Looking for mod suggestions for a new install

[Lord Aurelius]

Hi Everyone,

I've been having fun watching Scott Manley's Interstellar Quest and would like to set up a new install following that theme.

The basic idea is to maintain the stock feel but to add mods that enhance the game and add resource mining and new endgame content (i.e. KSP Interstellar or similar).

The stock tech tree is broken IMHO, can I get suggestions for alternate trees (that still play decently nice with mods)? I don't mind writing a MM config to move a few parts around to my liking, but I want to avoid rewriting the whole tech tree if someone has done most of the work already.

I would also like to use something like FAR with the 6.4x Kerbol System to fix the aero model without making the game too easy.

Visual enhancement packs would be nice as well, and it would be amazing if I could get this all to work without having to use the aggressive version of texture compressor so the textures still look good. I've got a gaming PC (overclocked i7-3770K + nVidia GTX 680 + 16GB of RAM + SSD) to run this on so the only performance limitation is really the 4GB limit for the game.

I would prefer to avoid packs that add a large number of new parts (like KW Rocketry or NovaPunch) in favor of packs that a few parts to address a specific deficiency in the stock game. If there's a mod that adds an excellent replacement for a stock part I would consider deleting the stock part in favor of it or cherry picking parts out of a large part pack as long as they're stockalike parts.

Stability is also important, I want a combination of mods that won't crash the game all the time. I know that I'll have to make some tradeoffs, I would prioritize stability first, features second, parts third and graphics fourth.

The community mods and plugins library is a good resource but still misses a lot of good mods and the forum search is next to useless so I'm reaching out to the community here to get a better idea of what's out there. When suggesting a mod could I humbly request that you include a link to said mod if possible? I've had issues with CKAN for example where it only lists a short acronym of the mod and it was difficult even using a google search of the forums to find out what mod it was referring to. So please include links if you can.

This is my current tentative mod list:

Solar system:

RSS with Jumbo 3.2 config [link]

Outer Planets [link] + Jumbo 3.2 patch

Aero:

NEAR [link] (to keep a bit more stockish feel than FAR)

Deadly Reentry [link] (will likely need to play with the shockwave exponent to find a reasonable value with the resized system)

RealChute [link]

Procedural Fairings [link]

Resource:

USI Kolonization [link]

USI Karbonite [link]

USI ART [link]

TAC Life Support

KAS

Utility:

MechJeb + script to add to all pods

Docking alignment indicator

Kerbal Engineer Redux

Science:

Community Tech Tree (once it's updated) or Mod-Oriented Tech Tree (any other good ones to consider?)

Antenna Range Diversity

SCANSat (provided it doesn't use too much RAM)

CactEye orbital telescope

DMagic orbital science (let me know what other science mods complement this)

Crowd-Sourced Science Logs

Audio/Video:

Chatterer

RCS Sound Effects

Rover Wheel Sounds

EVE (if it works with the RSS config)

Parts:

USI Warp Drive

Near Future Propulsion

Universal Storage

Infernal Robotics

Stock Part Revamp

RLA Stockalike

KAX

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions and remember to provide a link to a suggested mod if you can.

Edited January 12, 2015 by Lord Aurelius
Updated modlist

[RainDreamer]

Kerbal Engineer Redux. Don't leave the Launch pad without it. Gives you all the data you need for flying and building rockets.

SCANsat for its interaction with some DMagic orbital science, and also give you cool looking maps.

Stock Part Revamp gives you a bunch of nice looking models to replace stock ones, and add a few new things.

USI Kolonization play along with TAC life support by providing you modules that will allow a self-sustaining base/colony for a long time with green houses and stuff. It also provide integration with Extraplanetary Launchpad, which allow you to build stuff outside of kerbin and launch them, following a system of resource gathering and manufacturing. Both of these are part heavy, but they provide much longer term gameplay than just rocket to places. Though you already got interstellar, so I don't think you should grab another part heavy mod.

CactEye 2 Orbital Telescope is also a nice science mod with nice looking part and interesting science gameplay.

Deadly Reentry provide a good challenge that is missing from stock game. You now can't just drop down from orbital speed into atmosphere with literally anything anymore. Heatshield will becomes mandatory.

Remote Tech 2 provide another challenge the stock game is missing. You do not have infinite range antenna that can connect everywhere at once, and probes will require a two way connection to mission control to work. It would severely limit your probe game play at first, but once you understand and overcome the challenges, it is very satisfying.

Chatterer is a useless mod. It doesn't do anything. It just makes noises. But if you want to feel spaceflight to be a bit more lively with astronauts talking and mission control communicating, this is a must.

Procedural Fairing is a must with FAR. You will want to keep your payload inside an aerodynamic shell to prevent drag wasting your dV.

Infernal Robotic is an amazing mod that gives you actual moving parts. Robotic has always been a good companion with rocket science. Can't see why we shouldn't have it in KSP.

That is about it for now.

Edited January 10, 2015 by RainDreamer

[Kerba Fett]

Raindreamer gave some good suggestions, but I'd also add MechJeb mostly for it's info screens rather than pilot assists. MJ allows you to easily make custom windows for most situations so you don't need large cluttered windows. Eg. custom window for landing, one for docking, one for surface to orbit, ect.

You should also look at Universal Storage. It plays well with KAS, TAC LS, and Dmagic orbital science. It lets you build clean looking complex ships.

Also the Docking Alignment Indicator by Navyfish.

[Lord Aurelius]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've used most of these mods before, thanks for reminding me to take a look at them again (some like MechJeb are basically stock for me regardless of what I'm doing and I didn't want to draw the ire of the MechJeb haters).

The CactEye telescope mod looks interesting, I'll definitely give it a test run before committing my install.

Stock Part Revamp was one of the mods I saw awhile ago and couldn't remember, thanks for pointing it out.

I've updated my modlist accordingly in light of your suggestions.

[Lord Aurelius]

After looking through the RSS alternate configs I noticed the Jumbo 3.2 rescale which I think I'll go with instead, I did a test run with it last night and it has about the right feel with FAR since it now takes about 6k dV to get to LKO which is more than stock but not quite full RSS so I can still use stock parts and have a reason to build more realistic rockets.

Also, after stumbling across the USI collection of mods, I've decided to forgo KSP interstellar in favor of near future propulsion and the USI warp drive and resource gathering since those mods seem to be better supported at this point.

Any other suggestions for mods under current development that would fit this install?

[Yemo]

You might want to take a look at my SETI-BalanceMod, the link is in my signature.

It removes clutter (procedural elements where possible) and focuses on gameplay, rather than part mods.

It is still work in progress, but already much better than stock balance (starting with a probe, then meaningful choices between better rockets, planes and survivability).

Kolonization, Karbonite and Community Tech Tree (which supports NearFuture) integration are planned for the next major update.

Havent tested it with different solar system.

I suggest playing it with all mods listed under "INSTALL" and "STATUS" in the forum thread, there are some interesting new dynamics when all mods are present.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Yemo

[Deltervees]

I would recommend using FAR instead of NEAR, and just turning off aerodynamic failures, as the info windows are a valuable tool.

[Lord Aurelius]

@Yemo

Your SETI mod looks very close to what I've been looking for in terms of stock progression, I'll definitely give it a try.

@Deltervees

I've used both, and to be honest I've never actually used the info windows in FAR so NEAR is more appropriate for my use case. Either way, I can switch it out mid-game without breaking things since they use the same underlying code.

[RainDreamer]

If you are going to use USI Kolonization, I also suggest this companion mod: Multipurposes Colony Modules. It is a mod that combine all the various modules of MKS/OKS into a few parts that can be switched around for more flexibility. It can even be switched even in flight!

As for FAR/NEAR, there are more differences than just the info window. FAR also includes mass tweaking for wings and control surfaces, which will allow you to fine tune your space plane COM and weight. It also have flight assistant for keyboard users, which dynamically dampen your air control depending on flight speed to prevent sharp maneuver that will either break your planes or send it to a spin.

I have a few more mods that enhance my career gameplay that I think you may enjoy, and not part mods so they are relatively light weight:

Strategies

Sane Strategies - rebalance stock strategies (no more OP fund->science) and add a few new ones

Serious Kerbal Strategies - adds strategies that increase interplay between science/fund/rep, and lots of RP potential

Strategem - adds strategies, mostly counterpart for stock ones

Contracts:

Mission Controller 2 - Adds a bunch of contracts for you to make some money. Some are one shot historic missions that follows the human progress toward space, some are repeatable. You can even specify your own satellite deployment/resupply/crew transfer mission. It also adds repair panels pad, which will sometimes spawn repair missions for unmanned vehicles that has them. You will then have to dispatch a kerbal over there to fix it using SparePart, which you should have if you have USI mods.

Contract Configurator - This by itself is just a framework for modders to create their own contracts easily. But it also have a SCANSat and Remote Tech mission packs that provides a series of one shot contracts and some narratives.

Utility

Contract Window+ - A much better way to keep track of contracts, can replace the stock app, and you can also modify the pay out of contracts if you think it is too much/too little. Can even modify active contracts, but only if you choose that option. Think of it as renegotiation with the contractors.

KSP Alternate Resource panel - Sleeker, more useful resource panel that can replace the stock app, designed to be used with a large amount of modded resources. Also comes with automated staging and alarm based on the amount of resources you have

Kerbal Alarm Clock - save yourself from missing important things while time warping. This mod will stop warp at a specified points in time to ensure as little waiting as possible.

Enhanced Navball - does what it says on the can. it enhances your stock nav ball, making it a bit more useful with ghosting (faded vector icons on edges so you find where things are easier), and allow scaling/repositioning of the nav ball.

LCD- Launch CountDown - From the creator of chatterer, this is another useless, but amazing mod. It allows you to have an actual launch countdown before launch using the launch clamp, and works with all launch clamps, modded or stock. There is an extended version of it with more utility if you want more epic launching sequence.

Trajectories - great addon to figure your landing location, or just figuring out if your aerobrake orbit is close enough for a landing.

Precise node - Fine tuning your maneuver nodes with ease instead of pick and pulling things and accidently pull something wrong.

Toolbar - Hope you have this, because a great number of mod use this to display their buttons and stuff.

Editor

RCS build aid - Must have install, similar to Kerbal Engineer. Allow you to see the forces vector of your engines and RCS, how they interact with your craft based on the CoM. It will tremendously help preventing design errors that gets your rocket spinning out of control, and space planes will be so much easier to build with it.

Editor Extension - A "should have been stock" mod. Massively increase the usefulness of the stock editor with a long list of features that I won't put here because it is long. But trust me when I say once you use it, you won't be able to go back to stock editor.

Part Angle Display - Allow fine tuning of angle snap to ensure high accuracy placement

Action Group Extended - allow you to have up to 250 action groups, can be edited on the fly anywhere, with better UI than the stock one.

Other:

KSP-AVC - Addon version checker. Automated version checking all compatible add on so you don't have to keep track of everything.

ATM- Active texture management - Hope you are already running this, because a heavily modded install will need this to keep ram usage down and avoid crashes.

That is it for now. Let me know if you are still interested in some more mods. I haven't include some mods that are mostly plugin but has some part here, because I said this will be a strictly non-part list.

Edited January 13, 2015 by RainDreamer

[Streetwind]

Lord Aurelius, if you're going with Near Future Propulsion, be advised that you're going to find it borderline impossible to power the engines as soon as you go beyond NFP tier 2. Even tier 2 itself is onerous with just stock means. To give you an idea: the hungriest engine in the pack guzzles 2950 Ec/s at full throttle.

NFP is really meant to go together with Near Future Electrical, even though the packs are kept separate for ease of management (and for people who might consciously choose to pick only one). Unfortunately Electrical isn't updated to 0.90 yet, because Nertea is doing some major development work on it right now. But you should still keep an eye on it. Near Future's engines are unlocked very late into the game, so you can start your save now and play for a while, and then plug Electrical in later when you start needing it and it got updated.

Alternatively, Near Future Solar is updated already. It won't let you drive the thirsty magnetoplasma thrusters either, but some of the lategame giant blanket arrays give very large outputs at Ec-per-mass ratios better than stock, so you can run most engines reasonably well on sunlight alone... at least, among the inner planets of the system.

[RainDreamer]

-post-

MKS/OKS has its own nuclear generator, the PDU. Granted, it is huge and require a kerbal to work properly, but it will be more than suffice to run any NFP engines. It would work for now until NFE is updated.

[Streetwind]

Depends on the weight, really. NFP engines are statted up with the Ec/s/ton performance of power producing solutions in mind. If the MKS reactor turns out to be heavier for what it does in comparison to what Near Future Electrical offers (I don't know it, I am not yet that far in my current playthrough), a lot of the engines become sorta pointless because the TWR drops to the point where you can get similar or better performance from a much more frugal ion engine with a few solar panels.

There's also the issue that if the MKS reactor really puts out 3000+ Ec/s, then it is excessively oversized for anything but one or two of the many engines (unless you're willing to mount like 50 Hi-SNAP thrusters at once or something...)

But yeah, just sayin'

Edited January 13, 2015 by Streetwind

[Wanderfound]

If you're planning on messing with spaceplanes, I would strongly recommend Kerbal Flight Data, Kerbal Flight Indicators and Kerbal Pilot Assistant.

KPA provides, amongst other things, a PID tuner: absolutely essential to make SAS function properly within FAR/NEAR. KFD provides the data displays seen beside the navball in the image below; KFI gives the horizon/direction/vector markers you can see in the main view.