder. Whatever is inside that should be copied into "<Where you Installed KSP>/Kerbal Space Program/GameData"

8) If there is no GameData folder, you have to dig around a bit. Luckily for EVE, there is one.

As far as MERGE is concerned, most people say to extract the GameData folder into the KSP folder, and perform a merge. Personally I prefer to do Step #7 above. That way I can't accidentally screw something up in my KSP folder, or overwrite something I didn't mean to inside GameData.

Finally, the LR.zip for EVE means Low Resolution. Basically it doesn't look quite as nice, but might save some RAM if you're getting close to the limit.

Hope this helps..

[NathanKell]

1. EVE comes in regular or Low Resolution.

2. Are you on a Mac? If not, don't worry about Merge. Mac's default behavior, when you drop a folder somewhere already containing a folder of that name, is to wipe out the old folder rather than merge the contents together. The latter happens by default in every other OS.

3. Mods are installed into GameData. EVE comes with its own GameData folder; thus you extract that folder into your KSP install folder and merge the contents of EVE's GameData with the original GameData.

Thus you "dump the contents of the EVE zip" (i.e. GameData) into your KSP folder, where on non-Mac OSs it will ask you if you want to merge the folders; choose yes. On OSX you have to drag it a special way to get the merge functionality.

[Srpadget]

Micha, thanks. Straightforward, informative, and in no way condescending to the newb. This should be very helpful indeed.

[micha]

Micha, thanks. Straightforward, informative, and in no way condescending to the newb. This should be very helpful indeed.

Cheers, I'll take that at face-value It's never easy to provide enough information without crossing that line..

One more point regarding general mod-management; sooner or later you'll be upgrading mods. The usually recommended way to go is to first delete the old copy of the mod out of GameData, and then install the new version as before. But be careful, a handful of mods store state/settings which you may want to keep. Again, read the instructions if the mod provides them. Luckily most do.

[Srpadget]

I certainly meant it to be taken at face value. Detailed instructions were exactly what I asked for, and that's what you provided.

When I say "not condescending", I meant "I've seen too many of the nigh-violent responses that sometimes crop up when yet another round of 'how do I complete the Rescue Stranded Kerbal mission when I can't get control of the rescuee' comes up". I was a bit concerned that someone would go all "aggressive alpha geek" and give the stoopid newb a slapdown designed to put me in my place, given the elementary nature of my question.

Or. as we'd say it in my native Texan: Ya Done Good.