r4pt0r won't be 99% stock for 0.90

[r4pt0r]

In addition to Chatterer and Environmental visual enhancements (both of which I installed back during .21, are there new features I should update them for?), I will be trying some new things out.

The recent successful Orion heat-shield test has tempted me to try Deadly Reentry, and with that I will probably want an actual atmosphere, so i'll also get FAR. And SCANsat because more biomes will be stock.

Now I'm here asking a few questions:

--What mod gives has the best Procedural heat-shields(DR compatible and stock-looking)? EDIT: are the base DR heat-shields good enough?

--What is the suggested fairing mod?(stock-looking preferred)

--Is Procedural Wings stock-alike, does it work with FAR, and do you folks recommend it?

--Any suggestions for an unmanned surface sample getting mod, or more general SCIENCE parts?

Sorry for the tedium, I'm not well versed in KSP mods. Thank you for your time.

DONT TELL RED IRON CROWN THAT I'M ADDING MODS, HE WILL NEVER LET ME LIVE IT DOWN IF HE FINDS OUT.

Edited December 14, 2014 by r4pt0r

[Dodgey]

The only part I can help you with is the fairings. Ever since I started to use FAR I've been using the fairings from KW rocketry, though I have all of the parts apart from them. I've found that I like having the restriction of a predetermined fairing size (mostly) though it is s bit of effort to delete all of the other parts.

Oh and don't worry I won't tell Red Iron Crown.

[NWDogg]

Sounds like you want to get Procedural Parts, Procedural Fairings, and Procedural Wings. Parts for the heatshields (and fuel tanks, RCS tanks, SRBs, structural pieces, nose cones, etc etc etc...). Procedural Fairings gives the most dynamic and easiest to use fairing system in KSP, in my opinion. Procedural Wings has stockalike wings in the form of the new Mk2 style, as well as B9 and 'old stock' style as well.

As for science parts, DMagic's Orbital Science is my go-to pack for that. It has several new, interesting experiment parts for in-orbit, in-atmosphere, and also ground based science. The parts are incredibly well done, and the science texts you get when you run the experiments is very well written. Hope this helps.

[Ikaneko]

Never get procedural fairings: they look horrible.

Get AIES Aerospace + DMagic Orbital Science. AIES has cool looking fairings and DMagic has your sciency needs taken care of.

DRC has cool enough heat shields, but oblivion aerospace has additional heat shields that look *awesome*.

Also, get KIDS for FAR, or else most stock engines fub up.

[SpaceSmith]

Procedural fairings looks horrible??? I would believe the opposite. They look pretty fantastic I think. They work perfectly too.

[Red Iron Crown]

Hey guys, what's going on in this thread?

I can help with your second and third questions:

Procedural Fairings offer the most flexibility, though some of the fairings it generates around oddly-shaped payloads are not very aesthetically pleasing. If you'd prefer some constraints in size, I'd recommend Necrobones' Zero-Point Fairings, very stockalike and puts your flag on the fairings. You might also look at his SpaceY pack for interstage fairings, he's got some cleverness for engine shrouds that resize automagically.

Procedural Wings look very stockalike and work with stock aero or FAR, and have a significant impact on part count (fewer wing parts, fewer struts). My favorite thing about them is that you can easily move the whole wing assembly fore and aft to fine tune the CoL/CoM relationship. They're a little tricky to get the hang of at first, but they are great once you do (I'm generally resistant to procedural parts but these are just sooo useful).

I look forward to the revised percentage in your user title, welcome to the Dark Side.

[Superfluous J]

Procedural Fairings look ugly when you try to slap a flat and wide ship on top of a tall, skinny lifter. If you build more reasonably for your tech level then they look just like the other fairings only they're easier to use.

I expect a lot of problems people have with Procedural Fairings will go away when we can clip a lot of stuff that should be able to be clipped, into our rockets to make them a bit more sleek. I'm looking at you Science Jrs.

[r4pt0r]

Thanks for the support and advice guys. are mods usually updated for the next version within 2 days or so?

[Red Iron Crown]

Thanks for the support and advice guys. are mods usually updated for the next version within 2 days or so?

Depends. Some of the modders are in the experimental group as I understand it, they are generally able to get updates out on release day. Other mods are hit or miss, but generally within a week of release things settle out.

There's usually a thread for compatibility updates started after a new release, it'll be worth your while to subscribe and keep up with whatever you're interested in.

[DuoDex]

--What is the suggested fairing mod?(stock-looking preferred)

--Is Procedural Wings stock-alike, does it work with FAR, and do you folks recommend it?

Sorry for the tedium, I'm not well versed in KSP mods. Thank you for your time.

DONT TELL RED IRON CROWN THAT I'M ADDING MODS, HE WILL NEVER LET ME LIVE IT DOWN IF HE FINDS OUT.

I can only help you with these two. Procedural Fairings supports FAR and you can modify the textures it generates if you find them unrealistic. Also, Procedural Wings is also a very stock-looking mod, and it also supports FAR.

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

Excellent choice to use mods, the base game kinda sucks without mods IMO.